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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 many different
perspectives, or lenses. While touring through the unusual
territory that is game design, this book gives the reader one
hundred of these lenses - one hundred sets of insightful questions
to ask yourself that will help make your game better. These lenses
are gathered from fields as diverse as psychology, architecture,
music, visual design, film, software engineering, theme park
design, mathematics, writing, puzzle design, and anthropology.
Anyone who reads this book will be inspired to become a better game
designer - and will understand how to do it.
* Jesse Schell is a highly recognizable name within the game
industry - he is the former chair of the International Game
Developer's Association, and has designed many successful games,
including Disney's award-winning Toontown Online.
* The book's design methodology was developed at Carnegie Mellon
University's Entertainment Technology Center, co-founded by Dr.
Randy Pausch of "Last Lecture" fame.
* 100 'lenses' are scattered throughout the book. These are boxed
sets of questions, each a different way of seeing a game that will
inspire the creative process.
* 500 pages of detailed, practical instruction on creating
world-class games that will be played again and again.
* Winner of Game Developer's 2008 Front Line Award in the
book category
Not just for Game DesignersReviewed by David A. Caswell, 2010-03-02
This is a very unusual book with a very fresh way of looking at
experiences of any kind. I have zero connection with formal game
design, and yet I think this book has revolutionized my awareness
of 'experience products' generally. You could use many the
principles described in the 100 'lens' described in this book to
'design' everything from jobs to organizations to dining
experiences to software UIs to vacations to relationships.
If you want to understand experiences at a whole new level then get
this book.
I often carry the '100 Lens' card deck around with me and find
myself looking at just about everything through these lenses.
5 well deserved starsReviewed by M. Silverstein, 2010-02-15
So, I'm not a professional game designer whatsoever, actually I'm
on the business/finance end of a small company. I've always had a
curiosity with game development, however, and had an idea for a
game. I asked a close friend of mine to join me in making this idea
become a reality but we weren't sure where we should start. While I
have a very basic understanding of programming (from my youth) and
how things should be structured (again very basic), we knew we
didn't want a technical book - we already had a couple software
engineers for that. What we really needed was a resource that would
help us avoid some of the typical mistakes/pitfalls that novice
designers tend to make. What would be even better is to find a book
that would give us the tools and perspective from a philosophical
vantage as well as explain 'why'.
The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses is exactly what we
needed.
This book is not technical, it doesn't get into the specific
details of how a game should be structured or coded. Rather it
explains the different facets of the design process and how they
fit together, starting with the Designer and the experience the
Designer creates. From there it flows into what makes a great game,
such as what should the interface include, how about including
puzzles, interest curves, transmedia worlds to name just a
few.
The final few chapters deal with the management and financial
pieces of the game development process, which was also very
interesting to learn about. I think the parts that I enjoyed most
were the ones about the psychology of game playing and what the
player feels during gameplay. This is really what gaming is all
about, how you feel and what the experience is while you're playing
and even after you've completed the game.
Overall, this is a very complete book and I would recommend it to
everyone who wants to really understand the process of designing
games. It was funny, after reading the book, many of the principles
explained can not only be applied to game design but to other real
world situations and interactions with others.
And just to say it, I very rarely give five stars but this book
deserves each one.
You can stop searching, this is the one to get!Reviewed by Ricky Uy, 2010-01-22
I've been a professional game developer for quite some time now,
and I have seen the number of game design books on the market
increase dramatically over the years. It can be hard for someone
new to game design to find a book that a) isn't outdated, b) has
timeless, practical advice, and c) reads so well that you're
actually entertained as you learn. The Art of Game Design does all
of these things remarkably well, so if you're searching for a book
on game design, I recommend you stop now and just pick up this
one.
In here, Schell teaches you not only how to create great games, but
great experiences. He draws upon a multitude of disciplines and
years of application to explain principles that will never be
outdated. I truly don't think anyone, whether novice or advanced,
could read this book and not come out a better designer because of
it. Reading it will spark many new ideas in your mind, and if
you're already designing a game, encourage you to look at it in
whole new ways to bring out its full potential (or make you realize
you should trash the idea altogether.)
There is also an accompanying product, The Art of Game Design: A
Deck of Lenses, which are a bunch of cards that each ask you to
look at your game from a different perspective. The book was so
good I actually got the cards, too, just to support the guy, but
you know what? They are actually incredibly helpful, and are now an
invaluable design tool that I use on all the games I create.
So just in case I haven't been totally clear: if you're interested
at all in game design, get this book now!
Inspiration / Design / ReferenceReviewed by J. Sabo, 2009-10-27
The book is written cleanly in an language that is inviting to new
comers of game design. Mr. Schell provides great stories, concepts,
and asks questions that force you to think critically about what
you're doing at any stage in your game's design. The perfect
companion while you're stuck or to let you know you're on the right
track.
Thanks!
Great perspectiveReviewed by Ian Volkwein, 2009-10-20
This book really digs down to the fundamentals of game design and reminds you to step back to look at your game often. Highly recommended.
