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(68 reviews)
Author: Visit Amazon's Raph Koster Page
ISBN : 1932111972
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Review
"Does for games what Understanding Comics did for sequential art. You'll never look at fun the same way again." --
Cory Doctorow, Author of Eastern Standard Tribe and Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom; co-editor of Boing Boing"I expect this book to become an instant classic, fascinating to anyone who has ever made or played a game." --
Noah Falstein, Freelance Game Designer/Writer/Producer"Raph Koster offers a road map for how to make games an even more expressive medium." --
Henry Jenkins, Director, MIT's Comparative Media Studies Program."Raph's focus on finding new ways to communicate complex design issues has been an incredible benefit to game developers" --
David Perry, President Shiny Entertainment (Atari, Inc.)"You've written a wonderful starting point for research and many future dinner conversations!" --
Cory Ondrejka, VP, Linden LabA book about fun which is actually fun to read. It reminds me of Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics. --
Henry Jenkins, Director, MIT's Comparative Media Studies ProgramA thoughtful take on how and why games are fun (and important)... chock full of insights, jokes and asides. --
Robin Hunicke, Northwestern UniversityDoes for games what Understanding Comics did for sequential art. --
Cory Doctorow, Author of Eastern Standard Tribe and Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, co-editor of Boing BoingEveryone from professional game developers to those who want to understand why we play games will enjoy this book. --
Cory Ondrejka, Vice President, Linden LabFrom the Publisher
A Theory of Fun for Game Design is not your typical how-to book. It features a novel way of teaching interactive designers how to create and improve their designs to incorporate the highest degree of fun. As the book shows, designing for fun is all about making interactive products like games highly entertaining, engaging, and addictive. The book’s unique approach of providing a highly visual storyboard approach combined with a narrative on the art and practice of designing for fun is sure to be a hit with game and interactive designers, At first glance A Theory of Fun for Game Design is a book that will truly inspire and challenge game designers to think in new was; however, its universal message will influence designers from all walks of life. This book captures the real essence of what drives us to seek out products and experiences that are truly fun and entertaining. The author masterfully presents his engaging theory by showing readers how often designs are! lacking because they are predictable and not engaging enough. He then explains how great designers use different types of elements in new ways to make designs more fun and compelling. Anyone who is interested in design will enjoy how the book works on two levels--as a quick inspiration guide to game design or as an informative discussion that details the insightful thinking from a great mind in the game industry.
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Books with free ebook downloads available Free Download A Theory of Fun for Game Design Paperback
- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Paraglyph Press (November 6, 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1932111972
- ISBN-13: 978-1932111972
- Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 0.5 x 4.7 inches
- Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
Free Download A Theory of Fun for Game Design
Raph Koster's _A Theory of Fun for Game Design_ is certainly a book worthy of a place on any game designer's shelf. For those who attended the original lecture that spawned the book, there isn't a whole lot that is new, but it's great to have it in book form. For those who did not, the book can be quite revealing, particularly for those who have struggled to adequately define just what games and game design is all about.
Perhaps more importantly, though, is that Raph has written a light, frequently humorous, and sometimes touching book that should make a great gift to those of us who have parents or spouses who DON'T understand why we're wasting all of our time with games. Rather than try to explain it to them, you can simply hand them this book, and they can come to appreciate the scope and depth of the subject without being overwhelmed.
And at times the book is quite poignant on a human level. You can see Raph's genuine pride and love for his children nearly pour off the page when he talks about them, and his mention of his grandfather passing away while he was at GDC is particularly touching to me since my own father died while I was at GDC in 2000.
The book can essentially be read in two ways. The first, simply by reading all the illustrations in sequence, is great fun all by itself. Nearly every drawing does its job in illustrating the point it tries to make, and quite a few have charming little extra details that a gamer will readily appreciate.
The second, and perhaps more proper way, is to read the text and the illustrations together. (I suppose one could also read the text by itself, but where's the fun in that?) To summarize very crudely, the book makes the following assertions:
1.