Casual Game Design : Designing Play for the Gamer in ALL of Us

When I saw this book I wondered how someone could write a whole book on casual game design. I mean, we all play games--we know how games work. Beyond that, don't you just need a moment of creativity and then you put it together and you have a new game? You can't learn to be creative by reading a book, right? So out of sheer curiosity, I got the book. Turns out, it was an interesting read... well, at least the first 1/2. Not that the 2nd 1/2 was bad--don't get me wrong, but the most interesting stuff was at the beginning. The last sections seemed to get a little bogged down going through all sorts of examples of actual games which, I'm sure I would have appreciated more if I was actually trying to develop a new game and not just reading about game development from an academic standpoint. Throughout the book, the author talks about why we play games, what we like about them, and what sorts of things turn us on or off toward playing a certain game. Not only does this apply to the actual mechanics of the game itself, but he also teaches us what sorts of things to avoid in things like the written rules and other aspects of the game. I'll be honest, I didn't realize there was so much to games. As the author points out, we tend to take most games for granted--they have been around for so long, it's hard to imagine life without them. An example he gives is tag. Tag is a game that every child seems to know, and yet it has a set of rules and these rules are dynamic and changeable within the constraints of the group playing it (which is how we get house rules). I think this book is best suited for the budding game developer who likes to make up games as a hobby. I'm inclined to think that a professional game developer will probably already know a lot of the material in the book... but maybe he/she will have something to gain from it, I don't know--that's not my field. For the rest of the population, this is a great book to get from a library (if you can find it) but once you've read it, I doubt you'll want to come back and read it again. Still, it is an interesting journey into your own mind to see how you think and what you consider fun--something you already know but only subconsciously. Computers used to be for geeks. And geeks were fine with dealing with a difficult and finicky interface--they liked this--it was even a sort of badge of honor (e.g. the Unix geeks). But making the interface really intuitive and useful--think about the first Macintosh computers--took computers far far beyond the geek crowd. The Mac made HCI (human computer interaction) and usability very popular topics in the productivity software industry. Suddenly a new kind of experience was crucial to the success of software - the user experience. Now, 20 years later, developers are applying and extending these ideas to games. Game companies are now trying to take games beyond the 'hardcore' gamer market--the people who love challenge and are happy to master a complicated or highly genre-constrained interface. Right about now (with the growth of interest in casual games) game companies are truly realizing that usability matters, particularly to mainstream audiences. If it's not seamless and easy to use and engaging, players will just not stay to get to the 'good stuff'. By definition, usability is the ease with which people can emplo a particular tool in order to achieve a particular goal. Usability refers to a computer program's efficiency or elegance. This book gives game designers a better understanding of how player characteristics impact usability strategy, and offers specific methods and measures to employ in game usability practice. The book also includes practical advice on how to include usability in already tight development timelines, and how to advocate for usability and communicate results to higher-ups effectively. 1. AUTHORITATIVE: The book brings together the foremost experts in game usability, including great minds from Microsoft, Maxis, Sega, Ubisoft, Sony Online, Nintendo). 2. PRACTICAL: The book gives readers instantly applicable theory and tactics for designing game usability methods to improve and enhance games. Designers can pick methods to suit their needs (example Lazarro's 4 Fun Keys theory to help organize designer decisions.) 3. INSPIRING NEW TECHNIQUES: Contributors are at the vanguard of using physiological techniques (like measuring heart rate, tiny muscle movements, and so forth in players as they play) to measure success and game play experience - cutting-edge, future-facing techniques. 4. CAREER-ENHANCING: Suggestions included on selling usability to managers, and how best to report results Games are poised for a major evolution, driven by growth in technical sophistication and audience reach. Characters that create powerful social and emotional connections with players throughout the game-play itself (not just in cut scenes) will be essential to next-generation games. However, the principles of sophisticated character design and interaction are not widely understood within the game development community. Further complicating the situation are powerful gender and cultural issues that can influence perception of characters. Katherine Isbister has spent the last 10 years examining what makes interactions with computer characters useful and engaging to different audiences. This work has revealed that the key to good design is leveraging player psychology: understanding what's memorable, exciting, and useful to a person about real-life social interactions, and applying those insights to character design. Game designers who create great characters often make use of these psychological principles without realizing it. Better Game Characters by Design gives game design professionals and other interactive media designers a framework for understanding how social roles and perceptions affect players' reactions to characters, helping produce stronger designs and better results. * Includes extensive illustrations, game examples, interviews with game designers, and clips from popular games on the DVD to illustrate concepts and best practices * Uses a non-technical approach appropriate for artists and designers as well