Today is usually a day reserved for my ongoing blog series "From Player to Professional - My Quest to Work in the Video Game Industry" but this week I'm going to take a pause from that series to bring you something else. Ironically, this blog is inspired by a book that I mentioned in the last two episodes of that series. Perhaps you remember the book - Level Up: The Guide to Great Video Game Design.

So, four days ago I get this interesting Game Informer alert in my email.

I receive friend requests via Game Informer somewhat regularly and more often than not they don't include any text but this one happened to have a message written with the friend request so I quickly scanned it. I think my scanned version read something like, "Scott Rogers...author...book."

Wait, what?!?

Did I read that right? So, I slowed down and read it a little slower. It read...

Hey Saint! This is the real Scott Rogers, author of Level Up! Thanks for making my book such a big part of your blog!

Wait, what?!?

The first thing I did was check the date. Nope! Not the 1^st of April...yet. Then I thought...hmm...am I being punked or something. Then I got a little nervous...thinking about what I said in the blog; did I plagiarize anything and not give the author credit; did I do anything wrong...was I going to get sued...

But that moment only lasted a second or two. I love the book...absolutely love the book. So I know I spoke highly of it. And then, the message I received was thanking me for using the book in my blog.

I messaged Scott Rogers back, somewhat reluctantly, not entirely sure if this was a joke or not. He responded pretty quick and told me not only was he pleased with my blog mentioning his book, his publisher was too. His publisher - Wiley. Wiley as in the publisher of the "For Dummies" books.

The company was founded in 1807, during the Jefferson presidency. In the early years, Wiley was best known for the works of Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, and other 19th century American literary giants. By the turn of the century, Wiley was established as a leading publisher of scientific and technical information.

For over 200 years, Wiley has grown and evolved, taking pride in its ability to meet the changing needs of its customers. The company's current migration to the digital world is the latest example of this kind of transformation. Given Wiley's solid financial position, experienced leadership team, talented workforce, and proven strategies for generating results, the years ahead promise to bring exciting opportunities for continued growth and prosperity. Wiley is a far cry from Charles Wiley's small printing shop, but the company's commitment to quality and to serving the needs of its customers has not changed since 1807.

Next thing I know, I'm emailing and getting emails from an Associate Publisher of Technology from Wiley talking about Scott Roger's book...the very book that has inspired me to pursue this dream that I've only recently started blogging about...a dream to work in the world of video game development.

This is huge. I mean, thanks to Game Informer, I've had the opportunity to talk with several of the Game Informer staff members like Annette Gonzales and Andy McNamara...and now I'm exchanging emails with Scott Rogers, a no kidding video game developer and author...and his publisher.

Speaking of publishers, Wiley was kind enough to extend a 40% discount off of the price of the book IF you order it from their website and IF you order by the end of the month. The promotional code to take advantage of this offer is LVL11, which is used when you check out. Now before any of you comment and point this out, let me just say...ordering directly from the publisher is kind of like taking your car to the dealership...it can be a bit more expensive. There are cheaper deals available online (isn't there always) but with the Wiley discount, the prices are comparable. I'm just shocked the author and publisher contacted an average Joe like me, so I appreciate the gesture of their offer.

Whether you're interested in the book or not, you should still check out the website - there are a few excerpts (in the form of .pdf files) including Chapter 1 and the Table of Contents. It will give you an idea whether you might find the book as captivating as I do. I'll tell ya, after standing in Borders and flipping through Chapter 1, I was hooked and had to have the book. I bought it shortly thereafter.

Okay, so this isn't just a blog trying to sell you a book. Although I'm sure the author and publisher would be thankful if you chose to buy it, heh heh.

After I heard from Scott Rogers, I tried finding out a little bit more about him and stumbled across his website. One of the first things I noticed was his book signing at the recent Game Developers Conference (GDC).  The other thing I noticed was the official Level Up t-shirt. Sweet! I love t-shirts like this - video game related but kind of obscure. The shirt features some of Scott's doodles. Who knows, maybe a future blog will show me wearing one of these, heh heh.

Speaking of doodles, there was a blog posted at Scott Roger's website titled, "Catch the Doodle Bug" - a blog that discusses the rough sketches that often precede the real no kidding artwork that goes into video game development. He includes a link to Tumblr to showcase some of these diamonds in the rough. Visit his site to read the post and get the link to the Tumblr article.

The last item I'll mention about Scott Roger's website was a piece he posted on February 04, 2011 titled, "The Game Designer's Manifesto".

I've been recently interviewing lots of game designers and one of my questions is "what is your game design philosophy?" I figured if I asked a question like this, I'd better have one for myself ... and it turns out I do. I rediscovered my "Game Designer's Manifesto" in an old notebook and have transcribed it here for you. -Scott Rogers

He provides 12 data points in his manifesto, and I find it interesting to read the thoughts of someone in the business that I want to be in. Points to strive for and work towards. Absolutely. Read it here.

Overall, I don't know what else to say. After three episodes of "From Player to Professional - My Quest to Work in the Video Game Industry" I couldn't be more pleased. Part of me wonders how Scott Rogers, author and video game developer, even stumbled across my blog, but you just never know what opportunities will come your way with a little hard work and focus.