The Art of Game Design
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The Art of Game Design
A Book of Lenses
Jesse Schell
Carnegie Mellon University
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08 09 10 11 12 5 4 3 2 1
For Nyra
who always listens
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
2
3
Table of Lenses ...................................................................................................................... xvii
Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................xxi
Hello ......................................................................................................................................... xxiii
In the Beginning, There Is the
Designer ................................................................................... 1
Magic Words ............................................................................................................................... 1
What Skills Does a Game Designer Need? ....................................................................... 2
The Most Important Skill ........................................................................................................ 4
The Five Kinds of Listening .................................................................................................... 5
The Secret of the Gifted .......................................................................................................... 6
The Designer Creates an Experience .......... 9
The Game Is Not the Experience .......................................................................................10
Is This Unique to Games? .....................................................................................................11
Three Practical Approaches to Chasing Rainbows .....................................................12
Introspection: Powers, Perils, and Practice .....................................................................14
Dissect Your Feelings .............................................................................................................17
Defeating Heisenberg ...........................................................................................................18
Essential Experience ..............................................................................................................20
All That’s Real Is What You Feel ...........................................................................................21
The Experience Rises Out of a
Game ....................................................................................... 23
A Rant About Definitions .....................................................................................................24
So, What Is a Game? ................................................................................................................26
vii
vii