AI for Game Developers By David M. Bourg, Glenn Seemann
July 2004
Pages: 390

Cover | Table of Contents | Colophon

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Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of AI for Game Developers is a Ring-tailed lemur. Ringtailed lemurs (Lemur catta) are found solely in Madagascar, an island off of southeast Africa.

Ring-tailed lemurs have a distinctive bushy tail with alternating bands of black and white rings. Their tails can reach lengths of up to 25 inches. They also have a black, pointed muzzle, which is typical among the various species of lemur.

These lemurs prefer more open areas, such as rocky plains and desert areas, and typically travel on the ground, although they will sometimes walk on large limbs in trees. This differentiates them from other lemur species, which prefer forested areas and travel almost exclusively in trees.

Similar to cats, Ring-tailed lemurs have a reflective layer in the back of their eyes. This allows them to have excellent night vision. Their tails are highly scented, and are used to warn other lemurs of approaching danger. The tails are also an integral part of the mating process. The males will use their scent to try and attract the females, and vicious "stink fights" can often erupt within the group.

Ring-tailed lemurs live in groups of between five and thirty members. They have distinct hierarchies that are enforced by frequent, aggressive confrontations between members. Females, who stay in the group for their entire lives, dominate the group. Males will often change groups at least once during their lifetime.

Living in arid habitats, Ring-tailed lemurs quench their thirst with juicy fruits. They will also eat leaves, flowers, insects, and tree gum. Like most lemurs, Ring-tails have only one baby, although twins or even triplets are common when food is plentiful. Newborns are quite helpless and are carried around by the mother in her mouth until they can hold on to her fur by themselves. They will then ride around on the mother's back. They first begin to climb after about three weeks, and are usually independent after six months. They can live for up to 27 years in the wild. Darren Kelly was the production editor, Audrey Doyle was the copyeditor, and Kathryn Geddie was the proofreader for AI for Game Developers. Claire Cloutier provided quality control. TechBooks, Inc. provided production services and Ronald Prottsman wrote the index.

Ellie Volckhausen designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from Royal Natural History. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato designed the interior layout. Techbooks, Inc. implemented the design. This book was converted by Andrew Savikas to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing. This colophon was written by Darren Kelly.

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