Game Design Library
Ages ago I started a project to build a comprehensive Game Design Library, where I read and review books on game design and related disciplines like art, architecture, film, writing, history, sociology, psychology, and similar fields.
This project will be very intermittently updated.
You can check out my current queue of books, and while I have a much larger list that includes other recommendations feel free to suggest any books that I have overlooked.
All of my completed reviews are listed below. A ★ indicates a personal favorite.
GENERAL GAME DESIGN
- A Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster ★
- The Art of Game Design by Jesse Schell (includes review of A Deck of Lenses)
- A Game Design Vocabulary by Anna Anthropy and Naomi Clark
- Challenges for Game Designers by Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Schreiber
GAME DESIGN DEEP DIVE
MULTIPLAYER, SPORTS, & ESPORTS
SERIOUS & AUGMENTED REALITY GAMES
VIDEO GAME HISTORY & INDUSTRY
- Videogames: In the Beginning by Ralph Baer
- Generation Xbox: How Videogames Invaded Hollywood by Jamie Russell
GAMES CRITICISM & CRITICAL STUDIES
- Shooter ed. by Reid McCarter and Patrick Lindsey ★
- The Art of Failure by Jesper Juul ★
- The State of Play: Creators and Critics on Videogame Culture, ed. by Linus Larsson and Daniel Goldberg
HISTORY & ANTHROPOLOGY
ARCHITECTURE & LEVEL DESIGN
STORY, NARRATIVE, & ROLE-PLAY
- Fundamentals of Role-Playing Game Design by Ernest Adams
- Quests: Design, Theory, and History in Games and Narratives by Jeff Howard
- Morphology of the Folktale by Vladimir Propp
PSYCHOLOGY & UX
- Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, and Jill Butcher
- The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman ★
Book suggestions:
Writing for Video Game Genres: From FPS to RPG
by Wendy Despain
Link: https://amzn.com/1568814178
Talking to Artists / Talking to Programmers: How to Get Programmers and Artists Communicating
by Wendy Despain
Link: https://amzn.com/149870073X
Hi I’m reading Beyond Game Design – Nine Steps Toward Creating Better Videogames. Edited by Chris Bateman.
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Game-Design-Creating-Videogames/dp/1584506717
Can you please recommend any good books for “Game Balancing” and “systems Design”?