The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses
On March - 8 - 20105 COMMENTS
Product Description
Anyone can master the fundamentals of game design – no technological expertise is necessary. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses shows that the same basic principles of psychology that work for board games, card games and athletic games also are the keys to making top-quality videogames. Good game design happens when you view your game from many different perspectives, or lenses. While touring through the unusual territory that is game design, this book gives t… More >>
The book is written cleanly in an language that is inviting to new comers of game design. Mr. Schell provides great stories, concepts, and asks questions that force you to think critically about what you’re doing at any stage in your game’s design. The perfect companion while you’re stuck or to let you know you’re on the right track.
Thanks!
Rating: 5 / 5
This book really digs down to the fundamentals of game design and reminds you to step back to look at your game often. Highly recommended.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is a very unusual book with a very fresh way of looking at experiences of any kind. I have zero connection with formal game design, and yet I think this book has revolutionized my awareness of ‘experience products’ generally. You could use many the principles described in the 100 ‘lens’ described in this book to ‘design’ everything from jobs to organizations to dining experiences to software UIs to vacations to relationships.
If you want to understand experiences at a whole new level then get this book.
I often carry the ‘100 Lens’ card deck around with me and find myself looking at just about everything through these lenses.
Rating: 5 / 5
I’ve been a professional game developer for quite some time now, and I have seen the number of game design books on the market increase dramatically over the years. It can be hard for someone new to game design to find a book that a) isn’t outdated, b) has timeless, practical advice, and c) reads so well that you’re actually entertained as you learn. The Art of Game Design does all of these things remarkably well, so if you’re searching for a book on game design, I recommend you stop now and just pick up this one.
In here, Schell teaches you not only how to create great games, but great experiences. He draws upon a multitude of disciplines and years of application to explain principles that will never be outdated. I truly don’t think anyone, whether novice or advanced, could read this book and not come out a better designer because of it. Reading it will spark many new ideas in your mind, and if you’re already designing a game, encourage you to look at it in whole new ways to bring out its full potential (or make you realize you should trash the idea altogether.)
There is also an accompanying product, The Art of Game Design: A Deck of Lenses, which are a bunch of cards that each ask you to look at your game from a different perspective. The book was so good I actually got the cards, too, just to support the guy, but you know what? They are actually incredibly helpful, and are now an invaluable design tool that I use on all the games I create.
So just in case I haven’t been totally clear: if you’re interested at all in game design, get this book now!
Rating: 5 / 5
Every now and then, amidst the seemingly endless torrent of new publications each year on practically every subject known to mankind, there is a book that somehow finds a way to both educate and entertain it’s readers. This is one of them.
There have been innumerable books on the subject of game design in recent years, many offering varying amounts of information, but few offering the unbiased perspective of this wonderful creation. The Art of Game Design approaches its title subject from a very broad viewpoint that is applicable to not only video game design, but most types of game and non-game design as well. For those in the industry (or looking to be in it) the book serves as an invaluable treasure chest of tools that can be readily applied to your design. And though this book is unquestionably aimed at designers, anyone in the industry, from AI programmers to concept artists, will find great value in here.
As has been stated in other reviews, this is not a technical book, and instead focuses on the true inherent art of design, and how various design principles from fields as different as rollercoaster design and architectural design can be applied to game design with success.
The book quite literally gives you one hundred new ways of looking at game design (the Lenses) that I feel can benefit both novice and veteran designers alike, for many of the lenses are in the form of questions that you might not think to ask yourself. (And which have an uncanny ability to point out things you might have missed.)
Adding to this the book is simply entertaining to read, making it one of those sadly all too rare simultaneously entertaining and educational experiences. Were that only all education this enjoyable…
I highly recommend this book to anyone in the gaming industry, or even thinking about getting into the gaming industry. It gives you great insight into the Art of Game Design that will without doubt be useful for many years to come.
Rating: 5 / 5