Chapter 2 Further Reading

Books

Jesse Schell, The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses (3rd edition, 2019) The most practical and accessible game design textbook available. Schell's "lenses" framework --- over 100 perspectives from which to examine a design decision --- is directly applicable to the MDA framework discussed in this chapter. Lens #2 ("The Lens of Surprise") and Lens #6 ("The Lens of Problem Solving") are particularly relevant to understanding the designer's role as experience-crafter rather than idea-generator. If you read one book alongside this textbook, make it this one.

Tracy Fullerton, Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games (4th edition, 2018) Fullerton's textbook is built around the principle that design is a process, not an inspiration. Her emphasis on paper prototyping, iterative design, and playtesting aligns directly with this chapter's argument that execution matters more than ideas. The workshops and exercises throughout the book provide structured practice for every skill in the designer's toolkit. Especially strong on the prototyping and playtesting sections.

Raph Koster, A Theory of Fun for Game Design (2nd edition, 2013) Koster argues that fun in games is fundamentally about learning --- the brain's pleasure in recognizing and mastering patterns. This connects to the MDA framework's aesthetic of "challenge" and Miyamoto's approach of designing controls that reward skill development. The illustrated format makes it an unusually quick read for a design textbook. Read it early --- it will change how you think about why games feel good.

Anna Anthropy and Naomi Clark, A Game Design Vocabulary (2014) A concise, opinionated book that provides a language for talking about game design decisions. Particularly useful for the "communication" skill discussed in this chapter --- the ability to articulate why a design decision works or doesn't. Anthropy and Clark's framework for discussing verbs, objects, and contexts complements the MDA framework well.

Essays, Articles, and Papers

Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, and Robert Zubek, "MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research" (2004) The foundational paper that introduced the MDA framework discussed in this chapter. Short (six pages), freely available online, and essential reading. The paper is more formal than this chapter's treatment but rewards close reading. Pay particular attention to the "designer vs. player perspective" diagram --- it is the single most important concept in the paper.

Soren Johnson, "Water Finds a Crack" (Designer Notes blog, 2010) Johnson's essay on how players will always find and exploit the optimal strategy in a game system --- and why the designer's job is to ensure that the optimal strategy is also the most fun strategy. Directly relevant to the discussion of systems design and balance. Johnson's blog, Designer Notes, is one of the best ongoing resources for understanding systems design thinking.

Clint Hocking, "Ludonarrative Dissonance in BioShock" (Click Nothing blog, 2007) The essay that coined "ludonarrative dissonance" and launched a decade of debate about the relationship between gameplay and narrative. Essential reading for understanding the narrative design discipline discussed in this chapter. Even if you disagree with Hocking's analysis of BioShock, the framework he provides is indispensable.

GDC Talks

Shigeru Miyamoto, "A Creative Vision" (GDC 2007) Miyamoto's keynote about his design philosophy, including his approach of starting with daily-life observations. He demonstrates Wii Music and discusses the design of Wii Sports. The talk is notable for what it reveals about Miyamoto's process: he spends almost no time talking about ideas and almost all of his time talking about how things feel. Available through the GDC Vault.

Soren Johnson, "Civilization IV Postmortem" (GDC 2007) Johnson's detailed postmortem of Civilization IV's development, including the design of the religion system discussed in Case Study 2. He discusses the iterative process, the balance challenges, and the surprises that emerged during playtesting. An excellent example of a systems designer analyzing their own work. Available through the GDC Vault.

Mark Brown, "Boss Keys" and "Game Maker's Toolkit" (YouTube, ongoing) Brown's YouTube channel is the best free resource for learning analytical game design observation. His "Game Maker's Toolkit" series breaks down design decisions in specific games with clarity and specificity. The "Boss Keys" series on Zelda dungeon design is particularly relevant to this chapter's discussion of level design as a discipline. Start with "What Makes a Good Combat System?" or "Celeste and the Art of Invisible Tutorials."

Tim Cain, "Building a Better RPG" (GDC 2024) Cain's talk on the design decisions behind Fallout and The Outer Worlds, with emphasis on the tradeoffs between systems complexity and player experience. A masterclass in the kind of design thinking this chapter advocates: every decision framed not as "what is cool" but "what serves the player experience."

Postmortems

Gamasutra/Game Developer Postmortem Archives The Game Developer website (formerly Gamasutra) hosts decades of game postmortems --- first-person accounts by developers of what went right and wrong during development. These are invaluable for understanding the iterative process in practice. Start with the DOOM (1993), Diablo (1997), and Braid (2008) postmortems. Every postmortem reinforces the same lesson: the shipped game is never the game that was planned, and the distance between plan and product is where design happens.