Acknowledgments

This book would not have been possible or as comprehensive without the kind cooperation of the following groups and individuals:

Richard Bartle, Scott Hartsman, and Gordon Walton, for agreeing to do the technical review of the book and catch our thumb-fingered mistakes before we embarrassed ourselves in public. Any mistakes or errors left in the manuscript belong to the authors, not to our reviewers.

Jessica's employer, The Themis Group (www. themis -group.com), and CEO Alex Macris for allowing us to use portions of their consulting materials, including the "short" version of the company's unique and innovative Player Satisfaction Matrix found in Chapter 8, "Getting into the Design."

All the people who agreed to be interviewed for the book; your comments on the theory and practice of online game design were revealing , to say the least.

To Vincent DiDonato, stepfather extraordinaire: What good is it having a "dad" with an English degree from Columbia University if you can't impose? Thanks, Vince.

Also, a special thanks to the guys, Bob, Mark, Dave, and Aki, at the Iguana Caf , Key West, Florida, for the cheese sandwiches, the caf con leches, and for keeping it real at 4 a.m. You guys are the best!