Design accessible and creative games across genres, platforms, and development realities
Key Features
- Implement the skills and techniques required to work in a professional studio
- Ace the core principles and processes of level design, world building, and storytelling
- Design interactive characters that animate the gaming world
Book Description
If you are looking for an up-to-date and highly applicable guide to game design, then you have come to the right place! Immerse yourself in the fundamentals of game design with this book, written by two highly experienced industry professionals to share their profound insights as well as give valuable advice on creating games across genres and development platforms.
This book covers the basics of game design one piece at a time. Starting with learning how to conceptualize a game idea and present it to the development team, you will gradually move on to devising a design plan for the whole project and adapting solutions from other games. You will also discover how to produce original game mechanics without relying on existing reference material, and test and eliminate anticipated design risks. You will then design elements that compose the playtime of a game, followed by making game mechanics, content, and interface accessible to all players. You will also find out how to simultaneously ensure that the gameplay mechanics and content are working as intended.
As the book reaches its final chapters, you will learn to wrap up a game ahead of its release date, work through the different challenges of designing free-to-play games, and understand how to significantly improve their quality through iteration, polishing and playtesting.
What you will learn
- Define the scope and structure of a game project
- Conceptualize a game idea and present it to others
- Design gameplay systems and communicate them clearly and thoroughly
- Build and validate engaging game mechanics
- Design successful business models and prepare your games for live operations
- Master the principles behind level design, worldbuilding and storytelling
- Improve the quality of a game by playtesting and polishing it
Who this book is for
Whether you are a student eager to design a game or a junior game designer looking for your first role as a professional, this book will help you with the fundamentals of game design. By focusing on best practices and a pragmatic approach, Practical Game Design provides insights into the arts and crafts from two senior game designers that will interest more seasoned professionals in the game industry.
Table of Contents
- Introducing Game Production Process
- Game Concept
- Scoping a Game Project
- Design Documentation
- Adaptation of mechanics
- Invention of mechanics
- Prototyping
- Campaign playthrough
- Level Design
- Characters
- User Interface & User Experience
- Accessibility
- Balancing
- The Final 10 Percent
- Games as a Service
Adam Kramarzewski is a game designer who, at the age of 19, dived straight into the pre-smartphone mobile games industry of 2007. He has gathered over a decade of experience with the likes of Gameloft, Square Enix, and Space Ape Games, and has worked on over 30 game projects and many world-class IPs, including Lara Croft, Deus Ex, and Transformers. Adam is an avid gamer, and a fan of cinematography, psychology, and all things science. He also sat on the jury for game design at the 2017 BAFTA Video Game Awards.
Ennio De Nucci is a game designer and developer. He has worked as a game designer since 2011 and designed both digital video games and physical board games. He worked for a variety of video game developers, such as PM Studios Srl, IGT, Supermassive Games, and Another Place Productions. Currently, he works as a Lead Game Designer for one of the most renowned strategy games developer.
