Blue Labyrinth

Blue Labyrinth

Author: Douglas Preston

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Published: 2014-11-11

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 1455525901

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When a longtime enemy shows up dead on Pendergast's doorstep, the murder investigation leads him into his own dark past as a vengeful killer waits in the shadows. It begins with murder. One of Pendergast's most implacable, most feared enemies is found on his doorstep, dead. Pendergast has no idea who is responsible for the killing, or why the body was brought to his home. The mystery has all the hallmarks of the perfect crime, save for an enigmatic clue: a piece of turquoise lodged in the stomach of the deceased. The gem leads Pendergast to an abandoned mine on the shore of California's Salton Sea, which in turn propels him on a journey of discovery deep into his own family's sinister past. But Pendergast learns there is more at work than a ghastly episode of family history: he is being stalked by a subtle killer bent on vengeance over an ancient transgression. And he soon becomes caught in a wickedly clever plot, which leaves him stricken in mind and body, and propels him toward a reckoning beyond anything he could ever have imagined . . .


The Game Design Reader

The Game Design Reader

Author: Katie Salen Tekinbas

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2005-11-23

Total Pages: 955

ISBN-13: 0262303175

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Classic and cutting-edge writings on games, spanning nearly 50 years of game analysis and criticism, by game designers, game journalists, game fans, folklorists, sociologists, and media theorists. The Game Design Reader is a one-of-a-kind collection on game design and criticism, from classic scholarly essays to cutting-edge case studies. A companion work to Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman's textbook Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, The Game Design Reader is a classroom sourcebook, a reference for working game developers, and a great read for game fans and players. Thirty-two essays by game designers, game critics, game fans, philosophers, anthropologists, media theorists, and others consider fundamental questions: What are games and how are they designed? How do games interact with culture at large? What critical approaches can game designers take to create game stories, game spaces, game communities, and new forms of play? Salen and Zimmerman have collected seminal writings that span 50 years to offer a stunning array of perspectives. Game journalists express the rhythms of game play, sociologists tackle topics such as role-playing in vast virtual worlds, players rant and rave, and game designers describe the sweat and tears of bringing a game to market. Each text acts as a springboard for discussion, a potential class assignment, and a source of inspiration. The book is organized around fourteen topics, from The Player Experience to The Game Design Process, from Games and Narrative to Cultural Representation. Each topic, introduced with a short essay by Salen and Zimmerman, covers ideas and research fundamental to the study of games, and points to relevant texts within the Reader. Visual essays between book sections act as counterpoint to the writings. Like Rules of Play, The Game Design Reader is an intelligent and playful book. An invaluable resource for professionals and a unique introduction for those new to the field, The Game Design Reader is essential reading for anyone who takes games seriously.


Blue Mountains

Blue Mountains

Author: John Low

Publisher: Kingsclear Books Pty Ltd

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 0908272375

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From the Aboriginal beginnings, early exploration and the building of such wonders as the Giant Stairway and the Scenic Railway, the famous buildings, writers and artists, including Bradman at Blackheath, the Chinese people and the pioneers. This book covers the history of all the towns over the mountains through to the Jenolan Caves.


The Artificial Horizon

The Artificial Horizon

Author: Martin Edward Thomas

Publisher: Melbourne Univ. Publishing

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 9780522851519

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Martin Thomas takes the reader on a journey through a compelling study of culture, landscape and mythology. For both Aboriginal people and their colonisers, the rugged landscape of the Blue Mountains has stood as an intriguing riddle and a stimulus to the imagination. The author evokes this dramatic and bewildering landscape and leads his readers through the cultural history of the locality in order to probe the 'dreamwork of imperialism'.


Genreflecting

Genreflecting

Author: Diana Tixier Herald

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2019-05-24

Total Pages: 474

ISBN-13: 1440858489

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Librarians who work with readers will find this well-loved guide to be a treasure trove of information. With descriptive annotations of thousands of genre titles mapped by genre and subgenre, this is the readers' advisor's go-to reference. Next to author, genre is the characteristic that readers use most to select reading material and the most trustworthy consideration for finding books readers will enjoy. With its detailed classification and pithy descriptions of titles, this book gives users valuable insights into what makes genre fiction appeal to readers. It is an invaluable aid for helping readers find books that they will enjoy reading. Providing a handy roadmap to popular genre literature, this guide helps librarians answer the perennial and often confounding question "What can I read next?" Herald and Stavole-Carter briefly describe thousands of popular fiction titles, classifying them into standard genres such as science fiction, fantasy, romance, historical fiction, and mystery. Within each genre, titles are broken down into more specific subgenres and themes. Detailed author, title, and subject indexes provide further access. As in previous editions, the focus of the guide is on recent releases and perennial reader favorites. In addition to covering new titles, this edition focuses more narrowly on the core genres and includes basic readers' advisory principles and techniques.


