Advanced Game Design: A Systems Approach PDF
Preview Advanced Game Design: A Systems Approach
Advanced Game Design The Pearson Addison-Wesley Game Design and Development Series Visit informit.com/series/gamedesign for a complete list of available publications. Essential References for Game Designers and Developers These practical guides, written by distinguished professors and industry gurus, cover basic tenets of game design and development using a straightforward, common-sense approach. The books encourage readers to try things on their own and think for themselves, making it easier for anyone to learn how to design and develop digital games for both computers and mobile devices. Make sure to connect with us! informit.com/socialconnect Advanced Game Design A Systems Approach Michael Sellers Boston • Columbus • Indianapolis • New York • San Francisco Amsterdam • Cape Town • Dubai • London • Madrid • Milan Munich • Paris • Montreal • Toronto • Delhi • Mexico City São Paulo • Sidney • Hong Kong • Seoul • Singapore • Taipei • Tokyo Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products Editor-in-Chief are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the Mark Taub publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial Executive Editor capital letters or in all capitals. Laura Lewin The author and publisher have taken care in the preparation of this book, but make no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assume no responsibility for errors or Development Editor omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection Chris Zahn with or arising out of the use of the information or programs contained herein. Managing Editor For information about buying this title in bulk quantities, or for special sales opportunities Sandra Schroeder (which may include electronic versions; custom cover designs; and content particular to Senior Project Editor your business, training goals, marketing focus, or branding interests), please contact our Lori Lyons corporate sales department at [email protected] or (800) 382-3419. For government sales inquiries, please contact [email protected]. Project Manager Dhayanidhi Karunanidhi For questions about sales outside the U.S., please contact [email protected]. Visit us on the Web: informit.com/aw Copy Editor Kitty Wilson Library of Congress Control Number: 2017953924 Indexer Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc. Erika Millen All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by copyright, and permission must be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited Proofreader Rupa HS reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding Technical Editors permissions, request forms and the appropriate contacts within the Pearson Education Daniel Cook Global Rights & Permissions Department, please visit www.pearsoned.com/permissions/. Ellen Guon Beeman ISBN-13: 978-0-13-466760-7 Publishing Coordinator ISBN-10: 0-13-466760-3 Courtney Martin 1 17 Cover Designer Chuti Prasersith Compositor codeMantra Dedicated to all those creating and becoming the next generation of game designers. This page intentionally left blank Contents at a Glance Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii About the Author. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Part I Foundations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 1 Foundations of Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 2 Defining Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 3 Foundations of Games and Game Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 4 Interactivity and Fun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121 Part II Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 5 Working as a Systemic Game Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171 6 Designing the Whole Experience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187 7 Creating Game Loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219 8 Defining Game Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267 Part III Practice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 9 Game Balance Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 10 Game Balance Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319 11 Working as a Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .355 12 Making Your Game Real. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .375 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409 Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .417 This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiv Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 A Combined Approach to Game Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Where This Book Came From . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 What This Book Is and Isn’t About . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Goals of This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 How to Read This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Part I Foundations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 1 Foundations of Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Ways of Seeing and Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 A Quick History of Systems Thinking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Systems as the Process of the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 2 Defining Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 What We Mean by Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 A Brief Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Defining Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Wholes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 3 Foundations of Games and Game Design . . . . . . . . .89 What’s a Game? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Game Frameworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Summing Up Game Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
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