as developers * Introduces and explains key concepts from psychology and social science, including cultural and gender specific roles and perceptions, and includes design exercises to explore ideas further 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 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. "Games are poised for a major evolution, driven by growth in technical sophistication and audience reach. Characters that create powerful social and emotional connections with players throughout the game-play itself (not just in cut scenes) will be essential to next-generation games. However, the principles of sophisticated character design and interaction are not widely understood within the game development community. Further complicating the situation are powerful gender and cultural issues that can influence perception of characters. Katherine Isbister has spent the last 10 years examining what makes interactions with computer characters useful and engaging to different audiences. This work has revealed that the key to good design is leveraging player psychology: understanding what's memorable, exciting, and useful to a person about real-life social interactions, and applying those insights to character design. Game designers who create great characters often make use of these psychological principles without realizing it. Better Game Characters by Design gives game design professionals and other interactive media designers a framework for understanding how social roles and perceptions affect players' reactions to characters, helping produce stronger designs and better results." -- Publisher description. From Windows Solitaire to Bejeweled to Wii Tennis, casual games have radically changed the landscape of games. By simplifying gameplay and providing quick but intense blasts of engaging play, casual games have drawn in huge new audiences of players. To entertain and engage the casual player, game designers must learn to think about what makes casual games work, from game mechanics to narrative content. Through the close examination of a number of casual games, you will learn how to inject the necessary game design elements into your casual games and give your designs the complexity and strategy they need to hook gamers. You will learn: * Analyzing and dissecting the mechanics that make a game engaging * How to look for game design inspiration in everything from games to playful activities * Stripping down game ideas to the core element of fun and build from there * Combining established mechanics into entirely new games *Endorsed by the IGDA - The International Game Developer's Association Review: "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."--BOOK JACKET Master the craft of game design so you can create that elusive combination of challenge, competition, and interaction that players seek. This design workshop begins with an examination of the fundamental elements of game design; then puts you to work in prototyping, playtesting and redesigning your own games with exercises that teach essential design skills. Workshop exercises require no background in programming or artwork, releasing you from the intricacies of electronic game production, so you can develop a working understanding of the essentials of game design. Features: * A design methodology used in the USC Interactive Media program, a cutting edge program funded in part of Electronic Arts. * Hands-on exercises demonstrate key concepts, and the design methodology * Insights from top industry game designers, including Noah Falstein, American McGee, Peter Molyneux Good game design happens when you view your game from as many perspectives as possible. Written by one of the world's top game designers, The Art of Game Design presents 100+ sets of questions, or different lenses, for viewing a games design, encompassing diverse fields such as psychology, architecture, music, visual design, film, software engineering, theme park design, mathematics, puzzle design, and anthropology. This Second Edition of a Game Developer Front Line Award winner: The Art of Game Design, Second Edition gives readers useful perspectives on how to make better game designs faster. It provides practical instruction on creating world-class games that will be played again and again. As experienced teachers of novice game designers, the authors have discovered patterns in the way that students grasp game design — the mistakes they make as well as the methods to help them to create better games. Each exercise requires no background in programming or artwork, releasing beginning designers from the intricacies of electronic game production and allowing them to learn what works and what doesn't work in a game system. Additionally, these exercises teach important skills in system design: the processes of prototyping, playtesting, and redesigning. "Usability - the ease with which people can use a program to achieve their goals - is a topic of growing interest to game developers. Until now, no comprehensive survey of usability and user research issues and tactics specific to games has been available. Game Usability includes introductions to basic and advanced methods, and advice for evangelizing usability within game studios and publishing houses."--Jacket "Tracy Fullerton demystifies the creative process with clear and accessible analysis of the formal and dramatic systems of game design. Using examples of popular games, illustrations of design techniques, and refined exercises to strengthen your understanding of how game systems function and give you the skills and tools necessary to create a compelling and engaging game."--[book cover] Now fully updated, this design workshop examines the fundamental elements of game design; then puts readers to work in prototyping, playtesting, and redesigning their own games with exercises that teach essential design skills. There's a gamer in everyone, if you just give them the right game. Casual games are about finding the gamer in everyone - grandmas included! Let Greg Trefry (professional hit game designer) share design secrets with you. Casual games are about finding the gamer in everyone, Grandma included! Leg Greg Trefry share secrets for designing casual gamres and iPhone games