Spelunky, Derek Yu
Spelunky, Derek Yu
3 Rating(s)
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Spelunky

Author: Derek Yu

Narrator: Austin Ku

Unabridged: 4 hr 39 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/29/2025


Synopsis

When Derek Yu released Spelunky for free in 2008, his roguelike-inspired platformer took the indie game community by storm with its combination of classic platform mechanics, extreme difficulty, and random level generation. Four years later, Spelunky's HD remake went on to become PC Gamer's Game of the Year and earn perfect scores from Polygon and Eurogamer. But how is a "perfect" game made?

Spelunky is Boss Fight's first autobiographical book: the story of a game's creation as told by its creator. Using his own game as a vehicle, Derek Yu discusses such wide-ranging topics as randomization, challenge, indifferent game worlds, player feedback, development team dynamics, and what's required to actually finish a game. Grab some ropes, a mattock, and your favorite pug—this book is going to dig deep.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sjors on February 09, 2017

Read it through from beginning to end in one sitting, something I haven't done in about 15 years. Of course very much dependent on my current obsession with the game, but Yu very clearly and interestingly goes into the depths of his creative process. Hard to put down.......more

Goodreads review by Peter on March 29, 2016

Such a great read! Spelunky, if you haven't played it, is a roguelike platformer. Which means it's kinda like crossing The Legend of Zelda with Super Mario Bros. with D&D. The gimmick is that the game randomly generates the levels. Which sounds like it totally shouldn't work, but it totally does. Th......more

Goodreads review by Oliver on October 05, 2020

it's called Spelunky, what am I supposed to do, not rate it five stars?......more

Goodreads review by Mario on May 15, 2025

Leí este libro por primera vez en el 2017, siete años después lo volví a leer por qué después de siete años de recomendarlo a quien sea que mostrará interés en el desarrollo de juegos, fue una bonita sorpresa darme cuenta que muchas de las verdades que he acumulado sobre Game Design y en general sob......more

Goodreads review by failing.twice on June 27, 2025

An easy read about indie game development. From game design process to marketing, the book is full of these insights despite being so short.......more