Books: Predictably Irrational

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, by Dan Ariely.

A game is a series of interesting decisions.
Sid Meier

If indeed Sid Meier is right (and who would challenge his authority?) then designing a game is about designing decisions, and how can we design decisions if we don’t understand how they are made? Classical game theory assumes players are unswervingly rational in the pursuit of their goals, and perhaps some games (such as chess) promote such a mode of thinking, but in general we are not nearly so logical. We make mistakes, we overvalue certain alternatives, we are dishonest and we give in to social pressure. Moreover we fail to recognise these failings even when we repeat them regularly.

GDC Education Summit

Every year I like to try to turn my experiences in running my game design subject into some kind of conference paper. I find it useful to reflect on my teaching processes and game design is such a young discipline, I think it is very valuable for us academics to discuss the different ways of teaching it.

When I heard that there was going to be an Education Summit at this year’s GDC, I approached Susan Gold, the organiser, about the possibility of giving a short presentation. She told me that they weren’t planning to hold a papers session, but instead invited me to run a two hour workshop instead.

Books: The Art of Game Design

The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses by Jesse Schell.

I am normally reluctant to review actual “game design” titles. Such texts have proliferated in the last decade with a lot of “3D Game Design for Dummies” titles being churned out. I confess that I do not think very highly of most of these books. Many are not about game design at all, but about game programming, which is a different issue. Of those that do address design issues, most of them still leave me dissatisfied. They usually contain a lot of practical wisdom for particular genres of games, but without an overarching vision. As a result they often end up feeling scrappy and incomplete. Game design has not found its Newton or Einstein and perhaps it never will.

MDA: Aesthetic dissonance

A popular piece of advice for creative writers is “Show, don’t tell.“. By this it is meant that the story should be conveyed by the characters actions and not by narrative exposition. I wouldn’t be the first one to extend this to games. What sets game design apart from other arts is that the experience emerges from the interaction between the player(s) and the game. The MDA model attempts to codify this by saying that the Mechanics (rules) create the Dynamics (play) which give rise to the Aesthetics (fun). It is for this reason that a game must be played to be appreciated. The aesthetics of a game cannot be realised by mere observation of the rules.

Books: Donald A. Norman

The Design of Everyday Things
and
Emotional Design,
by Donald A. Norman.

Donald A. Norman is a cognitive scientist who has made a name for himself as an expert on usability and design. His first book, The Design of Everyday Things, is well known as a manifesto for making products that make sense. In it he picks up on all the little design flaws we encounter everyday: doors that pull when you want to push, light switches which show no correspondence to the lights they control, buttons and dials that only make sense to the engineer who designed them and no-one else, and especially objects that look pretty have no discernable means of operation.

Scott McCloud talks to TED

Another TED talk I recommend: Scott McCloud, whose book I have previously enthused about, talks about history and future of comics.

Fallout 3: Jazz in the Wasteland

I’ve recently finished Fallout 3. Lots of people have already dissected the setting, the characters and the the ending, so I won’t go into those things. There is one thing, though, that I don’t think anyone else has mentioned. The soundtrack. How cool is the radio feature?

Books: Design your our games and activities.

Design Your Own Games and Activities: Thiagi’s Templates for Performance Improvement, by Sivasailam Thiagarajan.

Tell me and I’ll forget;
Show me and I may remember;
Involve me and I’ll understand.

As a university lecturer, I have often thought how much of teaching is actually game design. A lot of what I do is design activities to provide certain kinds of experience for my students. And while fun is not the primary goal of these activities, every teacher knows the importance of making exercises engaging and entertaining.

With this in mind, I went looking for books which addressed the design of such activities.