Practical Game Design

Arm yourself with the practical skills and cutting-edge insights necessary to successfully design captivating games across a variety of genres and platforms with the help of this part-color guide

Key Features

• Master the skills, processes, and techniques essential for working in a professional setting
• Grasp the core principles and processes of level design, world building, and storytelling
• Design, implement, and refine high-quality features and mechanics for contemporary video games
• Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Book Description

If you’re in search of a cutting-edge actionable guide to game design, your quest ends here! Immerse yourself in the fundamentals of game design with expert guidance from veterans with decades of game design experience across a variety of genres and platforms.

The second edition of this book remains dedicated to its original goal of helping you master the fundamentals of game design in a practical manner with the addition of some of the latest trends in game design and a whole lot of fresh, real-world examples from games of the current generation. This update brings a new chapter on games as a service, explaining the evolving role of the game designer and diving deeper into the design of games that are meant to be played forever. From conceptualizing a game idea, you’ll gradually move on to devising a design plan and adapting solutions from existing games, exploring the craft of producing original game mechanics, and eliminating anticipated design risks through testing. You’ll then be introduced to level design, interactive storytelling, user experience and accessibility.

By the end of this game design book, you’ll have learned how to wrap up a game ahead of its release date, work through the challenges of designing free-to-play games and games as a service, and significantly improve their quality through iteration, playtesting, and polishing.

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 games as a service and prepare them for live operations
• Improve the quality of a game through playtesting and meticulous polishing

Who this book is for

Whether you are a student eager to design your very first game or a game designer looking to expand your skill set, this book will help you master the fundamentals of game design across all stages of game development. With a focus on best practices and a pragmatic approach, Practical Game Design offers insights into the art and craft of game design from two senior game designers, with insider knowledge that even veterans will find valuable. While prior experience with game development is not absolutely necessary, having basic knowledge of popular video games will prove helpful.

Table of Contents

1. Introducing the Game Production Process
2. Preparing a Game Concept
3. Scoping a Game Project
4. Creating Design Documentation
5. Understanding Game Mechanics
6. Designing Systems and Features
7. Making Prototypes
8. Designing Compelling Stories for Games
9. The Fundamentals of Level Design
10. Creating Characters
11. Balancing Your Content and Systems
12. Building a Great User Interface and User Experience
13. Making Your Games Accessible
14. Mastering Games as a Service
15. Understanding Monetization Techniques
16. The Final 10%

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 fifteen years of experience with the likes of Gameloft, Square Enix, Space Ape Games, and Madbox, and has worked on over 30 game projects and many world-class IPs, including Lara Croft, Deus Ex, Transformers, and Boom Beach. Adam is an avid gamer, a fan of cinematography, psychology, and all things science. He also sat on the jury for game design at the 2017 and 2022 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 developers.