Game Design

There aren't a great many other books on game design (that's part of why we wrote this one), but we think some of the following offer useful perspectives:

Art of Computer Game Design, The . Crawford, Chris. Probably the first book in the field, and a classic. This book is no longer in print, but may be read online at http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Coverpage.html. Crawford will also soon be publishing a new work, Chris Crawford on Game Design ( 2004, New Riders Publishing), to which we look forward with interest.

Creating Emotion in Games : The Art and Craft of Emotioneering . Freeman, David; New Riders Publishing; ISBN: 1592730078 (due out Fall 2003).

Community Building on the Web: Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities . Kim, Amy Jo; Peachpit Press. Although this isn't technically a game design book, it is a highly regarded work on online communities and should be considered required reading for anyone who wants to build an online game or persistent world.

Elements of User Experience, The . Garrett, Jesse James; New Riders Publishing; ISBN: 0735712026.

Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants , Brains, Cities, and Software . Johnson, Steve; Scribner; ISBN: 068486875X.

Game Architecture and Design . Rollings, Andrew and Dave Morris. Originally published by The Coriolis Group and soon to be reissued by New Riders. A giant tome on designing and building computer and video games from start to finish. It is the companion volume to this one.

Game Design Perspectives . Laramee, Francois Dominic (editor); Charles River Media; ISBN: 1584500905. This is an extensive collection of essays by a variety of people on different topics, not all of them game design.

Game Design Secrets of the Sages . Saltzman, Marc (editor); Brady Games. A collection of interviews with some of the top people in the business. In this form, it's more useful as background reading than how-to material, but it's a good way to see inside the heads of some of the industry's best designers.

Game Design: The Art & Business of Creating Games . Bates, Bob; Premier Press; ISBN: 0761531653. More of an introduction to the entire game business than a game design book. It's easy to read and nicely illustrated , and Bob Bates' credentials are impeccable.

Swords & Circuitry: A Designer's Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games . Hallford, Neal and Jana Hallford; Premier Press; ISBN: 0761532994.