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MITx: 11.126x Introduction to Game Design

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

For those who are interested in additional readings, we recommend a couple of books on game design.  These books are not required for the course, but they do go into additional depth and details, and provide additional exercises and resources for those who are interested in pursuing game design.

  • The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design, by Open Design and a whole hoard of game designers. It is a series of essays by experienced professional board game creators, organized by the classic cycle of game development.  This book is aimed directly at those interested in board game design.
  • Game Design Workshop: Designing, Prototyping, and Playtesting Games, by Tracy Fullerton, Christopher Swain, and Steven Hoffman, is an excellent introduction to the design and development of video games.  This book can be used as a reference for people interested in learning more about game structure and development, primarily in video games but also in non digital games.
  • Challenges for Game Designers, by Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Schreiber.  This book intended for more experienced game designers who are interested in expanding their skill set, but it still does an excellent job of introducing basic game elements, and covering a variety of video game genres and types.  Its exercises are non digital, making them accessible and interesting no matter what your level of programming skill, and useful for anyone interested in designing games.
  • A Theory of Fun for Game Design, by Raph Koster, discusses just what ‘fun’ is, and gives some definition and explanation for what ‘fun’ means when you are discussing a game.  It manages to explore both academic theories and actual games. Raph Koster’s book is fun to read for anyone interested in game design, with solid advice for starting game designers, and useful insights for experienced ones.
  • The Design of Everyday Things, by Donald A. Norman.  While not specifically about game design, this is seminal book on usability and design, discussing the whys and hows of designing usable things.

Just as important as reading about game design, is playing games and thinking about them critically. To do that, you should reach outside your comfort zone, and play some games you’ve never played before.  Here are some resources to help you find new games to play - but don't fool yourself into thinking that reading a review of a game is the same as playing it.

  • Hobby Games: The 100 Best, edited by James Lowder.  A collection of hobby games, recommended by the game designers, authors and publishes.
  • Family Games: The 100 Best, edited by James Lowder.  In the same series, but focused on more family-friendly games.
  • Hoyles' Rules of Games, by Morehead, Alber, and Mott-Smith, Geoffrey.  Rules and advice for many traditional games, particularly card and folk games.

There are also many, many online resources for games and game design.  Here are a few, but a short time spent searching will turn up many, many more resources.

  • Boardgamegeek.com - a community and forum site devoted to board game players.  
  • Wikipedia.org - Rules, discussion, reviews and the history of many common games can be found in articles on Wikipedia.
  • Extra-Credits.net - A series of short video episodes about games, game design, game development, and the game industry.  Well done, informative, and fun.  While most of the episodes are about video games, and the digital industry, the observations and lessons about game design translate well into any game design project.