In case you failed to parse the title correctly, Pooya Soltani’s Research Methods and Project Management in Games is an excellent, in-depth primer not on research methods in games and project management in games, but on the methods and the (personal) management of research projects in and around games. It’s full of topics I regularly, sometimes desperately, try to communicate, and it’s a great resource for more academically inclined and ambitious students.
However, a few quibbles I have, how could it be otherwise.
Some sections are at once too detailed and not detailed enough, like listings of apps and platforms most of which will be obsolete fast and then radiate, after a few years, a feeling of outdatedness the book doesn’t deserve. Likewise, I don’t think it’s making good use of everyone’s time by listing a selection of APA rules that, in the real world, will never suffice, instead of recommending a good, comprehensive reference. The same is true, and exponentially so, for “engineering” prompts.
Which brings me to my second quibble: the recommendations on generative AI use, which I find outright horrifying. Yet, I have colleagues, even friends, whose recommendations follow a similar trajectory, so your mileage may vary.
Finally, I think the audience addressed by this book is way too broad. According to its blurb:
This book is suitable for undergraduate students in game design, art, programming, and related disciplines, as well as graduate students pursuing advanced studies in game development, creative technology, and project management. It is also a valuable resource for professionals in the games industry and other creative sectors who are interested in interdisciplinary research and practice.
These are a lot of different audiences with different needs. The book’s tonality, alas, remains the same throughout—as if it were the same reader who is at once in need of learning to differentiate between research topic and research question or how to declutter their desk and how to conduct a Chi-square test or use factorial analysis. This, usually, is a surefire recipe to leave one part of the audience behind and come across as patronizing to the other.
These quibbles notwithstanding, it’s an excellent book that I gladly recommend!
Soltani, Pooya. Research Methods and Project Management in Games. CRC Press, 2026.