21st Century Game Design (Charles River Media Game Development) [Paperback]

Chris Bateman (Author), Richard Boon (Author)

Book Description

Series: Charles River Media Game Development | Publication Date: August 29, 2005

21st Century Game Design is not just a book about game design. It's an answer to two important questions: who are we designing games for and how do we do it best? Written by industry pros, the book teaches designers how to design better games from a why perspective. All good designers know the fundamentals of how to design a game, but learning to design games that really satisfy your players takes more than technical skill. To do this successfully, you need to know your intended audience and understand their needs. Throughout the book you'll learn about defining and investigating player needs. A model of play styles is then presented that was developed by applying psychological metrics to survey data and case studies. This model identifi es some of the core themes in player needs as represented by four player types-- Conqueror, Manager, Wanderer, and Participant. In addition to discussing player needs, the book also explores how games can reach wider audiences by appealing to the interests of the core gaming community, and it considers the fundamental principles of game design. Methods such as interface design, structural elements, and game world abstractions are discussed in relation to the needs of the audience. The book does not attempt to present an absolute view of the craft of game design, but rather it demonstrates how an audience model can inform the design process and take the games industry forward at a time when it is facing a schism between the games that the audience would like to play, and the games the development community would like to make. Game designers, producers, marketing executives, and anyone who wishes to understand the relationship between a game and its audience will find much to learn from 21st Century Game Design.

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Author's Reflections

Six Years On...

It's been six years since Richard Boon and I wrote 21st Century Game Design, and since then many of the claims we made which once were revolutionary are now commonplace. The idea that commercial game design requires models that help developers understand how and why people play games was still quite revolutionary in 2005. Richard Bartle's work had pointed in the general direction almost ten years earlier, but had been constrained to massively multiplayer games, and was more qualitative and less quantitative than the research described in this book.

The biggest sign of the success of our approach was the IEEE's creation of a Player Satisfaction Modelling Task Force in 2009, which I was appointed too in recognition for my work helping to establish the domain. Since then, I've been amazed at some of the incredible work that's been going on in player satisfaction, and happy to have contributed to the field's growth and development.

There are far more up-to-date player satisfaction models than the DGD1 described in this book, but there is still no better introduction to the idea of using player models to guide game design than 21st Century Game Design. What's more, the work Richard did in constructing a historical snapshot of game design in the context of this model gives a remarkable account of the development of videogames, one with a lot to teach about how games have been made, and how they could be made in the future.

But despite the most groundbreaking aspect of this book being its presentation of player satisfaction modelling--even before this term came into use!--what I look back upon most fondly in this title is our perspective on game design. The chapter on Foundations of Game Design remains an excellent introduction to the issues in practical game design and development (although we don't much use the terminology in this chapter any more) and the recognition of abstraction as part of the process of design remains relevant today.

There is a set of chapters here that will help any new game designer understand what it is they are trying to do, while an experienced game designer will find a lot to agree with, and some new ways of thinking about old problems. The discussion of Game Structures (Chapter 10) is as relevant today as it was when we wrote it--and terms like "playground worlds," "Breadcrumbing," and "Funnelling" have since been used by a great variety of game designers and game writers. It's satisfying to see our work being used by other people to help them make games.

If you are new to game design, 21st Century Game Design is an excellent primer in the practical aspects of commercial videogame design, and if you have more experience you'll find ideas in here that might expand your perspective on the discipline. There are a lot of great books on game design, but none are quite like this one.

Chris Bateman
April 2011

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chris Bateman is the managing director of International Hobo Ltd. and has been working in game design for almost fifteen years. He is best known for the game design and scripting of Discworld Noir, a platinum-selling game which was praised as the best game ever scripted by The Times (London). He has also reaped praise for his design of Ghost Master, which has been a huge critical success worldwide. He is also known worldwide for informative game industry articles published in dozens of magazines. Richard Boon, one of the world's foremost game writers, has been involved in the development of dozens of games, and was a major source of information for the recent IGDA white paper on Game Writing. His articles have been published in the industry trade press and magazines, and he lectures on game writing and associated game design issues for writers in other media, and young writers looking to get into the field.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Charles River Media; 1 edition (August 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584504293
• ISBN-13: 978-1584504290
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #325,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chris Bateman is an outsider philosopher, game designer and author, who funds his 'philosophy habit' by working in the digital games industry. He runs International Hobo, the leading creative consultancy in the field of market-oriented game design, narrative and player satisfaction services.

