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a13o | 3 months ago

I wouldn’t say A Theory of Fun is “the book.” It’s more a coffee table read. “The book” is Jesse Schell’s The Art of Game Design

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sph|3 months ago

I've come across this kind of comment elsewhere, and the recommendation was that "the book" is Designing Games by Tynan Sylvester (the author of Rimworld)

https://tynansylvester.com/book/

Haven't read it yet myself.

meheleventyone|3 months ago

I'd say there's no such thing as 'the book' for game design and which you will jive with largely depends on your preferences and values around games.

runevault|3 months ago

Tynan's book is popular, but in my limited experience the first book most people recommend for anyone looking into design is Book of Lenses. Mind you I think both are worth reading. Lenses is just a more systemic and deeper dive.

bavell|3 months ago

I can definitely recommend it!

PostOnce|3 months ago

That's why I put it in scare quotes; personally I don't believe The Book has yet been written. There's not an Art of War for every subject yet, and game design is one of those subjects not yet mastered, at least in writing.

rstupek|3 months ago

What about old school Chris Crawford's book "The Art of Computer Game Design"?