Third book of the year done. I got through this one in a week (admitedly it was only around 100 pages long). Thanks to Richard Hall for letting me borrow this one.
A Theory of Fun (for game design) - Raph Koster
I have an amatuer interest in game design (specifically traditional games - board game, miniatures games and the like, less so video games), and have written a couple of rules sets over the years, but have never delved into any literature on the subject and have instead relied on self learning and self evaluation of existing rules sets to guide me.
I decided to finally look into wiriting on the subject (as well as listening to some lectures) and it was recommended that this book should be my first port of call.
The psychological aspect of formal rules sets is one of the most interesting areas (I think) in game design. What makes something fun? What makes something stop being fun? Why do some activities remain compelling, while others lose their luster and are exhausted and forgotten about?
These questions serve as the basis of this book, so I found it immediately compelling. The book suggests that games are fundementally tools that satisfy our will to learn and eventually master a given challenge. Once mastery is achieved, a game is no longer satisfying, it becomes boring. Ever wondered why you don't like Noughts and Crosses anymore?
Later chapters discuss (with regards to video games mostly) how rules and mechanics have evolved over the lifespan of games as a medium, how different demographics desire different challenges, and later tangents into whether games should be considered art or not (the later I found to be least interesting).
A lot of the ideas discussed originate in many different schools of thought (mathematics, psychology and art) and are comparatively applid to other disciplines, like dance and film. This means that even someone not aprticularly interested in game design itself could learn a lot from reading this book.
Overall, a great foundation to further reading on the subject.
A Theory of Fun (for game design) - Raph Koster on Amazon
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