Game Design Readings
by Knut LSG Hybinette · in Torque in Education · 04/18/2007 (10:05 pm) · 6 replies
Cheers all,
I was wondering if anyone has any good reading materials for intro Game Deign Class. I am more interested in Conceptual reading materials rather technical readings. In my class we read chapters from Rules of Play by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, too You're In Control: A Urinary User Interface by Dan Maynes or any various articles on Gamasutra on Game Design or any article that can start an interesting discussion in class.
Looking forward for this thread to list any good books on Game Design or good articles/essay that can be used for Game Design Class. If, possible to list good assignments from readings.
I was wondering if anyone has any good reading materials for intro Game Deign Class. I am more interested in Conceptual reading materials rather technical readings. In my class we read chapters from Rules of Play by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, too You're In Control: A Urinary User Interface by Dan Maynes or any various articles on Gamasutra on Game Design or any article that can start an interesting discussion in class.
Looking forward for this thread to list any good books on Game Design or good articles/essay that can be used for Game Design Class. If, possible to list good assignments from readings.
#2
Yes, Gamasutra, has some great articles. Anything by Ernest Adams is usually good discussion fodder. Also, there have been some excellent articles/blogs right here on the Garage Games website. Any blog written by Jeff Tunnell or Joe Maruschak should be required reading, for example. :)
While I'm at it, Bendik Stang has written some nice stuff about game engines and doesn't dig too deep into the technical. And Joshua Dallman and Jeremy Alessi have written some insightful blogs over the years. Especially this one and this one.
This next suggestion is going to sound strange, but I would recommend reading a good game design document guide. I've learned tons from reading Tim Ryan's Anatomy of a Design Document. Excellent stuff in that one.
Also consider looking at Game Development and Production by Erik Bethke. It's full of cool info that should keep your classes buzzing for weeks. Another good one is The Game Developer's Market Guide.. There is some overlap, of course, but that's ok.
@Will
I'm not sure where all the frustration is coming from, but, um, ok. As far as I know, Garage Games (note the spelling) never offered to answer every question or solve every user's problem. Those requirements are certainly not in the End User License Agreement.
Garage Games has, however, provided a set of tools that we can use in our own garage/basement/spare'oom' to build whatever kinds of games we want. Like Craftsman (tm), DeWalt (tm), and other tool manufacturers, the guys and gals at Garage Games should not be expected to answer all possible questions about how their tools can be used for all their customers' imaginative ideas.
From my perspective, the Garage Games community seems well suited for people who want to dig in and build cool stuff without reinventing the wheel. And, I should emphasize that it is a *community* of people with a shared hobby, often using the same tools.
I can only imagine what your specific problems are with Garage Games, but I don't see why those issues should crop up in this forum topic. It looks like Knut was just looking for some cool reading recommendations from fellow educators / game dev students. Who knows, maybe even a friendly dialog about interesting topics to discuss in class.
An attack on Garage Games in this thread just seems to take the conversation to places it wasn't meant to go.
04/24/2007 (4:00 pm)
@Knut (is that correct?)Yes, Gamasutra, has some great articles. Anything by Ernest Adams is usually good discussion fodder. Also, there have been some excellent articles/blogs right here on the Garage Games website. Any blog written by Jeff Tunnell or Joe Maruschak should be required reading, for example. :)
While I'm at it, Bendik Stang has written some nice stuff about game engines and doesn't dig too deep into the technical. And Joshua Dallman and Jeremy Alessi have written some insightful blogs over the years. Especially this one and this one.
This next suggestion is going to sound strange, but I would recommend reading a good game design document guide. I've learned tons from reading Tim Ryan's Anatomy of a Design Document. Excellent stuff in that one.
Also consider looking at Game Development and Production by Erik Bethke. It's full of cool info that should keep your classes buzzing for weeks. Another good one is The Game Developer's Market Guide.. There is some overlap, of course, but that's ok.
@Will
I'm not sure where all the frustration is coming from, but, um, ok. As far as I know, Garage Games (note the spelling) never offered to answer every question or solve every user's problem. Those requirements are certainly not in the End User License Agreement.
Garage Games has, however, provided a set of tools that we can use in our own garage/basement/spare'oom' to build whatever kinds of games we want. Like Craftsman (tm), DeWalt (tm), and other tool manufacturers, the guys and gals at Garage Games should not be expected to answer all possible questions about how their tools can be used for all their customers' imaginative ideas.
From my perspective, the Garage Games community seems well suited for people who want to dig in and build cool stuff without reinventing the wheel. And, I should emphasize that it is a *community* of people with a shared hobby, often using the same tools.
