Game design : theory & practice / Richard Rouse III.

By:

Rouse, Richard

Material type: Text

TextSeries: Wordware game developer\'s libraryPublication details: Plano, Tex. : Wordware ; Lancaster : Gazelle, 2002.Edition: 2nd edDescription: 650 p. : ill. ; 24 cmISBN:

1556229127

Subject(s):

Computer games -- Programming

DDC classification:

006.66 ROU

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Call number	Copy number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Standard Loan	Moylish Library Main Collection	006.66 ROU (Browse shelf(Opens below))	1	Available		39002000369521

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Both burgeoning game designers and devoted gamers should consider [Game Design: Theory & Practice] an essential read." -- Computer Gaming World"Ultimately, in both theory and practice, Rouse's Game Design bible gets the job done. Let us pray." - Next Generation magazine In the second edition to the acclaimed Game Design: Theory & Practice, designer Richard Rouse III balances a discussion of the essential concepts behind game design with an explanation of how you can implement them in your current project. Detailed analysis of successful games is interwoven with concrete examples from Rouse's own experience. This second edition thoroughly updates the popular original with new chapters and fully revised text.

Previous ed.: 2000.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

Foreword (p. xvi)
Introduction to the Second Edition (p. xvii)
Introduction (p. xx)
Chapter 1 What Players Want (p. 1)
Why Do Players Play? (p. 2)
Players Want a Challenge (p. 2)
Players Want to Socialize (p. 3)
Players Want a Dynamic Solitary Experience (p. 5)
Players Want Bragging Rights (p. 5)
Players Want an Emotional Experience (p. 6)
Players Want to Explore (p. 6)
Players Want to Fantasize (p. 7)
Players Want to Interact (p. 8)
What Do Players Expect? (p. 8)
Players Expect a Consistent World (p. 8)
Players Expect to Understand the Game-World's Bounds (p. 9)
Players Expect Reasonable Solutions to Work (p. 10)
Players Expect Direction (p. 10)
Players Expect to Accomplish a Task Incrementally (p. 11)
Players Expect to Be Immersed (p. 12)
Players Expect Some Setbacks (p. 14)
Players Expect a Fair Chance (p. 14)
Players Expect to Not Need to Repeat Themselves (p. 15)
Players Expect to Not Get Hopelessly Stuck (p. 16)
Players Expect to Do, Not to Watch (p. 17)
Players Do Not Know What They Want, but They Know When It Is Missing (p. 18)
A Never-Ending List (p. 19)
Chapter 2 Interview: Sid Meier (p. 20)
Chapter 3 Brainstorming a Game Idea: Gameplay, Technology, and Story (p. 40)
Starting Points (p. 41)
Starting with Gameplay (p. 42)
Starting with Technology (p. 43)
Starting with Story (p. 45)
Working with Limitations (p. 47)
Odyssey: The Legend of Nemesis (p. 48)
Damage Incorporated (p. 49)
Centipede 3D (p. 50)
The Suffering (p. 51)
Embrace Your Limitations (p. 52)
Established Technology (p. 53)
The Case of the Many Mushrooms (p. 54)
The Time Allotted (p. 55)
If You Choose Not to Decide, You Still Have Made a Choice (p. 56)
Chapter 4 Game Analysis: Centipede (p. 57)
Classic Arcade Game Traits (p. 59)
Input (p. 62)
Interconnectedness (p. 63)
Escalating Tension (p. 65)
One Person, One Game (p. 67)
Chapter 5 Focus (p. 69)
Establishing Focus (p. 70)
An Example: Winter Carnival Whirlwind (p. 72)
The Function of the Focus (p. 74)
