The Craft and Science of Game Design: A Video Game Designer's Manual

by Philippe O'Connor

Overview

The Craft and Science of Game Design: A Video Game Designer’s Manual goes into the nuts and bolts of video game development from the perspective of a veteran designer with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. It covers the psychology and biology of why people play games and goes in depth on the techniques and tricks professional game designers use to be successful in game development. If you are looking to make a career in video games, or are already in the industry, the insights and hard-earned lessons contained in this book are sure to be useful at all levels of the profession.

Originally from Canada, Phil O’Connor has been making video games all over the world'since 1997. Phil has worked at some of the industry’s largest studios on some of the biggest projects, including Far Cry 3 and Rainbow Six Siege. With credits on nearly 20 games, Phil has shared in this book some of the less-known details of being a game designer in today’s video game industry, along with a breakdown of some of the skills to help professional designers shine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367556532
Publisher:	CRC Press
Publication date:	12/09/2020
Pages:	134
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Phil O’Connor: Originally from Canada, Phil has been making video games all over the world'since 1997. Phil has worked at some of the industry’s biggest studios on some of the largest projects, including Far Cry 3 and Rainbow Six Siege. With credits on nearly 20 games, he has shared in this book some of the less known details of being a game designer in today’s video game industry along with a break down of some of the skills to help you shine as a professional designer.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements xi

Chapter 1 An Introduction To Games 1

Introduction 1

Disclaimer 4

Background on the Video Game Industry 5

The Audience: The Player 6

The Biology of Games 8

The Cultural Origins of Gaming 11

Storytelling 17

Vision Quests 19

Games of the Gods 22

Conclusion 28

Chapter 2 Game Designer Specializations 29

Tech Designer 31

Character Designer 32

Interface Designer 33

Menu Designer 34

System Designer 34

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Designer 35

Bossfight Designer 36

Combat Designer 37

Balance Designer 38

Economy Designer 39

User Experience Designer 40

Level Designer 40

Environment Designer 41

Story/Narrative Designer 42

Quest Designer 43

Encounter Designer 44

Scripting Designer 44

Production Designer 45

Creative Director 46

Design Director 47

Principal Designer 48

Design Manager 49

Chapter 3 Game Design Leadership 51

Effective Game Design 52

The Importance of Feedback 56

The Importance of Objectivity 58

The Business Side 59

Working With Other Disciplines 60

Working with Programmers 61

Working with Artists 62

Working with Sound Designers 64

Working with Production 65

Working with Writers 66

Working with Marketing 67

Working with Other Designers 68

Conclusion 71

Chapter 4 The Role of Communication 73

High-Level Vision and Pillars 75

Stand-Ups 77

Meetings 78

Email 80

Message Apps 81

Face to Face 82

Communication Integrity 83

Communicating with the Other Disciplines 85

Communicating with Production Teams 85

Communicating with Art Teams 87

Communicating with Tech Teams 88

Communicating Design Tasks 90

Types of Design Tasks 92

Draft Design Document 94

First Pass 96

Final Approved Version 96

Feature Descriptions 97

Design Communication through Each Stage of Development 99

Preproduction 99

Core Experience 99

Project Scope 101

Audience 102

Technology 103

Market Landscape 103

Publishing Strategy 103

Monetization 104

Prototyping 105

Production 106

Alpha 106

Beta 108

Conclusion 110

Index 113