Second Edition - The Art of Game Design - A Book of Lenses

Author describes his view on development of games. Examples from Magic: The Gathering to projects for Disneyland.

Book is filled with interesting ideas and approaches for game development.

It is totally worth to read more than once. Don't believe to reviews - just try a sample.

The book is written cleanly in an language that is inviting to new comers of game design. Mr. Schell provides great stories, concepts, and asks questions that force you to think critically about what you're doing at any stage in your game's design. The perfect companion while you're stuck or to let you know you're on the right track.

Thanks!

This book is excellent. I'm not even halfway though and I've learned so many interesting things. He is a very good writer, pulling in so many examples from all academic areas and games, plus his writing is highly readable and engaging. I would recommend it to anyone.

Schell does a great job outlining the philosophy and process of game design. I bought it for my UTDallas ATEC game design fundamentals class. The book reads like a friendly conversation, making studying a little less boring. I don't necessarily agree with everything, but that's okay- my teacher even mentioned how as Schell is one person writing about such an unscientific field, it's okay to disagree with certain parts.

Valuable resource for introduction into game design. The book is stylistically written in an enjoyable and education way. Recommend this book if you want to get a introductory idea of game design and the various aspects of the process.

J. Schell offers a detailed look at the aspects of game design, applicable to games in different mediums. The book is well structured, and can be used as reference material when writing design documents.

The book contains rather up-to-date information and references, thus making it a good, to my mind, learning tool for game designers of all profiles.

This book is very insightful and packed with a mix of basic ideas and complex theories. A great all-round read but only if you are serious about game design. If you are looking for a breeze-over, topical book then perhaps look elsewhere.

The lens system of reviewing concepts is original and good as a pre-production idea review system.

A truly comprehensive book covering all aspects of game design in great depth. The author provides many questions to ponder for every topic covered.

A must read for anyone interested in the practicalities of game design.

Extremely informative, and Jesse is hilarious. First met him at the MWUX conference and he was by far the best speaker I listened to there. He easily captures your attention, probably from his days as a comedian and entertainer. His eclectic life experiences shows in his writing and makes it a fun read. Highly recommended, not just for game designers by any artist interested in communicating their art to the world.

...to my son who will be starting an internship with a game design firm soon. He's a gamer and not a reader, but he spent quite a bit of time reading it over the Christmas break. Based on how often he quoted the book, I'm assuming that it was very interesting and valuable to him.

I introduced my 13 year old grandson to this book so that he can understand what goes into publishing games he plays. He like me, read it over and over and we shared and amazing bonding time through the "Book's Lenses".
Thank you Jesse.

This book really deep dives into the strategical, political and/or philosophical aspects of game design. For someone who has been playing video games for well over 20-something years that is aware on what makes a good games, I don't really need to read up on the why and such. As someone who has no experience in game development, but trying to learn the ropes and getting into the technical aspects of video game development, this book really isn't it. I am looking to learn the "how" to create a game and not really get into the fine nuances of why and what.

My professor made me buy the second edition when the first edition was cheaper. But there is hardly any difference in the content. There aren't even questions like other textbooks have that generally change from edition to edition. Save yourself the money and get the first edition if possible.

This is a fantastic book. Explains all the processes involved in the Game Design Pipeline clearly. Anyone interested in pursuing a career as a Game Designer or anyone who just wants to know about Game Design should pick this up. A very, very informative read! I would heavily recommend reading this and Jason Gregory's Game Engine Architecture for people looking to get into the industry!

I was looking for book about game design. Only about 30% 40% of this book is about game design.There are chapters for everything that is involved in video game business even how to speak to clients, how to pitch your game and so on. I think the title of the book is misleading.

The first edition format was way better and easier to read than this! You will get it in pdf format that is not easy to navigate on devices, fonts will be forced by pdf and no kindle experience exist in this book at all! Go look for other places that sells in better format

Jesse Schell, game design professor at Carnegie Mellon University, wrote an introductory book that was published in August, titled "The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses." The back overleaf quotes Will Wright saying, "Easily the most comprehensive, practical book I've ever seen on game design." I will try to briefly state why I agree and offer details to help you decide if this book is for you.

Each chapter of the book adds a node to a network of relationships between the designer, the game, and the player. Throughout, Schell boxes 100 tips, with questions that induce a novel perspective on the design. He calls these lenses. I applaud the volume of diverse traditions, such as: psychology, storytelling, engineering, business, and management. They are so diverse as to change not only perspective, but also target. "The Lens of the Puzzle" looks at the mechanisms of the game; whereas, "The Lens of the Team" looks at the developers of the game. This is an eclectic approach that distills many abstract tips on what to consider when designing. Some experience and diligence with most of the 100 lenses would almost guarantee the reader is a competent designer.

Most lenses seemed crystal clear and provoked thoughts. Oftentimes, Schell deploys the wheels that others have invented. Many lenses refer to prior literature, such as Barry Boehm's spiral model of development (82), Scott Kim's thoughts on puzzles (209).

Furthermore, Schell gives us some original gems on the psychology of games that expanded my mind. He touches on the tactile aesthetics of the Rubik's cube (213), the learning curve of a jigsaw puzzle (215). He has some tips on personal communication that, upon reflection, exposed mistakes I have made, and would be more likely to continue to make had I not read Schell's advice. For example, in "Coping with Bad Suggestions," rather than agree or disagree, he advises to "understand why the client is making the suggestion" (417). He gives similarly important advice for playtesting (389).

Perhaps the inevitable danger of writing a comprehensive book is that one's own rough facets become apparent when placed side-by-side with one's brilliance. In a few spots, I would like to see wheels being reused rather than reinvented, such as mathematical graphs (132), epistemics of players (139), military tactics (141), risk and return (181), interface affordances (212), models of human-computer interaction (225), and plotting interest (247). I don't disagree with what Schell wrote there, but would rather dive deeper by leveraging prior literature (as he did in other lenses).

The book is well-presented with modest illustrations and easy to read from beginning to end. On an editorial note, although I affirm Schell's eclectic approach to game design, after reading the book, I wish it were easier to find the information I wanted to refer to. The table of lenses at the front of the book was not enough for me. The lens titles are not always evocative and distinct.

To summarize:
* What you will find in this book: informal habits of a professional game designer.
* What you will not find in this book: details or examples of designs and their implementation.

Game Developer magazine nominated The Art of Game Design for the Book of the Year. It got my vote.