Maintaing Focus (p. 77)
Fleshing Out the Focus (p. 78)
Changing Focus (p. 79)
Sub-Focuses (p. 82)
Using Focus (p. 85)
Chapter 6 Interview: Ed Logg (p. 87)
Chapter 7 The Elements of Gameplay (p. 115)
Unique Solutions (p. 116)
Anticipatory versus Complex Systems (p. 116)
Emergence (p. 117)
Non-Linearity (p. 119)
Types of Non-Linearity (p. 119)
Implementation (p. 121)
The Purpose of Non-Linearity (p. 123)
Modeling Reality (p. 125)
Teaching the Player (p. 127)
Tutorials (p. 128)
Input/Output (p. 131)
Controls and Input (p. 131)
Output and Game-World Feedback (p. 136)
Basic Elements (p. 140)
Chapter 8 Game Analysis: Tetris (p. 141)
Puzzle Game or Action Game? (p. 142)
Tetris as a Classic Arcade Game (p. 144)
The Technology (p. 146)
Artificial Intelligence (p. 147)
Escalating Tension (p. 148)
Simplicity and Symmetry (p. 149)
Fifteen Years On, Who Would Publish Tetris? (p. 150)
Chapter 9 Artificial Intelligence (p. 151)
Goals of Game AI (p. 153)
Challenge the Player (p. 154)
Not Do Dumb Things (p. 156)
Be Unpredictable (p. 157)
Assist Storytelling (p. 159)
Create a Living World (p. 162)
The Sloped Playing Field (p. 162)
How Real Is Too Real? (p. 163)
AI Agents and Their Environment (p. 164)
How Good Is Good Enough? (p. 167)
Scripting (p. 168)
Artificial Stupidity (p. 171)
Chapter 10 Interview: Steve Meretzky (p. 172)
Chapter 11 Storytelling (p. 202)
Designer's Story Versus Player's Story (p. 203)
Places for Storytelling (p. 206)
Out-of-Game (p. 207)
In-Game (p. 212)
External Materials (p. 216)
Linear Writing Pitfalls (p. 217)
Player Character Personality (p. 218)
Game Stories (p. 222)
Non-Linearity (p. 223)
Working with the Gameplay (p. 224)
The Dream (p. 225)
Chapter 12 Game Analysis: Loom (p. 227)
Focused Game Mechanics (p. 228)
User Interface (p. 230)
The Drafts System (p. 231)
Difficulty (p. 233)
Story (p. 233)
Loom as an Adventure Game (p. 235)
Chapter 13 Multi-Player (p. 237)
Motivations (p. 238)
The Forms (p. 239)
Single System Multi-Player (p. 239)
Online Multi-Player (p. 241)
Design Considerations (p. 242)
Playing to Strengths (p. 244)
Protect Newbies (p. 246)
Socialization (p. 248)
Development Issues (p. 251)
Playtesting and User Feedback (p. 253)
A World of Their Own (p. 256)
Chapter 14 Interview: Chris Crawford (p. 257)
Chapter 15 Getting the Gameplay Working (p. 281)
The Organic Process (p. 283)
Too Much Too Soon (p. 283)
Keep It Simple (p. 285)
Building the Game (p. 286)
Core Technology (p. 286)
Incremental Steps (p. 287)
A Fully Functional Area (p. 288)
Going Through Changes (p. 290)
Programming (p. 291)
When Is It Fun? (p. 293)
Chapter 16 Game Analysis: Myth: The Fallen Lords (p. 296)
Use of Technology (p. 297)
Game Focus (p. 300)
Storytelling (p. 301)
Hard-Core Gaming (p. 302)
Multi-Player (p. 303)
A Cohesive Whole (p. 304)
Chapter 17 Game Development Documentation (p. 306)
Document Your Game (p. 308)
Concept Document, Pitch Document, or Proposal (p. 308)
Competitive Analysis (p. 309)
Design Document (p. 309)
Flowcharts (p. 311)
Story Bible (p. 311)
Script (p. 313)
Art Bible (p. 315)
The Game Minute (p. 316)
Storyboards (p. 317)
Technical Design Document (p. 317)
Schedules and Business/Marketing Documents (p. 318)
No Standard Documentation (p. 319)
The Benefits of Documentation (p. 319)
Chapter 18 Interview: Jordan Mechner (p. 320)
Chapter 19 The Design Document (p. 355)
The Writing Style (p. 357)
