What's new IN THE fifth edition!
Game Design Workshop, 5th edition, follows the same basic table of contents as the earlier editions. The core of the book remains focused on the playcentric method, with updates throughout to better explain the process of setting and achieving your innovative player experience goals. There are new sidebars from designers like Bruce Straley that will show you how games like The Last of Us were designed to reach emotionally sophisticated experience goals. Also, there are discussions and sidebars around emerging trends like using generative AI in your creative process and the possibilities for immersive game design that extends beyond screens in theatrical and virtual reality experiences.
For those who have taught with or read the book before, it retains its familiar structure and flow. For those just picking it up, I hope that it this new version will be as useful to you in your study of game design as it has to others in its previous editions. CRC Press has made a preview of the 5th edition available for here.
As those familiar with the book know, one of its key features are the Designer Perspectives, interviews of many of the best known game designers in the field. In an effort to make room in the book up for exciting new voices from the changing face of the industry, I have moved many of the great Designer Perspectives from previous editions to this website. Also, a number of sidebars from previous editions that contain valuable insights and information are available here. You can find links to these here: Designer Perspectives from previous editions, Sidebars from previous editions.
Part 1 Game Design Basics
Chapter 1 The Role of the Game Designer
Chapter 2 The Structure of Games
Chapter 3 Working with Formal Elements
Chapter 4 Working with Dramatic Elements
Chapter 5 Working with System Dynamics
Part 2 Designing a Game
Chapter 6 Ideation
Chapter 7 Prototyping
Chapter 8 Digital Prototyping
Chapter 9 Playtesting
Chapter 10 Functionality, Completeness, and Balance
Chapter 11 Fun and Accessibility
Part 3 Working As a Game Designer
Chapter 12 Team Structures
Chapter 13 Stages and Methods of Development
Chapter 14 Communicating Your Designs
Chapter 15 Understanding the New Game Industry
Chapter 16 Selling Yourself and Your Ideas to the Game Industry
Conclusion