What is Game Design?

Where do you even start designing a game?

Game design relies on the desire to create powerful experiences for our players. Understanding these experiences involves an understanding of psychology, system math, level design, storytelling, pacing, and so many other tools.

This text strives to describe design not as a job title but as a process. Design is a verb, something you do rather than something you are. Design is so many things and understanding these different ways to design increases your toolkit for creating powerful experiences for your players.

By studying the foundational skills designers use you identify aspects of design that interest you. You find your strengths and weaknesses as you try out different design activities. Each section includes workshop activities, discussion topics, and large projects. Spend an afternoon or a semester exploring these design tools as you find your path. Explore different plot structures, the emotional impact of different types of randomness, tools for honest observational testing, tips for dealing with the inevitable impostor syndrome, and much more.
Grab this book, open it up, and get started designing.

This book includes hundreds of design activities, discussion topics, and other ways to practice your design skills. These activities draw on ten years of educational experience teaching game design to college freshmen. You can use this text as a self guided process or work in a classroom or workshop alongside other designers.