2005, 491 p. Games are an integral part of all known human cultures. Digital games, in all their various formats and genres, are just a new expression of this ancient method of social interaction. Creating a good game, as noted in the Jung quote above, is a challenging task, one that requires a playful approach but a systematic solution. Part engineer, part entertainer, part mathe- matician, and part social director, the role of the game designer is to craa a set of rules within which there are means and motivation to play. Whether we are talking about folk games, board games, arcade games, or massively multiplayer online games, the art of game design has always been to create that elusive combination of challenge, competition, and interaction that players just call fun.
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2nd edition. New Riders, 2009. 700 p. ISBN10: 0321643372; ISBN13: 978-0321643377; To create a great video game, you must start with a solid game design: A well-designed game is easier to build, more entertaining, and has a better chance of succeeding in the marketplace. Here to teach you the essential skills of player-centric game design is one of the industry’s leading...
New Riders, 2012, ISBN: 0321820274, 360 p. This in-depth resource teaches you to craft mechanics that generate challenging, enjoyable, and well-balanced gameplay. You’ll discover at what stages to prototype, test, and implement mechanics in games and learn how to visualize and simulate game mechanics in order to design better games. Along the way, you’ll practice what you’ve...
Paraglyph Press, 2004. - 256 p. ISBN13: 978-1932111972 A Theory of Fun for Game Design is not your typical how-to book. It features a novel way of teaching interactive designers how to create and improve their designs to incorporate the highest degree of fun. As the book shows, designing for fun is all about making interactive products like games highly entertaining, engaging,...
CRC Press, 2011. — 400 p. Basics of Game Design is for anyone wanting to become a professional game designer. Focusing on creating the game mechanics for data-driven games, it covers role-playing, real-time strategy, first-person shooter, simulation, and other games. Written by a 25-year veteran of the game industry, the guide offers detailed explanations of how to design the...
The MIT Press Cambridge, 2004. — 694 p. This book is about games, all kinds of games: paper-based strategy games and first person shooters, classical board games and glitzy gambling games; math puzzles and professional sports; austere text adventures and giggly teenage party games. This book links these diverse play activities within a common framework - a framework based in...
Morgan Kaufmann, 2008. — 512 p. Anyone can master the fundamentals of game design no technological expertise is necessary. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses shows that the same basic principles of psychology that work for board games, card games and athletic games also are the keys to making top-quality videogames. Good game design happens when you view your game from...