As the woman who trained the great Best Mate to win three consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cups, no one could be better qualified than Henrietta Knight to discover what makes today's top jumps trainers succeed. From eccentric, outspoken Yorkshireman Mick Easterby, to elegant, aristocratic Venetia Williams, from Irish wizard, Willie Mullins, to perfectionist champion trainer, Paul Nicholls and young pretender, Dan Skelton, here is a dazzling cast of extraordinary characters, all with their quirks and foibles, but with one single-minded ambition – finding first-class horses and training them to win big races. Henrietta shares their dramatic journeys, methods and secrets of working in a tough, competitive industry. For the trainers, every win reignites the thrill of the sport and a craving for success that never dies. Their stories are fascinating, each one illustrated with unique photographs from private albums.

Barbi lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband and a few cats. Her writing interests include poetry, fi ctional fantasy for young people, and short story picture books prompted by experiences with her grandchildren.

Design accessible and creative games across genres, platforms, and development realities Key Features Implement the skills and techniques required to work in a professional studio Ace the core principles and processes of level design, world building, and storytelling Design interactive characters that animate the gaming world Book Description If you are looking for an up-to-date and highly applicable guide to game design, then you have come to the right place! Immerse yourself in the fundamentals of game design with this book, written by two highly experienced industry professionals to share their profound insights as well as give valuable advice on creating games across genres and development platforms. Practical Game Design covers the basics of game design one piece at a time. Starting with learning how to conceptualize a game idea and present it to the development team, you will gradually move on to devising a design plan for the whole project and adapting solutions from other games. You will also discover how to produce original game mechanics without relying on existing reference material, and test and eliminate anticipated design risks. You will then design elements that compose the playtime of a game, followed by making game mechanics, content, and interface accessible to all players. You will also find out how to simultaneously ensure that the gameplay mechanics and content are working as intended. As the book reaches its final chapters, you will learn to wrap up a game ahead of its release date, work through the different challenges of designing free-to-play games, and understand how to significantly improve their quality through iteration, polishing and playtesting. What you will learn Define the scope and structure of a game project Conceptualize a game idea and present it to others Design gameplay systems and communicate them clearly and thoroughly Build and validate engaging game mechanics Design successful business models and prepare your games for live operations Master the principles behind level design, worldbuilding and storytelling Improve the quality of a game by playtesting and polishing it Who this book is for Whether you are a student eager to design a game or a junior game designer looking for your first role as a professional, this book will help you with the fundamentals of game design. By focusing on best practices and a pragmatic approach, Practical Game Design provides insights into the arts and crafts from two senior game designers that will interest more seasoned professionals in the game industry.

The Barber brothers know their way around a football field—but can they succeed on the basketball court? Find out in this slam dunk with “lively basketball action and life lessons aplenty (Kirkus Reviews)” from NFL superstars and bestselling authors Tiki and Ronde Barber. As Tiki and Ronde count the days until the start of football season, the basketball coach approaches them looking for new recruits, and Tiki and Ronde sign on. While Hidden Valley Junior High has always been a powerhouse in football, the school has never done as well in basketball. Ronde is a good passer, but he needs Tiki to get free to sink his shots. Tiki doesn’t feel the inner confidence he felt on the football field: it’s one thing to play in the driveway, but it’s another to sink one on the court, when so much is on the line. The brothers need a winning attitude—and they need to bring everyone together to win. That is their only way to victory. Can they do it?

Learn all about basketball in this fascinating, nonfiction Level 2 Ready-to-Read, part of a new series that gives fans an insider look at their favorite sports! This book is perfect for young, sports-obsessed fans who, in addition to watching and playing sports, crave the kind of expert knowledge that only an insider would know. It’s game day, and a basketball referee arrives at the arena where he works. There’s a championship on the line, and he is excited. He visits the players’ locker rooms where the players are getting prepared mentally (learning about their opponents, and their own plays) and physically (stretching and getting taped up). He watches the teams warm up with a series of practice drills with their coaches and trainers and observes the court being primed for the game. The game begins with the narrator tossing up the jump ball at center court. Game on… A special section in the back of the book is chock-full of even more facts about the game and its storied history and players. It is custom-made for the fan who absorbs all things basketball!

Keep all students in your physical education program moving, learning, and on their toes--even when you're teaching very large classes. This ready-to-use guide is packed with 6 units, 70 games, 15 hints, and 39 special game variations for teaching even the largest of classes. If you are looking for fresh ways to teach children ages 4 to 11 basic fitness concepts, movement skills, and games that emphasize creative thinking and cooperation, No Standing Around in My Gym is for you. It's an incredible source of ideas and solutions to help you - increase the time students are active in class, - minimize discipline problems, - develop healthy attitudes that lead to a lifetime of activity, - save valuable lesson preparation time, and - keep students motivated and challenged. The book provides complete descriptions, nearly 200 illustrations, and proven plans to make the units and games easy to teach. It's the ideal resource for busy teachers with little time in the day to think of new ideas or develop lesson plans from scratch. The author shares a wealth of innovative ways to motivate kids, make classes more enjoyable, create an atmosphere for learning, manage classes, and maximize parental involvement to improve outcomes. Readers also will appreciate the suggestions for communicating with parents, administrators, and the public using brochures, web sites, videos, and newsletters. With this collection of invigorating, fun and gym-tested activities, you'll be able to motivate, engage, and intrigue students in large or small classes for years to come.

A project based guides to learn animation, advanced shaders, environments, particle rendering, and networked games with Godot 3.0 Key Features Learn the art of developing cross-platform games Leverage Godot’s node and scene system to design robust, reusable game objects Integrate Blender easily and efficiently with Godot to create powerful 3D games Book Description Godot Engine Game Development Projects is an introduction to the Godot game engine and its new 3.0 version. Godot 3.0 brings a large number of new features and capabilities that make it a strong alternative to expensive commercial game engines. For beginners, Godot offers a friendly way to learn game development techniques, while for experienced developers it is a powerful, customizable tool that can bring your visions to life. This book consists of five projects that will help developers achieve a sound understanding of the engine when it comes to building games. Game development is complex and involves a wide spectrum of knowledge and skills. This book can help you build on your foundation level skills by showing you how to create a number of small-scale game projects. Along the way, you will learn how Godot works and discover important game development techniques that you can apply to your projects. Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach and practical examples, the book will take you from the absolute basics through to sophisticated game physics, animations, and other techniques. Upon completing the final project, you will have a strong foundation for future success with Godot 3.0. What you will learn Get started with the Godot game engine and editor Organize a game project Import graphical and audio assets Use Godot’s node and scene system to design robust, reusable game objects Write code in GDScript to capture input and build complex behaviors Implement user interfaces to display information Create visual effects to spice up your game Learn techniques that you can apply to your own game projects Who this book is for Godot Engine Game Development Projects is for both new users and experienced developers, who want to learn to make games using a modern game engine. Some prior programming experience in C and C++ is recommended.