Chris has worked in game design and writing for fifteen years, originally with tabletop role-playing games, and later in digital entertainment after completing a Masters degree in Artificial Intelligence/Cognitive Science. He was the lead game designer and writer for Discworld Noir, Ghost Master, Heretic Kingdoms: The Inquisition and Play with Fire, as well as having worked on more than thirty other games for major publishers. In 2009, he was invited to sit on the IEEE's Player Satisfaction Modelling task force, in recognition for his role in establishing this research domain.

Chris' philosophy covers a variety of topics including ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, philosophy of science, philosophy of religion and philosophy of language. He broadly fits into the philosophical school of fictionalism. He has travelled the world studying religious practices and beliefs, and has taken part in everything from Native American sweat lodges to Pagan solstice celebrations, as well as visiting Buddhist and Shinto shrines in Japan, and witnessing traditional tribal religions in Africa.

He lives in Manchester, UK with his wife, child and dog, but often visits the United States, especially Knoxville, TN, where he lived for a few years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brain to supplant the heart of game design, September 30, 2005

By 

Jack Monahan (Champaign, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 21st Century Game Design (Charles River Media Game Development) (Paperback)

21st Century Game Design's quiet brilliance lies in its logical, sensible treatment of game design in today's market. Things game designers may know on some intuitive level, but often have no conscious access to, no way of articulating, this book illuminates. Chris Bateman's DGD1 audience model allows designers to make more intelligent, informed decisions in the way they design.

Thorough implementation of the principles Bateman describes would help everyone: help publishers understand and support developers, help marketers know who to target, and most importantly of all, help gamers by making games that are made with their playstyles in mind. Not all gamers game alike, so as our industry grows and matures, understanding and identifying the different types of gamers is essential.

Of particular import for growth of our industry is appeal to women and the casual segment, considerations that Bateman shows need not be commensurate with alienating the hardcore segment. You don't need to "water down" a great game to broaden its potential audience; you just need to be aware of your audience and make design choices accordingly.
Bateman shows us that great game design is ultimately subjective; therefore an audience-driven approach to game design is essential to designing games in the 21st century.


For any colleges and universities that have or are developing game design based cirriculum, for all industry professionals: here is an indispensable text.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Examines how best to design games and tailor them for specific kinds of audiences, January 2, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 21st Century Game Design (Charles River Media Game Development) (Paperback)

An even wider audience will be found for Chris Bateman and Richard Boon's 21st Century Game Design, which examines how best to design games and tailor them for specific kinds of audiences. Chapters focus more on the psyche and needs of the player than most programming or game books, discussing both how games can address these desires and how they can appeal to a wider audience outside the hard-core gamer. Any game designer or those seeking to develop and distribute games would do well to examine 21st Century Game Design with its audience-oriented focus.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding the Customer Wants, October 28, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 21st Century Game Design (Charles River Media Game Development) (Paperback)

I suppose it comes as no surprise to anyone to hear that game design has gotten very complex. The power of computers has grown tremendously since the first games like Pong. And with the ability to do more on the computer, and with more competition in the marketplace the need for a higher class of game designer has become clear.

Now game designers have to consider such things as the age, gender, ability, attitude of the player -- many years ago my daughter got hooked on the Roger Rabit game. I told an executive in the Disney game group that they needed some games for young girls. He turned me down with a huff. 'We have Mickey Mouse,' he said. 'Yes,' I told him, 'but you also have Minnie Mouse.' He tuned me out. Now such a manager couldn't afford to ignore such an audience.

This is a book written by professionals on what it will take to suceed in game development in the coming years. These people have 'been there, done that,' pay attention to what they say.