Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, by Jason Schreier, takes readers on a fascinating odyssey behind the scenes of video game development. It explores the artistic challenges, technical impossibilities, marketplace demands, and corporate obstacles involved in bringing any game to completion. The book documents the round-the-clock crunches, buggy-eyed burnout, and last-minute saves that are part of the development process.
From RPG studio Bioware's challenge to overcome technical nightmares to build Dragon Age: Inquisition, to indie developer Eric Barone's efforts to turn Stardew Valley into a multi-million-dollar franchise, and Bungie's creation of the Destiny universe, Schreier immerses readers in the hellfire of the development process. Blood, Sweat, and Pixels is ultimately a tribute to the dedicated diehards and unsung heroes who scale mountains of obstacles in their quests to create the best games imaginable.
Insightful, surprising, and with ground-breaking revelations about our society, Everybody Lies exposes the secrets embedded in our internet searches, with a foreword by bestselling author Steven Pinker. While people often lie to friends, lovers, doctors, pollsters—and to themselves—in Internet searches, they confess their truths, revealing secrets about sexless marriages, mental health problems, and even racist views.
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, an economist and former Google data scientist, presents what might be the most important dataset ever collected. This unprecedented database of secrets offers astonishing insights into humankind. For example, anxiety does not increase after a terrorist attack, crime levels drop when a violent film is released, and racist searches are no higher in Republican areas than in Democrat ones.
Stephens-Davidowitz reveals information that can be used to change our culture and addresses the questions we're afraid to ask that might be essential to our well-being—both emotional and physical. Everybody Lies is insightful, funny, and always surprising, exposing the biases and secrets deeply embedded within us, at a time when things are harder to predict than ever.
Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't explores the concept of leadership and the critical role it plays in the success of an organization. Simon Sinek delves into the idea that exceptional leaders create an environment of trust and cooperation, often at the expense of their own comfort and survival, for the benefit of those in their care.
Based on real-world experiences and true stories from various domains, including the military and business sectors, Sinek introduces the Circle of Safety—a principle that fosters stable, adaptive, and confident teams where individuals feel a sense of belonging. This book not only provides insights into leadership but also uncovers the biological underpinnings of why some teams excel while others struggle.
With an expanded focus on leading millennials, Sinek's narrative is further enriched by his observations on how the greatest leaders in history have always prioritized the well-being of their people, creating a culture where everyone works together to achieve remarkable outcomes.