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Raph Koster

Postmortems: Selected Essays Volume One Paperback – June 26, 2018

by Raph Koster (Author), Richard Garriott de Cayeux (Foreword)

19 ratings

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Few game designers have shared as many lessons learned as Raph Koster. In a quarter-century of writings and talks, he has offered up game design lessons, online community theories, and candid self-evaluation.

This first volume of a three-book set of selected essays collects previously written postmortems and many brand new pieces. They are accompanied by historical material such as posts written for players, chat logs, speeches, design sketches, and more. The result is an inspiring historical look back at the development of virtual worlds.

These are the stories behind Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies, the story of the early art game Andean Bird and the story of the ambitious project Metaplace that aimed to build the Metaverse, including:

"A Story About a Tree," the classic piece from MUD days about whether our online bonds are real.
"The Ultima Online Resource System," a detailed design breakdown of the pioneering world simulation.
"A Jedi Saga," the popular tale of how an impossible design dilemma broke a world.
"Influences," a challenge to the game development community to pursue art.

Print length

702 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Altered Tuning Press
Publication date

June 26, 2018
Dimensions

7.5 x 1.4 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

0996793747
ISBN-13

978-0996793742
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Postmortems is a collection of writing both old and new documenting the evolution of design in multiplayer gaming, from text adventure to cutting-edge tech. The challenges didn't just come from online gaming growing into a dominant force, but also from increased expectations and the shifting priorities of switching from dedicated fans to a more general audience.... vital reading for anyone with an interest in knowing how games of any sort come about." - Hardcore Gamer (hardcoregamer.com)

"A valuable compendium of insight and essays that has significant value for both developers and genre enthusiasts. The coverage on Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies make for compelling reading by fans of either titles or more general MMO followers... Koster gives form to the unicorn that so many of us have been chasing for a decade or more, and which always seems just out of reach." - MMORPG.com

About the Author

Raph Koster is a veteran game designer who has been professionally credited in almost every area of the game industry. He's been the lead designer and director of massive titles such as Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies; a venture-backed entrepreneur heading his own studio; and he's contributed design work, writing, art, soundtrack music, and programming to many more titles ranging from Facebook games to single-player games for handheld consoles. Koster is widely recognized as one of the world's top thinkers about game design, and is an in-demand speaker at conferences all over the world. His book A Theory of Fun for Game Design is one of the undisputed classics in the games field and was recently revised for a 10th anniversary edition. In 2012, he was named an Online Game Legend at the Game Developers Conference Online. Visit his blog at raphkoster.com.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Altered Tuning Press (June 26, 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 702 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0996793747
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0996793742
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.61 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 1.4 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,212,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #418 in Computer & Video Game Design
- #886 in Game Programming
- #2,422 in Software Development (Books)

Customer Reviews:
19 ratings

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Raph Koster

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Raph Koster is a veteran game designer who has been professionally credited in almost every area of the game industry. He’s been the lead designer and director of massive titles such as ULTIMA ONLINE and STAR WARS GALAXIES; a venture-backed entrepreneur heading his own studio; and he’s contributed design work, writing, art, soundtrack music, and programming to many more titles ranging from Facebook games to single-player games for handheld consoles.

Koster is widely recognized as one of the world’s top thinkers about game design, and is an in-demand speaker at conferences all over the world. His book A THEORY OF FUN FOR GAME DESIGN has reached its tenth anniversary as one of the undisputed classics in the games field. In 2012, he was named an Online Game Legend at the Game Developers Conference Online. Visit his blog at www.raphkoster.com.

Customer reviews

5 star		76%
4 star 0% (0%)		0%
3 star 0% (0%)		0%
2 star		15%
1 star		9%

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Xav

A must read for anyone who studies video games

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2019

Verified Purchase

Postmortems provides a comprehensive overview on the history of virtual worlds, beginning in the early days of MUDs, through the arrival of web-based games. The contents are vast and cover a wide variety of topics in game design. Perfect for game design students who need to develop an understanding of the complex history of virtual worlds. Many lessons from game balance to creating an immersive social environment, as well as insight to how things can go wrong are covered in this book.

The layout of the essays and ability to pick and choose topics makes it the perfect choice for professors. Additionally, for those of us who have enjoyed MMOs through the years, it's both a nostalgic blast through the past and a spark of hope for the future. A must read for anyone studying game design!

