Hank Kauffman

Game Programmer and Friend

Hank's Favorite Books

This fantastic map sparked my journey in game development. Each chapter ends with recommendations for other marvelous books.

C.S. Lewis' best work. I try to carry its meaning with me.

I read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest once, but it feels as if I have read it many times and that I continue to read it.

Although a short story, it was a difficult read that has made me think about responsibility and what it means to fully exist. 

A lot probably went over my head!

 :)

Understand Comics: The Invisible Art made clear the complicated nature between language, visual art, and story in an engaging comic book format.

Through fun explanations and illustrations, Raph Koster convinced me that having fun and learning go hand-in-hand. A good teacher is a good game designer.

Uninterrupted concentration and meditation became much more valued tools in my tool box hereafter reading this one.

This book gave me a lot of traction after I had been spinning my wheels for a long while. Providing excellent goal posts and outlined obstacles, Nystrom's book has made the programming process a great deal more enjoyable.

A book I will constantly return to in pursuit of being less bad at writing, this has given me incredible insight to the factors that build a solid narrative.

Here, games were pulled apart in a far more scientific way than I had seen prior. The book places thoroughly informative signs around the areas that make or break games.