Fundamentals of Game Design 2nd Edition

by Ernest Adams (Author)

21 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0321643377

ISBN-10: 0321643372

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To create a great video game, you must start with a solid game design: A well-designed game is easier to build, more entertaining, and has a better chance of succeeding in the marketplace. Here to teach you the essential skills of player-centric game design is one of the industrys leading authorities, who offers a first-hand look into the process, from initial concept to final tuning.

Now in its second edition, this updated classic reference by Ernest Adams offers a complete and practical approach to game design, and includes material on concept development, gameplay design, core mechanics, user interfaces, storytelling, and balancing. In an easy-to-follow approach, Adams analyzes the specific design challenges of all the major game genres and shows you how to apply the principles of game design to each one. Youll learn how to:

Define the challenges and actions at the heart of the gameplay.
Write a high-concept document, a treatment, and a full design script.
Understand the essentials of user interface design and how to define a games look and feel.
Design for a variety of input mechanisms, including the Wii controller and multi-touch iPhone.
Construct a games core mechanics and flow of resources (money, points, ammunition, and more).
Develop appealing stories, game characters, and worlds that players will want to visit, including persistent worlds.
Work on design problems with engaging end-of-chapter exercises, design worksheets, and case studies.
Make your game accessible to broader audiences such as children, adult women, people with disabilities, and casual players.

Ernest Adams provides encyclopedic coverage of process and design issues for every aspect of game design, expressed as practical lessons that can be immediately applied to a design in-progress. He offers the best framework Ive seen for thinking about the relationships between core mechanics, gameplay, and playerone that Ive found useful for both teaching and research. Michael Mateas, University of California at Santa Cruz, co-creator of Façade

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ernest Adams (Normandy, U.K.) is an independent game designer, writer, and teacher. He has worked in the game industry for 20 years. Ernest was most recently employed as a lead designer at Bullfrog Productions on the Dungeon Keeper series, and for several years before that he was the audio/video producer on the Madden NFL Football product line for Electronic Arts. For the last ten years he has written a regular column on game design for the Gamasutra developers' webzine. He was the founder of the International Game Developers' Association, and is a frequent lecturer at conferences and arts festivals around the world. His professional web site is at http://www.designersnotebook.com.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ New Riders Pub; 2nd edition (September 15, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 675 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0321643372
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0321643377
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.51 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 1.5 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,959,190 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #223 in Computer Hardware Design
- #617 in Computer & Video Game Design
- #1,587 in Game Programming

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21 ratings

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madballneek

Commercial game design at it's best

Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2010

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Ernest Adams brings to us a bible in commercial game design. Commercial is the keyword, as you'll be taught how to make a commercial game that will appeal to publishers and the masses alike. Some of the material may be a bit obvious to gamers and already working game designers, but don't over estimate the power of having someone actually spell it out to you, bringing many themes, ideas and rules from the depths of your subconscious to the forefront. This book also brings to light fine details that you wouldn't normally think about when designing a game, but are extremely critical in the overall design work.

If you are ready to design commercially appealing games, then this is your book. If you are more of an independent developer, looking to break the mold that most publishers wouldn't dare to fund, then perhaps you should look elsewhere.

12 people found this helpful

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Shea T. Harvey

The beginning and the end of game design books

Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2012

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Written by the man who founded the IGDA, this is the best starting point to understanding video game design. Written like a true textbook I found the information to be very relevant, concise and well organized. The assignments and questions at the end of each chapter are designed with real world situations in mind. It is rare that we game designers ever get to build for ourselves. More often we are working for development companies and the exercises have this in mind. I hope they update this sooner rather than later as the information does not have much about motion capture or the new motion interfaces but hopefully they will include more in the next edition. Awesome resource that I recommend for beginners to intermediate.

One person found this helpful

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C.Johnston

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2018

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Was waiting for the price to come down.

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Devbyskc

Get Your Core Design Principles Here

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2016

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If you are a solo indie designer/developer I strongly recommend reading this book. The author, in my opinion, has done the best job in explaining the foundational principles of game design. I have read several game design books over the past 3 years to learn how to design games, and then to development. Granted it has been a part-time effort as I work full-time, but I wish I had read this book first. The others I have read seem to be geared to serious game design students in a formal course of study; or new game designers working in a AAA studio. I learned some,but had to filter a lot of the material as it didn't seem to fit the solo, indie designer/developer. Ernest Adams shoves that approach aside and gets down to the very basics all game designers need to understand, regardless of genre or style of work. He presents the material in a clear and understandable prose with examples from all genres to demonstrate their universality. After reading this book I would also highly recommend reading Ernest Adams other book Game Mechanics (see my review).