The Sections (p. 359)
Table of Contents (p. 360)
Introduction/Overview or Executive Summary (p. 360)
Game Mechanics (p. 361)
Artificial Intelligence (p. 366)
Game Elements: Characters, Items, and Objects/Mechanisms (p. 369)
Story Overview (p. 371)
Game Progression (p. 371)
System Menus (p. 373)
One Man's Opinion (p. 373)
Inauspicious Design Documents (p. 374)
The Wafer-Thin or Ellipsis Special Document (p. 374)
The Back-Story Tome (p. 375)
The Overkill Document (p. 376)
The Pie-in-the-Sky Document (p. 377)
The Fossilized Document (p. 378)
A Matter of Weight (p. 379)
Getting It Read (p. 380)
Documentation Is Only the Beginning (p. 380)
Chapter 20 Game Analysis: The Sims (p. 382)
Abdicating Authorship (p. 383)
Familiar Subject Matter (p. 384)
Safe Experimentation (p. 386)
Depth and Focus (p. 386)
Interface (p. 387)
Controlled Versus Autonomous Behavior (p. 389)
A Lesson to Be Learned (p. 390)
Chapter 21 Designing Design Tools (p. 392)
Desired Functionality (p. 394)
Visualizing the Level (p. 394)
The Big Picture (p. 396)
Jumping into the Game (p. 397)
Editing the World (p. 399)
Scripting Languages and Object Behaviors (p. 400)
Us Versus Them (p. 403)
The Best of Intentions (p. 405)
A Game Editor for All Seasons (p. 406)
Chapter 22 Interview: Will Wright (p. 408)
Chapter 23 Level Design (p. 449)
Levels in Different Games (p. 450)
Level Separation (p. 451)
Level Order (p. 453)
The Components of a Level (p. 454)
Action (p. 455)
Exploration (p. 456)
Puzzle Solving (p. 457)
Storytelling (p. 458)
Aesthetics (p. 459)
Balancing It All (p. 460)
Level Flow (p. 460)
Elements of Good Levels (p. 463)
Players Cannot Get Stuck (p. 463)
Sub-Goals (p. 463)
Landmarks (p. 464)
Critical Path (p. 465)
Limited Backtracking (p. 465)
Success the First Time (p. 465)
Navigable Areas Clearly Marked (p. 466)
Choices (p. 466)
A Personal List (p. 466)
The Process (p. 467)
Step 1 Preliminary (p. 467)
Step 2 Conceptual and Sketched Outline (p. 468)
Step 3 Base Architecture/Block Out (p. 469)
Step 4 Refine Architecture Until It Is Fun (p. 469)
Step 5 Base Gameplay (p. 470)
Step 6 Refine Gameplay Until It Is Fun (p. 471)
Step 7 Refine Aesthetics (p. 471)
Step 8 Playtesting (p. 472)
Process Variations (p. 472)
Who Does Level Design? (p. 473)
Collaboration (p. 474)
Chapter 24 Game Analysis: Grand Theft Auto III (p. 475)
Believable Game-World (p. 476)
A Living City (p. 477)
Actions and Consequences (p. 480)
Storytelling (p. 481)
Chapter 25 Playtesting (p. 483)
Finding the Right Testers (p. 484)
Who Should Test (p. 485)
Who Should Not Test (p. 487)
When to Test (p. 489)
How to Test (p. 491)
Guided and Unguided Testing (p. 492)
Balancing (p. 493)
Your Game Is Too Hard (p. 495)
The Artistic Vision (p. 497)
Chapter 26 Interview: Doug Church (p. 500)
Conclusion (p. 532)
Art (p. 532)
The Medium (p. 533)
The Motive (p. 534)
Appendix A Sample Design Document: Atomic Sam (p. 535)
I Overview (p. 539)
II Game Mechanics (p. 540)
III Artificial Intelligence (p. 555)
IV Game Elements (p. 561)
V Story Overview (p. 571)
VI Game Progression (p. 572)
VII Bibliography (p. 578)
Appendix B Sample Design Document: The Suffering (p. 579)
Section I Introduction (p. 587)
Section II Game Mechanics (p. 588)
Section III Resources (p. 617)
Section IV NPCs (p. 622)
Section VI Gameflow (p. 638)
Section VII Maps (p. 646)
Section VIII Menus (p. 651)
Glossary (p. 655)
Selected Bibliography (p. 672)
Index (p. 677)