Role-playing games is the genre that most meticulously evokes a parallel life for the player-not infrequently down to the detail of what kind of wine is in their hip flask. In addition to the gameplay and simulation aspects of this genre, "Game Guru: Role-Playing Games" looks at the conventions that underlie it-the threat of evil, the archetypal playground of the sword-and-sorcery setting, and so on. With hundreds of examples and in-depth interviews with the experts, this book reveals the secrets to what makes great games compelling and successful. Whether you are a professional or a die-hard role-playing gamer, you'll be intrigued by the clear analysis of play balance, character and level design, learning curves, risk versus reward, puzzles, scale and scope, catch-up effects, symmetry, and many other aspects of game theory. This book gives you the insight you are searching for to enrich your gaming experience.
Dave Morris is a bestselling author - in fact, he was 1990's top-selling author in the UK.
In addition to having written a string of adventure novels and role-playing gamebooks for older kids and young adults, he is also an award-winning videogame designer with two Top Ten hits to his name.
As a mentor in the American Film Institute digital content lab, he has worked with partners like NBC and Microsoft to create new forms of entertainment that fuse the best of traditional storytelling and interactivity. As a scriptwriter he has worked for the BBC, Endemol, Carlton, Pearson and Flextech.
All of these skills of drama, visual storytelling, interactive design and new media come together in his epic 900-page graphic novel saga Mirabilis, part-funded by Random House, which was launched in both digital and print media in early 2011.