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Shan

Good read

Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2015

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Really fun book to read. It's a great way to start learning about this field. I would recommend.

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Lixcy

Great Game Design Tool

Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2013

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So I bought this book because I was asked for it at college. I really think it is great for students who are just starting with game design, it explains everything you need to know in simple words anyone can understand. I loved it.

One person found this helpful

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Geraldo XEXEO

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2014

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The book is very good, but they also sell chapters as DLC, which are expensive for their size.

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Love it!

Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2012

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Great book. Thanks so much. Really is very consistent and helpful. The book is a great design for individuals that want to create video games that are not necessarily apart of the gaming world.

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Top reviews from other countries

Panos

Does not offer a complete and practical approach to game design

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 19, 2013

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This book is full of theory, which is good, but while it promises:
- a complete and practical approach to game design
- to teach you how to write a treatment, and a full design script
- that it includes design worksheets

... it doesn't deliver!

The lack of design documents is its very weak point! They're supposed to be available for download from the publisher's website but they are not! In other words, if you register to the publisher's website you'll end up receiving promotional e-mails but no design documents.

It is extremely difficult to apply the theory learned in the book to practice without having sample design documents to work with. Although, sample design documents can be found for free online, it is very difficult -and sometimes impossible- to match the layout of these samples to the theory learned in the book. So, there's no practical approach in the book, just theory...

After contacting the publisher regarding the lack of availability of the design documents, the response came late and was unacceptable: "We decided not to provide design documents but include end-of-chapter design practice questions". Nevertheless, the book's description promises both "engaging end-of-chapter exercises", and "design worksheets" but the latter are just not delivered.

What's more, the end-of-chapter design practice questions, which are supposed to lead someone to create the design documents(per communication with the publisher), are mostly theoretical and directed towards a college student,
e.g. "Does my game require a physical dimension? What is it used for? Is it essential part of gameplay or merely cosmetic?",
and "How much detail can I afford in my game? Will it be rich and varied or sparse and uncluttered? How does this affect the way the game is played?"
...are supposedly both questions that would help someone who has never seen a game design document before, and lead him to create one (per the publisher's claims).

To give some credit to the book: It has taught me that design decisions must be very detailed, and for this reason I consider "practice" questions such as "How much detail can I afford in my game?" to be very general, and to not help in the actual -detailed- description and specifications that a design document for the game world necessitates.

The funny thing is that the book's accompanying design documents are indeed available for download to instructors only! I really cannot see why they don't give them to everyone who purchased the book! If their target audience is college students they should make it clear in their description, and avoid misleading others with claims that the book provides a practical approach, because it just doesn't.

So, all in all, the book is great for teaching theory, but the lack of accompanying design documents reduce its value greatly for the audience who wants a practical approach to game design. A great book for college students and those who want to read theory, but don't expect to build a game reading this book, if you don't have an instructor, or without reading other books that take a real practical approach!

Last but not least, the book is geared towards PC and Console games, with only a very small reference to Mobile games.

7 people found this helpful

J. Finkhaeuser

Definitely only fundamentals

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 27, 2016

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It's great, but...

I've been a developer and armchair game designer for years, and although this book provides great structure and perspective, and introduced me to some new terminology, not much of what it presented was exactly new to me.

If you have no idea about game design, it's probably fantastic. If you have a vague idea, you might not learn too much, but at least you'll get a great summary of everything.

One person found this helpful

Kev

Quite happy with purchase.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2014

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This was recommended as part of the course I am taking in University, and was the first book I bought in two semesters. I did not regret this buy and it sits in my small but growing collection right now.

It is an easy read, by which I mean it doesn't bog you down with definition after definition or the likes. It engages your thinking as a game designer and provides plenty of interesting well sourced topics.

It helped me on my course and I can see it helping me in the future as well. A truly well structured documentation about the world of game design. I say go for it.

Gavin Stewart

A Good Introduction to Games

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 14, 2013

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I bought this book as a possible introductory text book for students who are new to games. It was very good for this task. Very thorough descriptions and very well chosen examples.

Ruth Pino

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on June 7, 2015

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Good for school.

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