Computer Adventures: The Secret Art is aimed at all who are interested in writing adventure games (and let's face it, who hasn't wished at one time that they could write a good adventure?) or people who are just interested in how a good adventure is written. As the author says, there is an art to writing a good adventure and this book is intended to teach you this art.

Gil has analysed the features of successful games and presented them in the form of a Do-It-Yourself manual. The book reveals the secrets of how to plan, how to write and how to sell computer adventure games. It guides you through all aspects of writing adventure games, from conceptualisation and collection of ideas, through to programming, testing and marketing.

The book assumes that you have played adventure games before, but it does not assume any programming knowledge - in fact the book is not machine-specific, although The Professional Adventure Writer, Quill and GAC are mentioned in it.

With chapters on how to get ideas, developing and testing your game, game-writing systems and creating non-player characters, the book seems to have nothing missing. It's well-written, with 128 pages of inspiration and reference material. If you're serious about writing an adventure, then read it: your adventure will be easier to write and will be better. An indispensable asset for the serious adventure author.