Fundamentals of game design

For courses in Fundamentals of Game Design for all video game developers and designers With a focus on designing for the commercial entertainment market, this text teaches the principles and practice of game design and covers each of the major game genres individually.

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Choice Review

This second edition (1st ed., 2006) of Fundamentals of Game Design, which is itself based on the classic Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design (2003), contains significant additions, ranging from coverage of Scrum agile development to recent innovations in user interfaces. Like its predecessor, this work by Adams, an independent game designer, instructor, and writer, focuses on the commercial application of game design instead of taking an academic or engineering approach. The book is formatted into two parts. The first covers game design fundamentals, while the second details special design considerations for each genre. Because of the dynamism of the video game industry, owners of the first edition will find that the updates justify a new purchase. Those new to game design, students, instructors, and industry professionals will find a wealth of information and invaluable tips. In addition, the publisher's Web site provides instructor resources to accompany the book. A familiarity with popular video games is strongly advised. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels of undergraduates, graduate students, and two-year technical program students in game design and development programs, researchers/faculty, and professionals/practitioners. A. Chen Cogswell Polytechnical College

Came Design and Development Series Walk-Through	p. xiv
Introduction	p. xvi
About the Authors	p. xxii
Acknowledgments	p. xxii
Part 1 The Elements of Game Design	p. 1
Chapter 1 Games and Video Games	p. 3
What Is a Game?	p. 4
Conventional Games Versus Video Games	p. 17
How Video Games Entertain	p. 21
Summary	p. 31
Test Your Skills	p. 32
Chapter 2 Design Components and Processes	p. 36
Approaching the Task	p. 37
The Key Components of Video Games	p. 43
The Structure of a Video Game	p. 47
Stages of the Design Process	p. 52
Game Design Teams	p. 60
Documenting the Design	p. 62
Anatomy of a Game Designer	p. 66
Summary	p. 69
Test Your Skills	p. 70
Chapter 3 Game Concepts	p. 74
Getting an Idea	p. 75
From Idea to Game Concept	p. 78
The Player's Role	p. 79
Choosing a Genre	p. 80
Defining Your Target Audience	p. 83
Progression Considerations	p. 88
Types of Game Machines	p. 89
Summary	p. 92
Test Your Skills	p. 92
Chapter 4 Game Worlds	p. 97
What Is a Game World?	p. 98
The Purposes of a Game World	p. 98
The Dimensions of a Game World	p. 99
Realism	p. 124
Summary	p. 126
Test Your Skills	p. 126
Chapter 5 Creative and Expressive Play	p. 133
Self-Defining Play	p. 134
Creative Play	p. 137
Storytelling Play	p. 141
Game Modifications	p. 142
Summary	p. 143
Test Your Skills	p. 143
Chapter 6 Character Development	p. 148
The Goals of Character Design	p. 149
The Relationship Between Player and Avatar	p. 150
Visual Appearances	p. 156
Creating Character Depth	p. 165
Audio Design	p. 173
Summary	p. 175
Test Your Skills	p. 175
Chapter 7 Storytelling and Narrative	p. 181
Why Put Stories in Games?	p. 182
Key Concepts	p. 185
The Storytelling Engine	p. 192
Linear Stories	p. 194
Nonlinear Stories	p. 196
Granularity	p. 205
Mechanisms for Advancing the Plot	p. 205
Emotional Limits of Interactive Stories	p. 208
Scripted Conversations and Dialog Trees	p. 210
When to Write the Story	p. 213
Other Considerations	p. 214
Summary	p. 218
Test Your Skills	p. 219
Chapter 8 Creating the User Experience	p. 224
What Is the User Experience?	p. 225
Player-Centric Interface Design	p. 227
The Design Process	p. 232
Managing Complexity	p. 237
Interaction Models	p. 239
Perspectives	p. 241
Visual Elements	p. 248
Audio Elements	p. 256
Input Devices	p. 259
Navigation Mechanisms	p. 264
Allowing for Customization	p. 269
Summary	p. 270
Test Your Skills	p. 270
Chapter 9 Gameplay	p. 277
Making Games Fun	p. 278
The Hierarchy of Challenges	p. 280
Skill, Stress, and Difficulty	p. 286
Commonly Used Challenges	p. 289
Actions	p. 302
Saving the Game	p. 306
Summary	p. 310
Test Your Skills	p. 310
Chapter 10 Core Mechanics	p. 316
What Are the Core Mechanics?	p. 317
Key Concepts	p. 323
The Internal Economy	p. 331
Core Mechanics and Gameplay	p. 340
Designing the Core Mechanics	p. 342
Random Numbers and the Gaussian Curve	p. 349
Summary	p. 352
Test Your Skills	p. 352
Chapter 11 Game Balancing	p. 358
What Is a Balanced Game?	p. 359
Avoiding Dominant Strategies	p. 361
The Role of Chance	p. 367
Making PvP Games Fair	p. 368
Making PvE Games Fair	p. 372
Managing Difficulty	p. 373
Understanding Positive Feedback	p. 384
Other Balance Considerations	p. 389
Design to Make Tuning Easy	p. 390
Summary	p. 392
Test Your Skills	p. 392
Chapter 12 General Principles of Level Design	p. 398
What Is Level Design?	p. 399
Key Design Principles	p. 400
Layouts	p. 405
The Level Design Process	p. 416
Pitfalls of Level Design	p. 424
Summary	p. 427
Test Your Skills	p. 427
Part 2 The Genres of Games	p. 433
Chapter 13 Action Games	p. 435
What Are Action Games?	p. 436
Action Game Subgenres	p. 436
Game Features	p. 443
Summary	p. 462
Test Your Skills	p. 462
Chapter 14 Strategy Games	p. 468
What Are Strategy Games?	p. 469
Game Features	p. 470
Core Mechanics	p. 477
The Game World	p. 493
The Presentation Layer	p. 495
Artificial Opponents	p. 497
Summary	p. 500
Test Your Skills	p. 501
Chapter 15 Role-Playing Games	p. 507
What Are Role-Playing Games?	p. 508
Game Features	p. 510
Core Mechanics	p. 518
The Game World and Story	p. 528
The Presentation Layer	p. 532
Summary	p. 535
Test Your Skills	p. 536
Chapter 16 Sports Games	p. 542
What Are Sports Games?	p. 543
Game Features	p. 544
Core Mechanics	p. 551
The Game World	p. 557
The Presentation Layer	p. 560
Summary	p. 563
Test Your Skills	p. 564
Chapter 17 Vehicle Simulations	p. 571
What Are Vehicle Simulations?	p. 572
Game Features	p. 572
Core Mechanics	p. 576
Other Vehicles	p. 579
Intellectual Property Rights	p. 582
The Presentation Layer	p. 583
Summary	p. 589
Test Your Skills	p. 589
Chapter 18 Construction and Management Simulations	p. 595
What Are Construction and Management Simulations?	p. 596
Game Features	p. 596
Core Mechanics	p. 607
The Game World	p. 610
The Presentation Layer	p. 610
Summary	p. 612
Test Your Skills	p. 612
Chapter 19 Adventure Games	p. 618
What Are Adventure Games?	p. 619
Game Features	p. 622
The Presentation Layer	p. 639
Summary	p. 644
Test Your Skills	p. 645
Chapter 20 Artificial Life and Puzzle Games	p. 650
Artificial Life Games	p. 651
Puzzle Games	p. 659
Summary	p. 664
Test Your Skills	p. 665
Glossary	p. G1
References	p. R1
Index	p. I1

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