About the Book
Video Game Design is a visual introduction to integrating core design essentials, such as critical analysis, mechanics and aesthetics, prototyping, level design, into game design.
Using a raft of examples from a diverse range of leading international creatives and award-winning studios, this is a must-have guide for budding game designers. Industry perspectives from game industry professionals provide fascinating insights into this creative field, and each chapter concludes with a workshop project to help you put what you've learnt into practice to plan and develop your own games.
With over 200 images from some of the best-selling, most creative games of the last 30 years, this is an essential introduction to industry practice, helping readers develop practical skills for video game creation. This book is for those seeking a career making video games as part of a studio, small team or as an independent creator. It will guide you from understanding how games engage, entertain and communicate with their audience and take you on a journey as a designer towards creating your own video game experiences.
Interviewees include:
James Portnow, CEO at Rainmaker Games
Brandon Sheffield, Gamasutra.com/Game Developer magazine
Steve Gaynor, co-founder The Fullbright Company (Gone Home)
Kate Craig, Environment Artist. The Fullbright Company (Gone Home)
Adam Saltsman, creator of Canabalt & Gravity Hook
Jake Elliott & Tamas Kemenczy, Cardboard Computer (Kentucky Route Zero)
Tyson Steele, User Interface Designer, Epic Games
Tom Francis, Game Designer, Gunpoint & Floating Point
Kareem Ettouney, Art Director, Media Molecule. Little Big Planet 1 & 2, Tearaway.
Kenneth Young, Head of Audio, Media Molecule
Rex Crowle, Creative Lead, Media Molecule
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Defining Games; What Do We Mean When We Say 'Game'?; Games Have Rules and Mechanics; Ludology; Games Have Always Been With Us; the Rhetorics of Play; Game Culture; Defining Culture; Beginning the Quest; Interview Adam Saltsman, Game Maker (Gravity Hook, Canabalt); Case Study: Cababalt
Chapter 2: World Building (Mechanics, Rules & Behaviors); When You Build a Game, You Construct a Universe; Games, Rules and Mechanics; The Building Blocks of Game Design ; The Field of Play; Game Mechanics, an Overview; Player Numbers as Mechanic; Rules of Play; Video Game Rule Taxonomy; Objects and Concepts; Restricting Actions; Circumstantial Effect; Outcomes of Play; Objectives of Play (Goals); Player Resources; Conflict (Resources); Case Study Kentucky Route Zero, Cardboard Computer
Chapter 3: Video game Analysis; Thinking Like a Game Designer; Understanding Bias; Recognising Bias; Starting the Analysis Process; Bias Informs the Mechanic (Cognitive Bias; Priming, Anchoring, Availability); First Order Optimal Strategies; Game Consistency; Becoming a Designer/Player; The Rollercoaster Experience; Interview James Portnow Ceo, Rainmaker Games/Director, Games for Good
Chapter 4: Understanding the Motivations for Play; Bartle's Taxonomy of Play; The Big Five; Personality Traits & Video Game Players; Personality Traits of Players; Translating the OCEAN Model to Game Design; Correlating the Player Models; Patterns of Play; Designing an Experience; Interest Curves; Pacing; Pacing Is Important In Establishing Tone; Pacing: Arc, Scene and Action; A Quick Word on Tutorials and On-Boarding; Interview: Brandon Sheffield Director, Necrosoft Games
Chapter 5: The Formal Game Design Concepts; Video Games Are Event-Driven Experiences; Experiences Come From Emotions; Where Do Emotions Come From?; Identify the Emotion; Emotions Triggered Through the Game's Mechanic; Flow; Getting Into the Zone; Emotions Transmitted Through Story; Emotions Transmitted Through the World; Emotional Experiences; Case Study: Gone Home, Steve Gaynor Co-Founder the Fullbright Company
Chapter 6: The Preparation Phase; Lack of Experience; Models for Planning; Planning and Iteration; Iteration; Paper Prototype Phase; Fixing on the Game's Visuals; There Are No Crystal Balls; The Three Cs: Character Design, Camera Design and Control Design; Play-Testing the Game (Prototype) ; Leave the Ego Outside and Observe; Try Not to Fixate on the Negatives; Audience; Getting What You Need; Common Play-Testing Questions; Early Access as Play-Testing; Interview: Kate Craig, Environment Artist, the Fullbright Company
Chapter 7: The Principles of Level Design; Concept Art and Sketches; Creating an Emotional Aesthetic; Level Design Is Storytelling; Planning the Level; Listing the Level Components; Birds Eye View and Environment Flow; The Player Path; Lines of Sight and Paths; Limiting Lines of Sight; Building on Differences; Case Study: Gunpoint
