Swords & Circuitry: A Designer's Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games (Game Development) 1st Edition

by Neal Hallford (Author), Jana Hallford (Author)

17 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0761532996

ISBN-10: 0761532994

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Never in the history of gaming have role-playing titles been more popular. PC DATA reports that leading role-playing titles, like "Diablo," have sold over one million units, and many others, like "Baldur's Gate," have sold over 500,000. Research by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, on behalf of the Interactive Digital Software Association, states that 145 million Americans regularly play video games. This book will allow this audience to decipher the arcane mysteries behind game development tools like plot trees, world bibles, design documents, and game scripts. Readers will also receive sage advice from game gurus like John Cutter (Betrayal at Kondor), Jon Van Caneghem (Might & Magic), Chris Taylor (Dungeon Siege), Sarah Stocker (Pools of Radiance), Carly Staehlin (Ultima Online), and more.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Neal Hallford has been a professional game designer for more than 13 years and has led the development of several best-selling computer role-playing titles. He has co-authored the story behind the New York Times best-selling novel "Krondor: The Betrayal" and has created stories and designs for well known computer role-playing games, including "Betrayal at Krondor", "Planet's Edge", and "Dungeon Siege." He is currently leading the creation of "Lords of Everquest", a real-time strategy game based on the largest massively multiplayer role-playing game in the United States.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Course Technology PTR; 1st edition (July 1, 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 544 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0761532994
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0761532996
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.03 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.25 x 1.5 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,951,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #583 in Computer & Video Game Design
- #1,392 in Game Programming
- #1,536 in Computer Graphics

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17 ratings

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John

Great Book, but Out-of-Date

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2008

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This book was written when Dungeon Siege I and Neverwinter Nights I were in development, and thus lacks any information regarding their sequels, Baldur's Gate II, Diablo II, Titan Quest, Morrowind, and ultimately Oblivion. It briefly discusses UO and mentions both Asheron's Call and Everquest, the early mainstream MMOs. Don't expect anything regarding WoW, DAoC, EQ2, DDO, AO or Lord of the Rings Online. That's a lot of material that just didn't exist when this was published.

However, for what it contains, it's VERY good. It has a great introduction on the early development of RPGs. You'll find good information on the influence of Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings on CRPGs. The interviews at the end are excellent reading as well.

The book sets out to guide new RPG designers through the do's and don'ts of CRPG development, and give them a good background on why things are the way they are. It lays out what you need in your proposal and design document, with plenty of examples. It really does an excellent job in all of this. If you're looking for code, look elsewhere. You won't find ANY in this book. It's intended for designers, not programmers.

If you can grab it for under ten bucks like I did, go for it. Everything inside the book is still useful and the guiding principles are accurate even with all that's happened since it was published. I just wish there was a second volume that included all of the new stuff.

4 people found this helpful

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Dave & Amy Astle

Highly recommended

Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2003

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This book has been out for a few years, and unfortunately, it has never really received the attention it so richly deserves. From the title, you might infer that it teaches how to design role-playing games, which it does, but what might not be immediately obvious is that the information contained in it can be applied to games from any genre.
This book discusses everything from product life cycles, to plot design, to team roles, to world building, to gameplay issues, and much more. Each topic is covered in detail, with advice and examples. The book includes in-depth interviews with people behind some of the top role-playing games (e.g. Dungeon Siege and Neverwinter Nights), as well as copies of real design documents from leading games (e.g. the world layout from Fallout and the design document from Nox).
The Halfords' writing style is colorful without being condescending. Neal's experience shows through as he is able to back up all of his advice with real-world experience on major titles.
This is quite simply one of the best game design books on the market, and an entertaining read to boot. I give it my highest recommendation.

24 people found this helpful

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Good intro to game design.

Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2005

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Neal and Jana Hallford, Swords and Circuitry (Prima, 2001)

A word to prospective buyers: Swords and Circuitry is not a book about coding games. If that's what you're looking for, Prima has a number of other titles you can go to. This one's about designing games, and there's nary a line of code to be found.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, this book does have a lot to offer both for those who plan to specialize in game design and those who are running (or trying to run) one-man shops. The Hallfords offer a good deal of advice regarding the whole process of game design, from defining what it is (and having others interviewed by Neal Hallford do so as well) to details of design documents, proposals, etc. The benefits for the aspiring game designer are obvious; to the one-man shop, reading this may help clarify some things that will help when programming time comes, or shed a different light on things that may not have been thought of in quite that way. Definitely worth checking out, but know what you're getting. *** ½

10 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Fun, Useful, and Interesting

Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2007

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This book wasn't at all what I thought it would be, but I loved it. I finished it within a day.

Don't buy this book if you are expecting someone to tell you the steps involved in making an RPG. There are many better books for that. S&C doesn't tell you how to make a game. It tells you how to THINK when making a game. It also goes quite in-depth about what it's like to be in the role of a game designer.

So the two scenarios in which this book would be most useful are:

1. You have a game already designed in your head and just want to make it more fun or more professional.

2. You are considering whether you want to become a game designer as a career.

If you fit one of these two, buy this book right away. If not, it might still be worth a look. It's interesting, well-written, and you may just learn a thing or two.

2 people found this helpful

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Mystic0

The Best RPG design book yet

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2006

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This book provides a clear outlook of how to design an RPG though I wish there was a reference book to go with it. It even could be used as a text book for a class. It does everything it says. Includes other designers perspectives to broaden your perspective on design including designers from Might & Magic, Neverwinter, Star-Trek, and a few others.

2 people found this helpful

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Shadeofdeath

Good but a little dated

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2010

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Overall it is a solid book, I enjoyed reading it but it does have a heavy emphasis on readers who plan on going into video game development professionally. Some of the examples used are a bit dated, there is no mention of newer games like WoW but it does have good content and worth the price.

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Alex Slepak

Bought this as a textbook for a class several years ...

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2015

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Bought this as a textbook for a class several years ago. The book itself is fairly old (most games referenced are from the 90s), but the content is still generally relevant.

One person found this helpful

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J. Fristrom

Good information for designing any kind of game, period.

Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2003

I think the Hallfords sold themselves short with the title of this book: I'd heard of it, but wasn't interested in reading it, because I didn't think it applied to the kinds of games I work on. I was wrong.
Highlights for me include the section on the different reasons different people play videogames and the section on difficulty curves. Both of these sections have ideas I hadn't come across before.
The interviews with designers are good, too: the interviewees are all players in the industry, and the interviews don't limit themselves to information that would only apply to RPG's.
The ratio of meat to fat in this book is quite high. The Hallfords know a lot, and they try to get it all on the page.

9 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Killerclick

I enjoyed it very much

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 22, 2017

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It's a bit dated but still a very enjoyable read.

Pbrown

Not aged gracefully

Reviewed in Canada on May 4, 2016

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While it may have been valuable at the time of its release, the book has very little in the way of redeeming qualities today.
The book purports to be a designers guide to RPGs, however there is comparatively little in the book actually focusing on designing RPGs. One chapter discusses the origin of tabletop games, one discusses pitching an idea to investors and creating your idea as little more than an idea man (good luck getting money with no game experience). Another chapter discusses ANOTHER pitch and design document. The last third of the books is interviews with famous designers, etcetera.

There is very little that actually talks about designing an actual RPG. What I would like to see is an exploration of architecture systems needed for RPGs compared to other games, variable approaches with examples for leveling up, inventory styles, equipping gear, character trees, etcetera and so forth. I've bought about a dozen+ game design books over the last few years, this is the worst of them.

The book itself is also written in a very meandering and unprofessional style. In one example, the author talks about being on what amounts to a GDC panel and describing some "twerp" ask him a particular question about game design. The question you as the reader wants to ask yourself, is if this design calls curious up and comers "twerps" do you want to be learning from them at all?

If you want to learn about RPGs. Go out and buy D&D, Pathfinder, rulebooks, monster manuals, etcetera. Look at websites for specific information on developing RPGs. Pick up other more general game design books and think about how to apply their broader lessons to your specific knowledge of RPGs.

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Swords & Circuitry: A Designer's Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games (Game Development) 1st Edition

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