Product Description

What exactly is the elusive ingredient that makes a game worth playing? To create a great game you need passion, imagination, talent, a good understanding of game-play and design, experience, a dedicated team, good project management and lots of hard work. Every game developed is individual, but there are certain techniques and fundamentals that can be learnt to understand the creative process of game design, and those fundamentals will be discussed throughout this book.   Covering the process of game design, the book builds up a set of techniques used by designers within the industry. It will show and tell, explaining how and why things are done the way they are, and will feature first-hand experiences, examples and case studies from the creators of successful games such as ‘Lara Croft/Tomb Raider’ and Peter Molyneux’s ‘Black and White’. Throughout the book an imaginary game "Jumping Jack" will be discussed, taking the reader through the process of developing a design from the initial idea through to the full-blown specification. Demonstration levels and the design documents will be included on the accompanying CD, and these documents can be used as templates for future designs.   The book is divided into two parts. The first, Design DNA, discusses the components that make up a game design. The second part, Building the Design, describes the process of creating and formatting design documents. Using case studies and examples, the elements that create fun and absorbing game-play will be revealed. The book covers the range of major consoles such as PS2, Nintendo Gamecube, Xbox, Gameboy Advance and the PC, providing an insight into the different considerations a designer must be aware of for different platforms and producing cross-platform games.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #470392 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

From the Back Cover
 

"A must-have for almost all games software development companies and also for the literally hundreds of freelancers working in the industry"

Julian G Hicks, Managing Director, Gameworld Seven Ltd

"Takes you step-by-fascinating-step through all the ins-and-outs of life as a game designer"

Kevin Buckner, Game Design Consultant, Design Games Ltd

What is the elusive ingredient that makes a game worth playing? It can be the scream of Daytona, the kill thrill of Quake or Doom or maybe the sense of achievement from finally completing Dungeon Siege. There is no instruction manual for making great games and it's certainly not easy to create a masterpiece. What it takes is passion, imagination, talent, a good understanding of gameplay and game design principles, experience, a dedicated team, efficient project management and good old-fashioned hard work.

Every game is individual, but there are techniques and fundamentals that can be learnt to understand the creative process of game design. These fundamentals are discussed throughout the book, enabling you to:

·         learn the art of creating fun and absorbing gameplay

·         recognise and create components of a game

·         create coherent game design documents

The book is in two parts. The first discusses the components that make up gameplay using case studies and examples. The second goes through the stages of creating and formatting design documents, showing how to approach the industry to start or further your career.

Whether you are a student studying game design, a practitioner working in the industry or simply someone wanting to take your first steps in this area, this book will give you new insights on many aspects of game design that will prove invaluable for your ongoing or future career in game development.

Kevin Oxland has worked in the games industry for more than twenty years, holding positions such as Creative Director at Virgin Interactive in London. He has worked at Westwood Studios in Las Vegas on Disney's The Lion King and Pinocchio, and has also been involved in setting up two successful development studios and creating numerous games for many top publishers around the world.

Customer Reviews

some information about this book
From my opinion, I think this is a very useful book for the game designers at the beginning level, or who are interested in game design. The book has included the components of GamePlay, Elements and tips of how to build a creative Game, and information of Game design documents. All the information has been introduced to you by A case studying which is extreme helpful for people who at the beginning level of game design. Hope this information could help you to know a little bit better about this book.