Chapter 8: Principles of Level Design Part 2; Invisible Boundaries; Occlusion Culling, Overdraw and Frustum Culling; Bounding the Level; Scale Is Important; Sizing and Field of View; Wayfinding Systems; Modular Models and Textures; Texture Sheets; The Texture Atlas; Silhouette Environment Design; The Principles of Silhouette Design:; Choke Points and Strong Points; Looking Back Is Important; Interview: Creating Games at Media Molecule Kareem Ettouney, Art Director Rex Crowle, Creative Lead
Chapter 9: Character Design; What Is a Character?; The Building Blocks of Character Design; Personality and Personification; Characters That Serve a Purpose; What Is In a Name?; Stereotypes: Uses and Misuses; Building the Character ; Generic Characters Vs Stand-Out Characters; Making the Character 'Real'; Non-Player Characters and Relationship Maps; Further Defining the Character Aesthetic Using Mood Boards and Model Sheets; Conclusion: Game Characters Come In All Shapes and Sizes
Chapter 10: Getting Them to Play, Keeping Them Playing; Tutorials, On-Boarding and Rewards; Tutorial Design, Easing the Player In; Unconventional Controls; Win Early, Win Often; On-Boarding; On-Boarding Methods; Rewarding the Player; Designing Rewards; Intrinsic and Extrinsic Rewards; Motivating By Design; Conclusion Engagement and Rewards Are Unique to Games; Interview Kenneth Young Head of Audio Media Molecule
Chapter 11: Interface Design and Audio Design; Constrained Choices, How to Think About Interfaces; Pick a Path, Designing Constraints; Interface Design; Invisibility and Feedback; Interface Design Schemes; Interfaces Are Communication; Interface Types; Non-Diegetic; Meta; Spatial; Mapping and Modes; Interface Overload; Audio Design, a Brief Overview; Sound as Manipulation; Designing Sounds That Do Not Exist; Audio for Atmosphere; Conclusion: Interfaces and Audio Complete the Prototype; Interview Tyson Steele, User Interface Artist, Epic Games
Chapter 12 Where Next? ; Ethics, Inclusion and Monetization; Ethics and Gaming; Games Are Transformative; Inclusion; Inclusion and Doubt; Be Wary of Hubris; Be Wary of Negative Stereotypes; Game Violence; Copyright and Intellectual Property; Personal Responsibility; Monetization
Conclusion: Thanks for Playing; Technical Resources; Industry Standard Software for Non-Programmers; Tools for Programmers (On a Budget); Open Source (Free) Tools and Communities; Overview of Common Industry Terms; Further Reading; Glossary; Index; Acknowledgements
About the Author :
Michael Salmond, Digital Media Design, Florida Gulf Coast University, USA. Michael is a digital interaction designer, video game artist and digital theorist. His work has been exhibited and published nationally, internationally and online. He has been teaching video game design and interaction design for over ten years in the UK and the USA. He is the co-author of The Fundamentals of Interactive Design (2013).
Review :
Offers readers a much more comprehensive view of the industry than other books of its kind. Practical game making information, analytic methods, and academic concepts are combined to give game designers a rich toolset for their own work.
An excellent, comprehensive book that successfully covers all areas of game design and development. It uses a good range of sources and a variety of styles and contexts. Easy to access and dip into. It's an ideal and thorough introduction to game design.
Offers a complete breakdown of the process, context and application of how to make a game based on insightful information from a variety of studios at the cutting edge of game development.
For anyone new to the subject area they will be under no illusion as to the depth of complexity and skill levels required to produce a video game for today's market place. From initial concept ideas and pre-production all the way to investment and management, the book goes to great lengths to cover all areas with as much clarity and precise, relevant information as possible. It is one of the best books available on the subject.
From games we play as kids in the schoolyard to video games we play as adults this well-designed book examines and explains the rules and mechanics that make them historically relevant for us humans. From the conceptual to the technical, dedicated chapters to every aspect of game design will help you understand the structure, depth and complexity of one of the most pervasive storytelling activities of our time.
Aided by interviews with game makers, exercises and examples demonstrate how fluidity in a game arises from planning, execution and reiteration. But as the author states, and I could not agree more, “If you want to make games, go make games. Make games, make mistakes and learn from them.” This book helps you do just that.
Very rich in examples and exercises to develop necessary skills: a serious text for serious learners.
