Customer Reviews

Game Design: Theory and Practice (With CD-ROM)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I work on video games professionally as a programmer, but I read a lot of books on design because that is the most challenging aspect of what we do. Technology is a solved problem; project management is getting there; that leaves the black hole of design. Of the books I've read, Richard Rouse's is the best. Where most books on game design treat you as if you have somehow landed in the position of creative director for a thirty man team -- and now you need help -- Rouse's book covers everything from level design in the trenches to the concept work of the lead designer. They say those who can't do, write, but Richard is an exception, with a few above average games in his ludography (and a flop or two, just like me). And when his knowledge isn't enough, he supplants it with interviews with the greats. Although it's true that some of the greats are no longer in the game, their advice is still valuable. (One thing that all of them agree on is the value of other people playtesting, whether it's Ed Logg field testing coin-op machines or Steve Meretzky looking at transcripts of people playing text adventures.) This book is also a survey of current trends in game design, from simulation to emergent strategy to meaningful choices. It provoked me to think deeper than I had before.

So why only four stars?

Yes, it is somewhat dated. Interviews with John Carmack, Warren Spector, and Jason Uyeda would be more relevant than the coin-op/PC game gurus presented here.

Furthermore, I could have used less survey and more depth. Take emergent strategies, for example: he touches on this concept, says that It Is Good, but without really giving it the treatment it deserves: how does one create a game in which emergent strategies develop? What are the costs of such an approach to game design?

Still, if you only read one book on game design, this should be it.

Each of the chapters of this book fall into one of three categories: an interview with a prominent game designer, an analysis of a successful game, or a discussion of game design principles. Each is valuable for different reasons, so I'd like to review each of them separately.

The interviews are interesting, and go into much greater depth than most interviews you see. As a result, you're able to get a good idea of how each designer approaches the game design process, which can be useful in analyzing your own methods.

The chapters analyzing games focused on a single game, but also looked at similar games in the genre. If you're an aspiring game designers, you'll benefit from these chapters. Partially because you will see what these games did well, but moreso because they will encourage you to analyze the design aspects of the games you're playing to see what they do right, what they do wrong, and how you can apply that to your own designs.

About half of the chapters of the book cover various aspects of game design, presenting the author's own theories about what's important, what isn't, and the things you should be thinking about. It's hard to review the value of this; some of it you'll agree with, and some of it you may not. Depending on your degree of experience, some of it may be obvious, some of it may be new, and some of it may help you focus on areas you've been neglecting.

Overall, I wouldn't consider this book a must-have, but if you're interested in becoming a well-rounded and successful game designer, there's a lot in here that will be of value to you.

What I like most about this book is how it completely avoids technical implementation issues to focus on something altogether more intangible: making fun interactive experiences for players. I've bought many books wanting to learn more about computer game design, but almost always got bogged down in programming information that would be dated within two years. Sure programming's important to game development, but it's not the hardest part of the process: coming up with a game that's fun is. These days projects have large teams and game designers almost always don't do any programming on the games they design. This is exactly the book that a game designer working in the industry today (or who wants to enter the industry) needs to read and study.

Following in the footsteps of Chris Crawford's great but out of print The Art of Computer Game Design (another book that hasn't dated with the passing of the years), Richard Rouse's book cuts away the technical side to explore the artistic side of game development. When so many of today's games are just glorified technology demos, the writing of this design book was a commendable undertaking, and, as it turns out, is a terrifically good read. The author's passion for the subject is obvious on every page, and though his pronouncements of the best way to design a game may seem preachy, when I thought about each topic he covered, I found little to disagree with. Furthermore, the long interviews provide more useful game design lessons than I've found in all the game programming books I've ever read. And the rules I learned in this book I will still be using in ten years, after all my old programming books are collecting dust. If you're looking to learn to code, you should definitely stay away from this book, but if you're looking for something that will stick with you, you need look no farther.

The people below that are bashing on this book for not being technical or specific enough obviously didn't examine it very closely before they purchased it. The introduction clearly states that the book is about game theory--it's not intended to be a programming primer (as Mr. Rouse points out, there are already plenty of those available). And honestly, more developers should more consideration to the topics presented in this book before they dive into their projects, because while programming a game may not be an art, creating one certainly is.

Most of the topics covered arer fairly timeless (the technology may have marched on, but the a lot of the design issues are pretty much the same today as they were five or ten years ago). The interviews are a good read even if you have absolutely no interest in getting into game design. Overall, I'd recommend it.

