Preface
As the authors of this book, we promise you an honest, unfiltered, and highly practical guide to the art and craft of game design.
To begin with, we have to acknowledge that there are great benefits to learning more about the history of games, the nature of human behavior, and the theory of play. Also, there's great material out there (some of it referenced in this very book) that we can wholeheartedly recommend that you explore!
However, our medium is rapidly evolving, and when it comes to working as a game designer in the modern day and age, there appears to be a gap; we took upon ourselves the tremendous task of trying to fill it.
Our goal is to not only share our knowledge on game design but also to shed light on how to work in a modern development team. From game concept to release and well into live operations, years of experience, blood, sweat, and post-crunch tears and distilled into practical and applicable knowledge.
We've done our best to gather actionable insight and valuable advice on game design across genres, development platforms, and business models, and we are very humbled by the ability to share it with the world!
Who this book is for
Whether you are a student just approaching the discipline, an existing game designer, or a developer looking to expand your knowledge, this book will equip you with the fundamental know-how and best practices to help you succeed in your career.
What this book covers
Chapter 1, Introducing the Game Production Process, explores the basic machinations of the games industry, teaching you about various game design roles, responsibilities of designers, production methods, and development milestones.
Chapter 2, Game Concept, teaches you how to write a game concept and your responsibilities as a game designer in the process of doing so. Practical tips and real-life examples will help you create your very own game concept based on an original idea or an existing game.
Chapter 3, Scoping a Game Project, covers the concepts and relationships between the game's overall scope, its structure, and its content. We'll explore real-world examples and help you build an understanding of how to better document the size, complexity, and dependencies in your game, as well as help you estimate your tasks.
Chapter 4, Design Documentation, explains everything you need to know about writing game design documentation: from the tools and techniques to numerous pieces of practical advice.
Chapter 5, Adaptation of Mechanics, approaches the definition of game mechanics and will give you an idea of how to create your own game using pieces from existing games. This chapter also introduces the concept of dynamics and features as a set of mechanics that form a bigger part of the game.
Chapter 6, Invention of Mechanics, explores the theory behind game design and the creation of mechanics that are fun to play. You'll learn how a new mechanic is taught and how the core loop of a game is formed. Finally, you will learn about the roles of conflict, combat systems, game complexity, and depth.
Chapter 7, Prototyping,demonstrates how to prototype a game idea or concept. This chapter will cover both paper and digital prototyping, with all the pros and cons of both techniques. You will read about a practical example from a real-life scenario, easy to replicate as an exercise.
Chapter 8, Games and Stories, highlights the importance of narrative elements in games and helps you design strong characters, intriguing worlds, and compelling stories.
Chapter 9, Level Design, introduces you to processes and techniques used to create highly playable game content. You'll learn about creating believable spaces, manipulating light and geometry, and making the best of the available game mechanics.
Chapter 10, Characters, explains the different kinds of characters that populate virtual worlds and how to make the best use of them. In this chapter, you will also get a closer look at a practical character-design example for an existing game, from which you'll be able to get some inspiration to try and do your own character design, a great exercise for any game designer.
Chapter 11, User Interface and User Experience, outlines the complexities of input mechanics, camera systems, and effective game feedback. You'll then gain practical insight into the processes behind UI and UX design, helping you create interfaces and experiences that are informative, empowering, and delightful to interact with.
Chapter 12, Accessibility, dives into how to make your games more accessible, that is, easier to use, understand, and relate to. You'll then learn about usability testing and arm yourself with the expertise required to plan and execute your very own playtesting sessions.
Chapter 13, Balancing, combines the knowledge from previous chapters and explores the ways in which you can pace, structure, and adjust the rules and content of your games to create experiences that capture and hold the interest of your audience.
Chapter 14, The Final 10 Percent, takes you through the processes that need to take place before a game is finally released. You will also read about the difficulties and pitfalls of closing and be releasing a video game, and how to avoid them.
Chapter 15, Games As a Service, distills the knowledge required to turn your game into a successful service—from monetization tips and live operations strategy to addressing game balancing, understanding analytics, customer support, and the tools required to run your games sustainably.
To get the most out of this book
We've done our best to explain any industry-specific terms and practices in order to make this book as accessible as possible.
The contents of this book require no prior experience with game development. However, a basic knowledge of some popular video games (such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Hearthstone, and Starcraft) will be helpful.
Download the color images
We also provide a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots and diagrams used in this book. You can download it here: https://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/downloads/PracticalGameDesign_ColorImages.pdf.
Conventions used
There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book. An exercise is styled as follows:
Exercise This is your first exercise. If you have a game idea already in your head, try to put it on paper: a couple of pages would be enough. If you don't have any particular game idea in mind, try to describe a game that you have played and loved enough to know all its rules and secrets.
Italics: Indicates new or highly specific terms as well as titles of games, books, or articles.
Bold: Is sometimes used within the body text to put extra emphasis on certain terms and sentences.
Note
Important notes and information appear like this.
Note
Tips, tricks, and interesting techniques appear like this.
Get in touch
Feedback from our readers is always welcome.
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Disclaimer
The screenshots used in this book are for illustrative purposes only. We do not recommend you to misuse these in any way. For more information please consult the terms and conditions of the publishers mentioned here.Electronic Arts(EA) : https://www.ea.com/terms-of-service
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