Reader reviews

Good value. Not perfect, but I would buy another book from this author.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. Good value for the price and worth the time it takes to work through properly.

Not quite what I expected from the description, but there is material here.

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. Fine, but there are stronger books on the same subject if you look around.

A worthwhile addition to my shelf, with realistic expectations.

This is the third book I have read on uncanny valley this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. Solid, and I would buy another book from this author without hesitation.

Outstanding. I kept finding reasons to come back to it.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

A genuinely enjoyable read that also taught me a great deal.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

The clearest explanation of game design I have come across.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. Worth the money and the reading time, without hesitation.