I don't know of any other book which covers the topic of computer game design as well or in as much detail as this one. It goes over all the steps a game designer must go through in order to see his game to completion, from intial idea to plyatesting. The chapter that analyzes what players are looking for in the games they play is truly great. It also includes some of the best interviews I have ever seen with brilliant designers like Sid Meier and Will Wright. While so many other game development books deal with programming, this is finally a book someone more interested in the design side of development will find fascinating.

For what it's worth, I'm a professional in the game industry. I haven't written many reviews here on Amazon, but I thought this one deserved some attention.

I'm going to focus on some of the things I didn't see in other reviews.

First off, the back of the book says its level is "Intermediate to Advanced," when it really should read "Beginner to Intermediate." It's nowhere close to what I might call "Advanced." Anyone who plays videogames as a hobby should be able to read and understand 90% of this book, no problem.

Secondly, this book only needs to be about 1/3 of the length it is. The author repeats himself over and over and over, and it's obvious he likes to hear himself talk (he also plugs the games he made any chance he gets, but that's a separate issue). On the bright side, it's a good book to speed read/skim because chances are you won't miss much if you do it. I recently got through his section on design docs, where he says that frequently the quality of your doc is measured by how heavy the doc is (not by the quality of its content), and, well, he's certainly taken that to heart.

Third, he's one of those authors that uses the pronoun "she" instead of the colloquial "he", so be prepared. I thought it humorous that he preaches that we should know our audience when making a game or writing a document, yet there's a very very high chance that an overwhelming majority of the people reading this book are and will be male. Sometimes during his examples he makes it seem like there are whole studios filled solely with women.

Overall, if you're really new to the industry this book might be a good primer, but if you're prone to reading Gamasutra, then you're wasting your time.

Despite what may seem like scathing remarks, I'm giving the game a respectable three stars. It's not a bad book, but the above comments make it a more difficult read than it should be. It's like playing a "7" game; not horrible, but not what it could be. The author gets extra points for at least hitting every relevant game design topic, if only at the surface level.

This book brings the very fundamentals of game design. I dont think its dated, because those are the things that every game will always have, period.

A very good read, with very good examples and interviews. Rouse talks a lot about his own games, specially Centipede 3D, but I think it's natural. To make everything complete, Rouse could get deeper about the commercial side of game industry, with things like schedule pressure, getting fund and etc. The main objective is to teach how to design games, but this kind of information adds great value.

I'm a big fan of the original edition of Game Design: Theory & Practice. Of all the game design books I've read, it was one of the most impressive at balancing lofty ambitions and invigorating game design theory with a relatively in-depth take on the realities game development today. As a professional game developer myself, I also loved the book's sense of video game history. In particular, the interviews with Meier/Wright/Mechner/Meretzky et al were fantastic.

So I was quite pleased when I saw a second edition had come out. I recently managed to pick it up and found that the second edition impressed me even more than the first. There's the obviously new chapters, like the one on multiplayer (one of the weak spots in the original book), the massive interview with the brilliant Doug Church, and the insightful deconstruction of Grand Theft Auto. But reading over sections of the book, I can tell they've all been worked over. The whole book feels more thorough.

Other books may offer more design theory or more practical tips for making a level or tweaking a particular game mechanic or whatever, but there's a special blend of the two at work in Game Design: Theory & Practice, that makes me want to make better games and shows me how I might do it. This makes Game Design: Theory & Practice hands down my favorite book on game design. Most definitely required reading.

As a beginning game programmer, this book perfectly fills in the
gap of (hopefully) making me into a better one.

The author was wise enough to include interviews with respected
game designers to prevent the book from being too opinionated.

The best thing about this book is the author's honesty about
why some of his games were flawed in the hopes that we learn
from them.

The sample game design document is one of the best
I've seen. I've seen samples from the web that were either too
short (leaving it to the team to assume anything) or too long
(too detailed).

Lastly, he doesn't comment on the 'business' of the game
industry (he pokes at them though). I think this was a wise
move. Who wants to read about project management, financial
forecasts, focus groups, marketing in a book about game
design?

I don't think I'll be buying any more game design books until I
find one that can best this.

There are not many books on game design, as opposed to the relatively huge number of game programming and art books available out there. But game design is the most important discipline in terms of theory. Richard Rouse does a great job of putting together different design elements into this book. I was lucky enough to get the 2nd edition, which is more up-to-date and includes an analysis of games such as The Sims and Grand Theft Auto 3, along with classics such as Karateka and Centipede. It also includes great interviews with some of the most progressive designers in the industry's history.

If you're a game designer, and wish to learn more about your craft, there's no question about it - you must buy this book.