I can only imagine what your specific problems are with Garage Games, but I don't see why those issues should crop up in this forum topic. It looks like Knut was just looking for some cool reading recommendations from fellow educators / game dev students. Who knows, maybe even a friendly dialog about interesting topics to discuss in class.
An attack on Garage Games in this thread just seems to take the conversation to places it wasn't meant to go.
#3
It seems extremely disingenuous, if not downright creepy, that a channel moderator would disguise as a real member. Typical of the attempt to mask the lack of official customer support, which is the root cause of this problem: "You need help? Ask someone else!"
You think you sold a can of beans, and we can figure out the recipe. There is code in TGE that even you guys don't understand.
I just bought a Crafstman 3.5 in chain saw. Came with a manual that described EVERY single component of the saw and how they worked together. The DVD showed how to use the saw. There is a 800 number I called and, though prolly Indian, the person on the other end understood the saw and answered questions I had about it.
Look at Ubuntu's web site. They have a hot line where you can get support any time. They use volunteers. THEY have support. You don't.
04/27/2007 (9:13 am)
@FraudIt seems extremely disingenuous, if not downright creepy, that a channel moderator would disguise as a real member. Typical of the attempt to mask the lack of official customer support, which is the root cause of this problem: "You need help? Ask someone else!"
You think you sold a can of beans, and we can figure out the recipe. There is code in TGE that even you guys don't understand.
I just bought a Crafstman 3.5 in chain saw. Came with a manual that described EVERY single component of the saw and how they worked together. The DVD showed how to use the saw. There is a 800 number I called and, though prolly Indian, the person on the other end understood the saw and answered questions I had about it.
Look at Ubuntu's web site. They have a hot line where you can get support any time. They use volunteers. THEY have support. You don't.
#4
It seems extremely disingenuous, if not downright creepy, that a channel moderator would disguise as a real member. Typical of the attempt to mask the lack of official customer support, which is the root cause of this problem: "You need help? Ask someone else!"
You think you sold a can of beans, and we can figure out the recipe. There is code in TGE that even you guys don't understand.
I just bought a Crafstman 3.5 in chain saw. Came with a manual that described EVERY single component of the saw and how they worked together. The DVD showed how to use the saw. There is a 800 number I called and, though prolly Indian, the person on the other end understood the saw and answered questions I had about it.
Look at Ubuntu's web site. They have a hot line where you can get support any time. They use volunteers. THEY have support. You don't.
04/27/2007 (9:18 am)
@FraudIt seems extremely disingenuous, if not downright creepy, that a channel moderator would disguise as a real member. Typical of the attempt to mask the lack of official customer support, which is the root cause of this problem: "You need help? Ask someone else!"
You think you sold a can of beans, and we can figure out the recipe. There is code in TGE that even you guys don't understand.
I just bought a Crafstman 3.5 in chain saw. Came with a manual that described EVERY single component of the saw and how they worked together. The DVD showed how to use the saw. There is a 800 number I called and, though prolly Indian, the person on the other end understood the saw and answered questions I had about it.
Look at Ubuntu's web site. They have a hot line where you can get support any time. They use volunteers. THEY have support. You don't.
#5
Ubuntu and Linux have been around awhile, there's tons of support all over the web for linux. If you've ever brought a complicated question to Ubuntu's support, they are typically baffled. Torque is a game engine that can no more predict what will be developed using it, let alone want to build a tool that limits itself to cutting down trees or trimming bushes.
If you're frustrated that software development isn't as easy as chain saws, you might be in the wrong place :)
04/27/2007 (9:44 am)
Wow, comparing a chainsaw with software development.Ubuntu and Linux have been around awhile, there's tons of support all over the web for linux. If you've ever brought a complicated question to Ubuntu's support, they are typically baffled. Torque is a game engine that can no more predict what will be developed using it, let alone want to build a tool that limits itself to cutting down trees or trimming bushes.
If you're frustrated that software development isn't as easy as chain saws, you might be in the wrong place :)
Will Paicius
There are many resources for this topic and so my bias will affect this answer.
Best place to start is the book "Rules of Play". It has a great anthology reader associated with it, called "The Game Design Reader". In this set, credible authors have selected gems from the literature on Game Design and provided a source for them.
I really like the stuff at:
http://www.8formsoffun.com The MDA model is the best!
Chris Crawford put his entire book online:
http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Coverpage.html
Too bad there is no real support at Garbage Games! We are stuck fending for ourselves.
Alles Gute!
Will