Buttonless

Incredible iPhone and iPad Games

and the Stories Behind Them

Ryan Rigney

Foreword by John Davison

Computer Games

K14255

Incredible iPhone and iPad Games and the Stories Behind Them

Ryan Rigney

On the forefront of the mobile gaming revolution are real people with stories that are crazy,

stressful, hilarious, and, in some cases, heart-wrenching. Written by respected video game

journalist Ryan Rigney, Buttonless tells the stories behind some of the most interesting, well-

designed, and notable games for the iPhone and iPad. The included games were chosen not

only for their popularity, but also based on their inventive mechanics or polished design. For

each, Rigney gives the reader a quick overview of the gameplay and the game’s distinguishing

features, including statistics on development time, budgets, and downloads, before turning to

the fascinating stories gathered from more than 100 interviews with those behind the scenes

of the iTunes App Store.

You’ll learn about:

• The real origins of Angry Birds

• How iOS critical darling Jet Car Stunts was born from one of the worst games

of 1999––Carmageddon 3

• Canabalt creator Adam Saltsman’s weird obsession with leaping out of windows

• How the first-ever Iraqi video game went unpublished for 20 years before

becoming an iOS exclusive

• The tweet that saved Words With Friends

• The napkin drawing that became the biggest-selling comic book series on the App Store

“An in-depth exploration of gaming’s fastest growing space penned by one of its most avid and

enthusiastic advocates.”

–Will Herring, reviews editor at GamePro Magazine

“The App Store is so incredibly fluid, the way Buttonless locks the wonderful little stories behind

them in typographical amber is nothing short of a public service.”

–Justin McElroy, managing editor at Joystiq.com

Ryan Rigney is a freelance journalist who has covered the video-game indus-

try from every angle for publications and sites including Gamasutra, PC Gamer,

and GamePro. He lives in Oxford, MS, where he is pursuing an education in

journalism at Ole Miss’ Meek School of Journalism and New Media.

Rigney

BUTTONLESS

Buttonless

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Buttonless

Incredible iPhone and iPad Games

and the Stories Behind Them

Ryan Rigney

CRC Press

Taylor & Francis Group

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