A theory of fun for game design

Koster, Raph 1971- (Author).

Summary: Annotation Now in full color, the 10th anniversary edition of this classic book takes you deep into the influences that underlie modern video games, and examines the elements they share with traditional games such as checkers. At the heart of his exploration, veteran game designer Raph Koster takes a close look at the concept of fun and why its the most vital element in any game. Why do some games become boring quickly, while others remain fun for years? How do games serve as fundamental and powerful learning tools? Whether youre a game developer, dedicated gamer, or curious observer, this illustrated, fully updated edition helps you understand what drives this major cultural force, and inspires you to take it further. Youll discover that:Games play into our innate ability to seek patterns and solve puzzlesMost successful games are built upon the same elementsSlightly more females than males now play gamesMany games still teach primitive survival skillsFictional dressing for modern games is more developed than the conceptual elementsTruly creative designers seldom use other games for inspirationGames are beginning to evolve beyond their prehistoric origins.

Record details

ISBN: 9781449363192
ISBN: 1449363199
ISBN: 9781449363178
ISBN: 1449363172
ISBN: 1449363210
ISBN: 9781449363215
ISBN: 1306810485
ISBN: 9781306810487
ISBN: 9781449363215
Physical Description: remote
1 online resource (299 pages) : illustrations
Edition: Second edition.
Publisher: North Sebastopol, California : O'Reilly Media, 2013.

Content descriptions

Formatted Contents Note:	Foreword (from the First Edition) -- Prologue: My Grandfather -- Chapter One: Why Write This Book? -- Chapter Two: How the Brain Works -- Chapter Three: What Games Are -- Chapter Four: What Games Teach Us -- Chapter Five: What Games Aren't -- Chapter Six: Different Fun for Different Folks -- Chapter Seven: The Problem with Learning -- Chapter Eight: The Problem with People -- Chapter Nine: Games in Context -- Chapter Ten: The Ethics of Entertainment -- Chapter Eleven: Where Games Should Go -- Chapter Twelve: Taking Their Rightful Place -- Appendix A: Epilogue: Fun Matters, Grandpa -- Appendix B: Afterword: Ten Years Later -- Appendix C: Notes.
Information Relating to Copyright Status:	Copyright © O'Reilly Media, Inc. 2013
Source of Description Note:	Online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed December 6, 2013).