Best Books on Game Design

22 books on the list
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Jesse Schell takes an unusual approach to game design, an approach that focuses neither on the technological details of game development nor on the analysis of popular games. Instead, the book will propose that the most important skill for a game designer is not creativity as most suppose, but that of listening. The five kinds of listening (team, c...
Appears in 10 articles
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Ryan HooverGame Design Workshop
A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games, Fourth Edition
Goodreads Rating
Game Design Workshop is a truly great book, and has become, in my opinion, the de facto standard text for beginner- to intermediate-level game design education. This updated new edition is extremely relevant, useful and inspiring to all kinds of game designers. -- Richard Lemarchand, Interactive Media & Games Division, School of Cinematic Arts, Un...
Appears in 8 articles
Theory of Fun for Game Design
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Now in full color, the 10th anniversary edition of this classic book packs more insight into what it means to design games for fun. Theory of Fun for Game Design challenges and inspires game designers as well as game enthusiasts looking for products and experiences that are truly fun and entertaining.The book discusses the impact of designing in a ...
Appears in 8 articles
Game Feel exposes feel as a hidden language in game design that no one has fully articulated yet. The language could be compared to the building blocks of music (time signatures, chord progressions, verse)—no matter the instruments, style or time period—these building blocks come into play. Feel and sensation are similar building blocks where game ...
Appears in 7 articles
Design and build cutting-edge video games with help from video game expert Scott Rogers! If you want to design and build cutting-edge video games but aren't sure where to start, then this is the book for you. Written by leading video game expert Scott Rogers, who has designed the hits Pac Man World, Maxim vs. Army of Zin, and SpongeBob Squarepants,...
Appears in 5 articles
Game Engine Architecture
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Hailed as a "must-have textbook" (CHOICE, January 2010), the first edition of Game Engine Architecture provided readers with a complete guide to the theory and practice of game engine software development. Updating the content to match today s landscape of game engine architecture, this second edition continues to thoroughly cover the major compone...
Appears in 3 articles
The Gamification of Learning and Instruction
Game-based Methods and Strategies for Training and Education
Goodreads Rating
Praise for The Gamification of Learning and Instruction"Kapp argues convincingly that gamification is not just about adding points, levels and badges to an eLearning program, but about fundamentally rethinking learning design. He has put together a brilliant primer for learning professionals on how to gamify learning, packed with useful advice and ...
Appears in 3 articles
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's famous investigations of "optimal experience" have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called flow. During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life. In this new edition of his groundbreaking classic work,...
Appears in 2 articles
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Pavel DurovGame Programming Patterns
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Game Programming Patterns brings the benefits of reusable design patterns to the world of game programming. Commercial game development expert Robert Nystrom presents an array of general solutions to problems encountered in game development. For example, you'll learn how double-buffering enables a player to perceive smooth and realistic motion, and...
Appears in 2 articles
Real-Time Rendering, Third Edition
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Thoroughly revised, this third edition focuses on modern techniques used to generate synthetic three-dimensional images in a fraction of a second. With the advent of programmable shaders, a wide variety of new algorithms have arisen and evolved over the past few years. This edition discusses current, practical rendering methods used in games and ot...
Appears in 2 articles
Programming Game AI by Example
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Programming Game AI by Example provides a comprehensive and practical introduction to the "bread and butter" AI techniques used by the game development industry, leading the reader through the process of designing, programming, and implementing intelligent agents for action games using the C++ programming language. Techniques covered include state-...
Appears in 2 articles
Kobold Guide to Board Game Design by Mike Selinker
Challenges for Games Designers by Ms Brenda L Brathwaite
Video Game Storytelling by Evan Skolnick
Agile Game Development with SCRUM by Clinton Keith Keith
Challenges for Game Designers by Brenda Brathwaite
Rules of Play by Katie Salen Tekinbas
Reality Is Broken by Jane McGonigal
Eurogames by Stewart Woods
Characteristics of Games by George Skaff Elias
The Game Inventor's Guidebook by Brian Tinsman
Game Design by Lewis Pulsipher