The Complete Guide to Labyrinths

The Complete Guide to Labyrinths

Author: Cassandra Eason

Publisher: Crossing Press

Published: 2004-06-01

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 1580911269

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A universal symbol of transformation, the labyrinth was created in ancient times to represent humankind’s search for the core of divinity. Unlike a maze, which may have a confusion of tracks leading in all directions, a labyrinth has a single, winding pathway that spirals inward to the center. In The Complete Guide to Labyrinths, renowned British psychic and folklorist Cassandra Eason explores the mystery of this sacred symbol and explains how to harness its power for personal transformation, protection, healing, and enlightenment. The book features instructions for creating indoor and outdoor labyrinths; rituals to nourish fertility, confront and resolve conflict, honor grief or loss, and celebrate new beginnings; and resources for locating labyrinths around the world. Filled with personal anecdotes and a detailed exploration of labyrinth history and mythology, this complete handbook is a deeply spiritual guide to the meditative, intuitive, and creative power of this age-old symbol.


A Penguin Rolling Down a Hill

A Penguin Rolling Down a Hill

Author: Kevin Tranter

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Published: 2016-11-14

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 1524637696

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A Penguin Rolling Down a Hill is a young adult/crossover fantasy adventure set in a land where the dreams we have at night, while we are sleeping, are actually produced and performed. Up near the Zenith Territory lies the magnificent Palace of Somnium. Ever since the beginning of time, the palace has been the residence of the dream ambassador, Mr. Good, and the place where all the nice, pleasant, happy dreams were conceived. Vile, another dream ambassador who specializes in nightmares, did all his scary stuff down in the Nether Regions in a dark and gloomy place called Torment Towers. All that was, until recently. With the advent of 3D computer-animated dreams up at the palace, Vile found himself lagging behind in the technology stakes. And he didnt like it. So he marched over to the palace and kicked Mr. Goods butt out. Vile is now in total control of Dream World, and everyone, everywhere, every night faces the prospect of horrible nightmaresnightmares that will lead to stress, anxiety, depression, and lack of sleep all across the world. The consequences could very well be catastrophic. Vile must be stopped, and Mr. Good has a plan. He calls for help from the physical world. But can two sixth-form students really save the world?


Racing the Beam

Racing the Beam

Author: Nick Montfort

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2020-02-25

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 0262539764

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A study of the relationship between platform and creative expression in the Atari VCS, the gaming system for popular games like Pac-Man and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. The Atari Video Computer System dominated the home video game market so completely that “Atari” became the generic term for a video game console. The Atari VCS was affordable and offered the flexibility of changeable cartridges. Nearly a thousand of these were created, the most significant of which established new techniques, mechanics, and even entire genres. This book offers a detailed and accessible study of this influential video game console from both computational and cultural perspectives. Studies of digital media have rarely investigated platforms—the systems underlying computing. This book, the first in a series of Platform Studies, does so, developing a critical approach that examines the relationship between platforms and creative expression. Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost discuss the Atari VCS itself and examine in detail six game cartridges: Combat, Adventure, Pac-Man, Yars' Revenge, Pitfall!, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. They describe the technical constraints and affordances of the system and track developments in programming, gameplay, interface, and aesthetics. Adventure, for example, was the first game to represent a virtual space larger than the screen (anticipating the boundless virtual spaces of such later games as World of Warcraft and Grand Theft Auto), by allowing the player to walk off one side into another space; and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was an early instance of interaction between media properties and video games. Montfort and Bogost show that the Atari VCS—often considered merely a retro fetish object—is an essential part of the history of video games.


Welcome to Castle Cove

Welcome to Castle Cove

Author: Kory M. Shrum

Publisher: Timberlane Press

Published: 2018-08-23

Total Pages: 331

ISBN-13:

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Always wanted to prove you wouldn't die in the horror film? Here is your chance. A young woman is dumped by her fiancé of three years. Longing for a new life, she takes a job in Castle Cove, a seemingly perfect town nestled between beautiful pine forests and the sea. Only Castle Cove isn't what it seems. Each choice you make as you read this interactive novel will reveal Castle Cove's secrets and dark history. But beware: you can find adventure, power, romance or monsters within these pages. Choose carefully. Every chose has its consequence.