Now that the E3 crunch is behind us and that a couple of benevolent console manufacturers have lowered the prices of their wares to relatively non-exorbitant levels, we game developers find ourselves in possession of two rare commodities: a modicum of free time, and some leftover pocket change.

This, of course, means that it's time to start thinking about our light summer reading. And I've got just the right material to help you pass these lonely vacation hours, whether you spend them on the beach, in the mountains, or (like I did) chained to the porcelain throne and losing five pounds a day to various "mild" intestinal disorders.

Now, since I'm a loyal friend, I will suggest books that will help you deal with the two certainties of game development life: depression and layoffs. But since I'm not that loyal, let me first point out that my most excellent book Game Design Perspectives should be out in stores by the time you read this, and that it is the only one of those I will mention this month that you have an outside chance of being able to sneak into your company expense account. So go buy it, already.

Some weeks ago, a judge named Limbaugh, who non-coincidentally is related to the media windbag of the same name, spewed out yet another piece of ill-informed diatribe against the game industry. This reminded me of a delightful book called Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot, by comedian and political commentator Al Franken, which you should definitely read if you can get your hands on it. Serendipitously, Franken released another book mere days later; this one, called Oh, The Things I Know!, is even better.

This is the advice book for people who don't need that much advice, and as such it fills an important niche in the publishing market. At the very least, it takes precious shelf space away from the hordes of psychiatrists, social scientists and religious nutcases who claim that the daily catastrophes befalling us are somehow more grievous than the trifles that happen in unimportant places like Bosnia and the Middle East.

Here are a few of the clichés that Franken turns on their ears:

You get the picture. However, in between chapters like "Oh, The Mistakes You'll Keep Repeating" and "Oh, What Doesn't Kill You Can Have Lingering Aftereffects," Franken also slips a couple of real pearls of wisdom in there while nobody is looking. For example, when reminiscing about his father and the hours they spent watching comedy on television together instead of going white-water rafting or hiking in the mountains like we're told we should, he quips that 'quantity time is quality time.' And he also points out that people should try to be happy with what they have. ("Why? Because you actually have it.")

Of course, lest you actually start considering patterning your life after the advice given out in a comedy book, he then reminds us that "the universally effective method for dealing with a credit-stealing boss is to do inferior work," and that you should cultivate useful relationships by sending frequent personal notes, especially to people you can blackmail. Oh well, can't win them all. (Although I wonder...)

Bottom line: BUY THIS BOOK. You can read through it in one sitting, but it's the kind of little gem that you'll want to keep coming back to time and time again.

However, if you do need advice, especially with problems at work, here is a source you should definitely consider: Working Wounded, by columnist Bob Rosner. This one suggests ways to deal with a slew of complicated workplace situations, from sexual harassment to career planning, and from dealing with strange coworkers to surviving layoffs relatively unscathed whether you are the one getting the boot or not.

Most interesting of all, the advice is practical, simple, and (because it was originally published in column form) straight to the point. No excess verbiage anywhere. For example, here is a sobering quote for would-be producers:

"... by the time we've made it into management, we've bought into the greatest charade of all: the notion that managers are in control. [...] The only thing you're in control of is your schedule (and sometimes not even that)! The employees (whom you thought you would control) have got you over a barrel because they're the ones who do the work that you get held accountable for!"

Rosner then goes on to describe, in a handful of bullet points, the soundest theory of management that I have ever seen anywhere (including in 30 credits of graduate business school):

Finally, as if this wealth of useful information were insufficient, the book also contains a number of astounding "true stories," including the one about the boss who submitted his employees to a lie detector test on a regular basis - and asked them questions about whether they found him sexually attractive. (There are a couple of much-hated former employers to whom I wanted to send apologetic notes and flowers after reading that one.)

Now, this book is a bit dry at times, and not all of its content will apply to your circumstances. Don't let that make you miss out on its wealth of advice: Rosner seems to have read every book on business management ever published, and more than a few in other fields as well. For every question, he can come up with well-documented answers. Bottom line: Read this book once, and keep it handy - it may help you many times down the line.

..., let me remind you that the call for contributions for my next book, Secrets of the Game Business, has been released; if you want to write an article or be interviewed, let me know before June 10th -- http://pages.infinit.net/idjy

That's it for now; enjoy the summer, and I'll see you in August!

BIO
If you aren't really tired of FDL by now, don't say so in public unless you are looking for a serious beating. He's been the bane of the game industry for over 10 years, during which he cajoled and threatened his way into over 20 credits as designer, producer, programmer and writer. For some reason, magazine and book editors seem to like him; his Game Design Perspectives are available now from Charles River Media, and another tome called Secrets of the Game Business will be released by the same publishing house at GDC 2003. With the dozens of articles he has contributed to other industry publications and the roundtables he hosts at GDC every year, it is getting really hard to avoid him these days. But there is hope; FDL has been freelancing for 5 years, so we expect him to starve to death any day now. Visit his mediocre web site, http://pages.infinit.net/idjy, at your own risk.