Level 2 Introduction & Readings

LEVEL 2: GAME DESIGN / ITERATION & RAPID PROTOTYPING

In Level 1 we asked the question: what is a game? In Level 2 we will look into a related question: what, exactly, is game design? Last time, we made a simple game. This time, we will look into the process of how games are made in general. While it is possible to make a race-to-the-end board game in 15 minutes, you will need to take a little longer if you are looking to make the next Settlers of Catan or World of Warcraft.

Readings

• Challenges for Game Designers, Chapter 1 (Basics).
  This is just a short introduction to the text.
  
  
• I Have No Words and I Must Design, by Greg Costikyan.
  To me [Schreiber] (and I’m sure others will disagree), this essay is the turning point when game design started to become its own field of study. Since it all started here, for me at least, I think it only fitting to introduce it at the start of this course. (There is a newer version here [PDF] if you are interested, but I prefer the original for its historical importance.)

• So You're Going To Make A Game For The Very First Time? Links to an external site., by Lewis Pulsipher
  Pulisher give practical advice on creating your first game.
  
  
• Understanding Games 1, Understanding Games 2, Understanding Games 3, Understanding Games 4.
  These are not readings, but playings. They are a series of short Flash games that attempt to explain some basic concepts of games in the form of a game. The name is a reference to Understanding Comics, a comic book that explains about comic books. Each one takes about five minutes.

• Extra Credits S2 E2 Playing Like a Designer (part 1) & S2 E3 Playing Like a Designer (part 2)
  Extra Credits share on how designers should play games.  Similar skills apply to playing tabletop games as well.
  

Additional Resources

For additional readings on these topics, click HERE. It is a list of resources that is student generated and regularly updated.