Game Design Workshop

Last updated
Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games
Game Design Workshop 4th Edition.jpg
4th Edition cover art
Author Tracy Fullerton
Original titleGame Design Workshop: Designing, Prototyping, & Playtesting Games (1st Edition)
Subject Game design
Publisher AK Peters/CRC Press
Publication date
2004, 2008, 2014, 2018, 2023
Pages556
ISBN 978-1-138-09877-0
OCLC 859196163

Game Design Workshop is a book on game design by Tracy Fullerton, originally published by CMP Books in 2004. It has been updated and released in four subsequent editions, the latest by A K Peters/CRC Press in 2023.

Contents

The book is based on the core game design curriculum taught at the USC Interactive Media & Games Division of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Contributors to the fourth edition include many notable game designers, including: Eric Zimmerman, Christina Norman, Keita Takahashi, Anna Anthropy, Randy Smith, Robin Hunicke, Michael John, Asher Vollmer, Elan Lee, Jane McGonigal, Tim LeTourneau, Chaim Gingold, Jenova Chen, Richard Lemarchand, Frank Lantz, Adrian Hon, Stone Librande, Warren Spector, Kellee Santiago, among others.

Game Design Workshop is cited by numerous sources as one of the "must have" books for new game designers. [1] [2] [3] It is in used in game design courses worldwide. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

Traveller is a science fiction role-playing game first published in 1977 by Game Designers' Workshop. Marc Miller designed Traveller with help from Frank Chadwick, John Harshman, and Loren Wiseman. Editions were published for GURPS, d20, and other role-playing game systems. From its origin and in the currently published systems, the game relied upon six-sided dice for random elements. Traveller has been featured in a few novels and at least two video games.

Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories. Several years later, it was published for the D&D game as a series of magazine articles, and the first Realms game products were released in 1987. Role-playing game products have been produced for the setting ever since, in addition to novels, role-playing video game adaptations, comic books, and the film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

<i>Warhammer 40,000</i> Miniature wargame

Warhammer 40,000 is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987, and the tenth and current edition was released in June 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Games Workshop</span> British maker of miniature wargames

Games Workshop Group is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000.

<i>Talisman</i> (board game) Fantasy adventure board game

Talisman: The Magical Quest Game is a fantasy-themed adventure board game for two to six players, originally designed and produced by Games Workshop. The game was first released in 1983 and has gone through three revisions. As of 2021, the fourth edition (2008) is the latest version. The board game sold over 800,000 units by 2000.

A campaign is a continuing storyline in a game. In role-playing games, it is a set of adventures. In video games, it may be a linked series of quests designed to tell a complete story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monte Cook</span> American writer and game designer

Monte Cook is an American professional tabletop role-playing game designer and writer, best known for his work on Dungeons & Dragons.

<i>Monster Manual</i> Sourcebook series of Dungeons & Dragons bestiaries

The Monster Manual is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, first published in 1977 by TSR. The Monster Manual was the first hardcover D&D book and includes monsters derived from mythology and folklore, as well as creatures created specifically for D&D. Creature descriptions include game-specific statistics, a brief description of its habits and habitats, and typically an image of the creature. Along with the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, the Monster Manual is one of the three "core rulebooks" in most editions of the D&D game. As such, new editions of the Monster Manual have been released for each edition of D&D. Due to the level of detail and illustration included in the 1977 release, the book was cited as a pivotal example of a new style of wargame books. Future editions would draw on various sources and act as a compendium of published monsters.

<i>Players Handbook</i> Series of Dungeons & Dragons player rulebooks

The Player's Handbook is the name given to one of the core rulebooks in every edition of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). It does not contain the complete set of rules for the game, and only includes rules for use by players of the game. Additional rules, for use by Dungeon Masters (DMs), who referee the game, can be found in the Dungeon Master's Guide. Many optional rules, such as those governing extremely high-level players, and some of the more obscure spells, are found in other sources.

<i>Dungeon Masters Guide</i> Role-playing game rulebook

The Dungeon Master's Guide is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. The Dungeon Master's Guide contains rules concerning the arbitration and administration of a game, and is intended for use by the game's Dungeon Master.

Steve Jackson is a British game designer, writer, game reviewer and co-founder of UK game publisher Games Workshop.

<i>Warhammer</i> (game) Miniature wargame

Warhammer is a tabletop miniature wargame with a medieval fantasy theme. The game was created by Bryan Ansell, Richard Halliwell, and Rick Priestley, and first published by the Games Workshop company in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Zimmerman</span> American game designer, CEO of Gamelab

Eric Zimmerman is an American game designer and the co-founder and CEO of Gamelab, a computer game development company based in Manhattan. GameLab is known for the game Diner Dash. Each year Zimmerman hosts the Game Design Challenge at the Game Developers Conference. He is also the co-author of four books including Rules of Play with Katie Salen, which was published in November 2004. Eric Zimmerman has written at least 24 essays and whitepapers since 1996, mostly pertaining to game development from an academic standpoint. He's currently a founding faculty at the NYU Game Center.

<i>The Warlock of Firetop Mountain</i> Adventure gamebook

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is a single-player adventure gamebook written by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and illustrated by Russ Nicholson. Originally published by Puffin Books in 1982, the title is the first gamebook in the Fighting Fantasy series. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2002, and Scholastic Books in 2017. As well as launching the Fighting Fantasy series, the gamebook inspired two direct sequels and five novels, and has been adapted into a board game, an audio drama and a video game.

<i>Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game</i> Tabletop miniature wargame

Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, previously marketed as The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Strategy Battle Game, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Strategy Battle Game and The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies Strategy Battle Game is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies directed by Peter Jackson, and the books that inspired them, written by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Several different editions of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of D&D, Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the game. However, many D&D fans continue to play older versions of the game and some third-party companies continue to publish materials compatible with these older editions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracy Fullerton</span> American game designer, educator and writer

Tracy Fullerton is an American game designer, educator and writer, best known for Walden, a game (2017). She is a Professor in the USC Interactive Media & Games Division of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and Director of the Game Innovation Lab at USC.

Chris Swain is an American game designer, entrepreneur, and professor. He is the founder of two venture-backed game companies. He worked full-time as a professor at The University of Southern California from 2004-2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Mearls</span> American game designer

Michael Mearls is an American writer and designer of fantasy role-playing games (RPGs) and related fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernie De Koven</span> American game designer

Bernard Louis De Koven or DeKoven was an American game designer, author, lecturer and fun theorist. He is most notable for his book The Well Played Game, for his contributions to the New Games Foundation, his pioneering work in computer game design, and for his long-running web site, deepFUN.com.

References

  1. Four Must Have Books for Learning Game Designers
  2. Best Video Game Design Books
  3. Popular Game Design Books
  4. Basic Introduction to Game Design syllabus
  5. "Game Design syllabus". Archived from the original on 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2014-12-16.
  6. Game Design Workshop syllabus
  7. Video Game Design and Architecture syllabus
  8. Game Design and Development syllabus