Game Design Workshop, Second Edition: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games (Gama Network Series) (Paperback)

by Tracy Fullerton (Author)
Key Phrases: digital prototyping, guitar hero, hard fun, The Sims, New York, Designer Perspective (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Game design is something of a black art. The trick to doing it well is retaining the black magic but training oneself to control it. There are a lot of books on game design out there, but "Game Design Workshop" is among the very few that develops a wizard rather than a drone.
-Ian Bogost, professor of digital media, the Georgia Institute of Technology and co-founder, Persuasive Games

Book Description
Game Design Workshop provides a step-by-step introduction to the art of designing, prototyping and playtesting innovative games that has been proven to help beginners and professionals alike.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann; 2 edition (February 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240809742
• ISBN-13: 978-0240809748
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,392 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Search Has Ended!, February 27, 2008

By	Scott A. Jacobson "jnoodle" (Coeurd Alene, ID USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is honestly an answer to my prayers! I'm using the first half of this superb book to remodel my introductory game design class & after school game design club. The included exercises are definitely geared toward capturing the attention of the type of kids I want to attract to my program. I think I'm going to have to buy a 2nd book as my son is using the last half of the book to develop and market his senior game project and plan for his Indie game company :)

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Rocks!, August 28, 2008

By	GOODfly (San Diego, USA) - See all my reviews

This is an amazing game design book. Trust me, I should know. I've been
playing vids since I was in junior high and my brother-in-law works for a major game publisher, and he brings home every new title there is, so I've played them all but never quite grasped the process of making a game of my own. Game Design Workshop takes you step-by-step through the process. After reading just the first few chapters, I actually could grasp the mechanics necessary for constructing a video game.

Unlike other books that focus on genres of games, this book gives you the
building blocks and its lessons teach you how to use them. It also has some really valuable interviews with top designers, and from those alone you can learn a lot. I cannot recommend this enough. 5 stars, at least!

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful analysis of a complicated industry, November 3, 2008

By	J. Strach (Foster City, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is really phenomenol. I am a two decade veteran from the industry and only somewhat recently stumbled across Fullerton's work. In this book you will encounter a rich analysis of the industry that covers various insight from numerous perspectives. Her writing style is very engaging while also being analytical; providing observations about common topics expressed in ways I had not heard before - or at least put so eloquently. I'm a big fan of the book.

So why only 4 stars and not 5? I like to think that 5 stars for anything just requires excellence that is at a whole different level. A Pixar Animation Studios "5 stars" level - if you know what I'm saying. My one complaint about the book would be that embedded within the book are exercises forcing the reader - I should say strongly encouraging the reader - to partake in applying the knowledge; or more fairly sometimes learning about the industry through observation of real-world product. I think this is all very good to be honest. But the consequence of this is that often if the reader doesn't have time to devote to these exercises (or isn't home while reading), they might feel compelled to delay reading until they can execute said exercises. Or maybe it's just me? Since I read a lot of my books during my commute on the bus, I often find myself struggling to get through this book in its entirety. Probably most people would just blow off the exercises but then again I think you'd miss a lot of Fullerton's message if you did that.

So that's why only 4 of 5 stars. But really, it's my commute-on-the-bus' fault - not the book's. I strongly suggest anyone interested in learning more about the process of Game Design to check out this literary work. There are some great "real-world" stories from other people in the industry so it provides a well rounded view and I have yet to find a book that covers so much interesting ground so effortlessly. Now, back to my exercises...