In Advanced Game Design, pioneering game designer and instructor
Michael Sellers situates game design practices in a strong theoretical
framework of systems thinking, enabling designers to think more deeply
and clearly about their work, so they can produce better, more engaging
games for any device or platform. Sellers offers a deep unifying
framework in which practical game design best practices and proven
systems thinking theory reinforce each other, helping game designers
understand what they are trying to accomplish and the best ways to
achieve it. Drawing on 20+ years of experience designing games,
launching game studios, and teaching game design, Sellers explains:
- What games are, and how systems thinking can help you think about them
more clearly
- How to systematically promote engagement, interactivity, and fun
- What you can learn from MDA and other game design frameworks
- How to create gameplay and core loops
- How to design the entire player experience, and how to build game
mechanics that work together to create that experience
- How to capture your game's "big idea" and Unique Selling Proposition
- How to establish high-level and background design and translate it
into detailed design
- How to build, playtest, and iterate early prototypes
- How to build your game design career in a field that keeps changing at
breakneck speed
