Game Design: Theory and Practice (2nd Edition) (Wordware Game Developer's Library)

List Price: $49.95 Discount Price: $19.95

Customer Reviews:

Didn't tell me much more than I already knew [Posted on 2006-08-03]
Being an avid gamer, and dreaming of working in the video game industry, I pretty much knew everyhing there was in this book. However, if you're not like me, then I think you will find this book useful.
The book goes from the beginning stages of video game design up to the completion of a video game. It gives really good information about what makes a game good and not tired and done before.
The interviews of the game designers are kinda helpful; it really depends on if you already know the designers work and are familiar with it.
This is a non-technical book though, so it won't tell you how to code a game or make models. It basically tells you all of the intangibles you can't learn in a class or really anywhere.

It's worth the read.

Great book. helped for class greatly [Posted on 2006-09-15]
I got this book to help in a class since it was a course requirement. It has alot of good info and intangibles about game design that is very helpful to anybody that would want to know.

Excellent resource for students  [Posted on 2007-03-13]
I am currently using this as my Game Design textbook. As a student, it provides not only mere theory, but valuable interviews with upstanding designers. It is clear, and a joy to read.

Great interview and practical examples book. [Posted on 2007-06-27]
The editorial review is kinda deceiving, so I'll just write what's missing on it: The book tries to balance between theory, practical examples and interviews.

Which may be great to some, but not that great to others.

The book is basicaly structured in this way:
30-50 pages of Theory
5-15 pages of a practical example (something about the theory on an actual game)
15-40 pages of Interview (with some famous game designer... which might be good if the reader knows their games, and might be bad if the reader doesn't, since not much of it is exactly "game designer" content).

That structure is repeated through over and over the book's 677 pages.
But don't get me wrong, the content is still very good. Cover lots of stuff from developing the game concept, to more technical stuff like AI, Multi-playing, Level design and playtesting.

So, a good book that covers lots of stuff on game design without going too deep in specific stuff.

Great book for every game designer... [Posted on 2008-09-22]
That's really great book for every game designer or someone who wants to be one, but also a good one for all other people working on game, so that they can understand design work. Just don't expect programming or animation or other topics from it, it's about "game design" not "game software design" or "game graphics design" or others. It's also very important that author actually IS game designer of commercial games, and included example of design document of one of his released games (The Suffering) - some really good material there, that one is really worth it!

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