Eleven authors have combined to produce this volume on current tools for game development. In one of the most rapidly changing fields in computing, this team has created a book that is “intended for the new developer,” providing an introduction to tools useful for different phases of game creation.

There are four major sections: asset management, geometry and models, web tools, and programming. Asset management receives the shortest treatment: 15 pages. As data organization is a key architectural attribute in all software, I would have appreciated further discussion on options.

The geometry and models section is well done. Conversion, construction, rendering, and workflow issues are described in an example-rich manner that new game programmers will find approachable. The COLLADA schema for 3D data interchange features prominently; one chapter discusses the use of the COLLADA conformance test suite, while others discuss the exchange of both COLLADA and FBX formats. Even the chapter on creating Voronoi polygons is practical rather than mathematically rigorous and complete. The brief web tools section discusses a pair of topics (creating Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)-based debugging logs and cloud-based tools) rather than presenting a comprehensive approach. Still, each chapter contains enough code to allow the reader to follow the technique. The final section on programming has chapters on domain-specific languages, an Android prototyping tool, and decoupling the graphical user interface (GUI) from editing in the game editor. The content is complete and easy to walk through.

Other books on tools for game development exist. Ansari compiled Game development tools in 2011 [1], covering many of the same topics. Ansari’s book covers a wider and more complete range of topics, but lacks Ardolino’s discussions of web/cloud-based tools and Android games. Thibault’s 2013 Game data analysis [2] is a short book on the use of tools specifically for the analysis of, rather than the development of, games. Volumes also exist that address the use of individual tools.

The book is short, and nearly half of the content is code samples and screen shots. The writing style is clear and readable. Given the length, it would be impossible to exhaustively cover the field of game development tools, and the book does not do so; however, the chapters are excellent discussions by writers with substantial knowledge. This book describes the state of current tools and their use, and is a useful guide for game developers.