Introduction to Game Systems Design
- Length: 384 pages
- Edition: 1
- Language: English
- Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
- Publication Date: 2021-08-19
- ISBN-10: 0137440847
- ISBN-13: 9780137440849
- Sales Rank: #5783911 (See Top 100 Books)
As games grow more complex and gamers’ expectations soar, the discipline of game systems design becomes ever more important. Game systems designers plan a game’s rules and balance, its characters’ attributes, most of its data, and how its AI, weapons, and objects work and interact. Introduction to Game Systems Design is the first complete beginner’s guide to this crucial discipline. Writing for all aspiring game professionals, even those with absolutely no experience, leading game designer and instructor Dax Gazaway presents a step-by-step, hands-on approach to designing game systems with industry-standard tools. Drawing on his experience building AAA-level game systems (including games in the Star Wars and Marvel franchises), Gazaway covers all this, and more:
- Exploring the essentials of game design and its emerging subdisciplines
- Asking the essential questions at the heart of all design
- Getting started with modern game system design tools, including the spreadsheets most professionals now use
- Creating systems and data from a blank page
- Populating and quantifying a world of data into a game
- Tuning and balancing game systems
- Testing game systems and data
- Leveraging communication, psychology, and rewards within your games
- Balancing game probability within systems
Whether you’re a college freshman entering a game design program, an indie developer using Unreal or Unity, a Dungeon Master, or anyone who wants to really understand modern games, this guide will help you get where you want to go.
Cover Page About This eBook Halftitle Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Page Contents at a Glance Contents Preface Who This Book Is For How To Use This Book What This Book Covers Acknowledgments About the Author Chapter 1. Games and Players: Defined Defining Game Finding the Target Audience for a Game: Player Attributes Value Gained from Players Target Audience Composite What to Do with a Target Audience Profile Further Steps Chapter 2. Roles in the Game Industry Core Management Team Team Subdisciplines Further Steps Chapter 3. Asking Questions How to Ask a Theoretical Question How to Ask for Help with a Problem Further Steps Chapter 4. System Design Tools What Is Data? Game Industry Tools Further Steps Chapter 5. Spreadsheet Basics Why Spreadsheets? What Is a Spreadsheet? Spreadsheet Cells: The Building Blocks of Data Data Containers in Spreadsheets Spreadsheet Operations Data Validation Further Steps Chapter 6. Spreadsheet Functions Grouping Arguments Function Structure More Complex Functions Functions for System Designers How to Choose the Right Function Further Steps Chapter 7. Distilling Life into Systems An Abstract Example Story in Games Further Steps Chapter 8. Coming Up with Ideas Idea Buffet Running a Brainstorming Session Methods to Force Creativity Further Steps Chapter 9. Attributes: Creating and Quantifying Life Mechanics Versus Attributes Listing Attributes Defining an Attribute Grouping Attributes Further Steps Chapter 10. Organizing Data in Spreadsheets Create a Spreadsheet to Be Read by an Outsider Avoid Typing Numbers Label Data Validate Your Data Use Columns for Attributes and Rows for Objects Color Coding Avoid Adding Unneeded Columns or Rows or Blank Cells Separate Data Objects with Sheets Spreadsheet Example Further Steps Chapter 11. Attribute Numbers Getting a Feel for Your Attributes Determining the Granularity for Numbers The Tension Trick Searching for the Right Numbers Further Steps Chapter 12. System Design Foundations Attribute Weights DPS and Intertwined Attributes Binary Searching Naming Conventions Naming Object Iterations Using the Handshake Formula Further Steps Chapter 13. Range Balancing, Data Fulcrums, and Hierarchical Design Range Balancing Data Fulcrums Hierarchical Design Further Steps Chapter 14. Exponential Growth and Diminishing Returns Linear Growth Exponential Growth Further Steps Chapter 15. Analyzing Game Data Overview Analysis Next-Level Deep Analysis Practicing Data Analysis Comparison Analysis Canaries Further Steps Chapter 16. Macrosystems and Player Engagement Macrosystem Difficulty Adjustment Balancing Combinations Further Steps Chapter 17. Fine-Tuning Balance, Testing, and Problem Solving Balance Performing Playtests Solving Problems Further Steps Chapter 18. Systems Communication and Psychology Games as Conversations Word Meanings Noise Reciprocity Reward Expectations Further Steps Chapter 19. Probability Basic Probability Mapping Probability Measuring Luck in a Game Further Steps Chapter 20. Next Steps Practice Analyze Existing Games Play New Games Modify Existing Games Work on Your Game Keep Learning Index
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