This insightful book provides an insider?s guide to starting a game company, from financing through the creation of the first game. The book follows the daily creation process through the variety of successes and failures a startup game studio typically encounters. It details how to develop a business model, work in a foreign country, hire a team, motivate the team, create the game engine architecture, concept art, level design, 3D modeling, code optimization, and more. In addition, as users read through the book, they follow along through the technical aspects of creating a game, so that if they want to, they can create their own game by the end of the book. This is an excellent resource for those interested in starting an independent game studio, programmers wanting to learn about game architecture and how to create an engine, as well as artists and business people interested in understanding the whole process. After reading through the book, game developers and game designers will have a real understanding of what to expect when starting their own game studio or writing a game from scratch. The companion CD-ROM includes working sample code, tools, instructional tutorials, models and assets, and third party demos.