One person found this helpful

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P. O'Malley

An insightful and nostalgic walk through of some of the most influential MMOs in existence

Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2018

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A very interesting look at the development of some of the games that shaped the development of MMOs and the internet itself that I'd recommend to anybody who likes to nerd out about systems. A fair bit of it is repurposed content from his blog, but there's enough new material and exploration of game design concepts that come from a refreshingly different perspective than seen in today's AAA landscape to make it well worth a read, especially if you haven't already trawled through his archives.

2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Nice book

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2019

Verified Purchase

Brings back some nostalgia. Recommended if you have played some of the games in there.

One person found this helpful

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Wes Locher

A "Greatest Hits" of Game Design Lessons

Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2018

I'm sure many aspiring game makers would jump at the chance to sit down with Raph Koster and listen to him share his design wisdom and industry experience. Thankfully, Koster's new book "Postmortems" frees up the author's schedule and provides the reader with a greatest hits of some of the biggest lessons Koster learned while working on LegendMUD, Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies, and Privateer Online.

But rather than just cover game design, this tome touches on Koster's experiences creating, running, and maintaining online worlds and communities as well as the trials, tribulations, and victories associated with them. "Postmortems" isn't just theory... it's part history book, part practical application, and part psychology weaved together as the author empties the well across several major milestones of his career.

While the page count of this book might be daunting, I wouldn't be surprised to see "Postmortems" join "A Theory of Fun for Game Design" as required reading in game development programs across the world. Whether you aspire to create online worlds, or just want to know how the sausage is made, there's something here for everyone who works in the game industry.

5 people found this helpful

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Joel Burgess

A candid look inside online game development

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2018

Raph Koster's work has made him one of the most influential pioneers in online games, and he's long been one of the most transparent game designers in general, frequently sharing his process and self-analysis through public speaking and writings. This book offers a refreshingly candid look into the usually-guarded world of game development, sharing insights ranging from early ambitions for design to post-mortems on what carrying those ideas through the crucible of production meant.

I can't think of a better book to dive into for designers working on systems-driven games, online games, or anyone interested in the anthropology the games that would inform much of the thinking in online games for the following decade, and beyond.

5 people found this helpful

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Chris Foster

I've been fortunate to hear some of these anecdotes as one of ...

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2018

This is a deep dive into the experiences and insights of Raph Koster, creator of some of the most successful virtual worlds ever made. I've been fortunate to hear some of these anecdotes as one of Raph's colleagues and friends, but I was excited to see his analytical expertise applied to the breadth of his career. His writing style is as engaging as his lectures, and if you have any interest in game design, this is an excellent read.

4 people found this helpful

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Joel Zachary Miller

Informative and Thought Provoking Nostalgia Candy

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2018

This book would be worth it if only for the fun trips down memory lane provided by the writings on Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies. The real value is in the deep thoughts about creating virtual worlds that people truly inhabit and connect with. We are lucky the author is taking the time to share all this with the wide world instead of letting their experience be lost to the ages. A must read if you are working on creating your own worlds.

2 people found this helpful

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Dr Richard A. Bartle

What it means to be a game designer.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 29, 2018

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This is a stunning collection of essays by one of game design’s deepest thinkers. Although at the subject level it relates to the process of designing games, for me its greatest value lies in its all-pervading expression of what it means to be a game designer. Indeed, I can think of no better book that demonstrates the difference between a game designer and a mere designer of games: the author is world class in his field, and reading this you can see why.

In this volume, Koster looks back at a number of key virtual worlds for which he drove the design, principally LegendMUD, Ultima Online, Star Wars: Galaxies and MetaPlace (which wasn’t so much a virtual world as a platform for creating virtual worlds). Their successes, failures and – in two cases – closures are described honestly and insightfully; the book is not called Postmortems for nothing.

Some of the content is already available in various forms online, if you can find it, but here it’s assembled, ordered and clarified. There is much original material, too; don’t think that this is simply a rehash of classic writings and presentations.

The weakest part of the book is not in its content but in its production. There are a number of minor typos that weren’t picked up, and although I’m all for historical veracity I don’t think that reproducing in paperback form documents with inline hyperlinks is necessarily a good idea (although to be fair, this only happens once).

Overall, Postmortems is a very impressive sojourn through the history of virtual worlds, from both contemporary and modern perspectives, which anyone in (or seeking to be in) the business of virtual worlds will find of immense value.

Five stars from me, no question.

One person found this helpful

ramdy

Más de lo mismo

Reviewed in Spain on February 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

A mí me está resultando sobre todo una autobiografía y la verdad poco de lo que aprender. Incluso hay contenidos limitados que tendrías que extender accediendo a sitios en Internet como Gamasutra donde en el libro las imágenes se encuentran a un tamaño tan pequeño que son ilegibles.

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