Bates B. Game Design

Course Technology PTR, 2004, 377 p. Second Edition. ISBN-13: 978-1592004935Chapter 1 describes how to develop a mere idea into a project that a publisher will agree to fund.
Chapter 2 lays out the fundamental rules of good game design.
Chapter 3 analyzes different genres and deals with category-specific design issues. It also contains sidebar interviews with top designers from twelve different game genres.
Chapter 4 is about storytelling and how to apply its rules to interactive media.
Chapters 5 and 6 cover level design and how to create good puzzles.
Chapter 7 explains how to work with franchises, both those licensed from the out- side and those created internally.
Chapter 8 discusses the duties of the members of the development team, how each of them participates in and affects game design, and how the team works together to create the finished product.
Chapter 9 gives guidance on working with external resources like voice actors, musicians, language localizers, and so on.
Chapter 10 describes the game development lifecycle, from the initial design docu- ments through proof of concept and technical development all the way to alpha, beta, code freeze, and release.
Chapter 11 covers the fundamentals of good software development.
Chapter 12 brings in the marketing, PR, and sales groups and explains what they do with a game after it leaves the developer’s hands. It explains how games are sold into the retail channel and promoted to consumers, and it discusses the kinds of materials these departments need to help make the game a hit.
Chapter 13 contains advice on breaking into the business.
Chapter 14 is a brief reflection on whether it’s all worth it.
Appendix A is a very useful collection of project document templates and outlines.
Appendix B is a treasury of useful resources including books, magazines, schools, web sites, conferences, and organizations.