A Game Design Vocabulary: Exploring the Foundational Principles Behind Good Game Design

Master the Principles and Vocabulary of Game Design



Why aren’t videogames getting better? Why does it feel like we’re playing the same games, over and over again? Why aren’t games helping us transform our lives, like great music, books, and movies do?

The problem is language. We still don’t know how to talk about game design. We can’t share our visions. We forget what works (and doesn’t). We don’t learn from history. It’s too hard to improve.

The breakthrough starts here. A Game Design Vocabulary gives us the complete game design framework we desperately need—whether we create games, study them, review them, or build businesses on them.

Craft amazing experiences. Anna Anthropy and Naomi Clark share foundational principles, examples, and exercises that help you create great player experiences…complement intuition with design discipline…and craft games that succeed brilliantly on every level.

Liberate yourself from stale clichés and genres

Tell great stories: go way beyond cutscenes and text dumps

Control the crucial relationships between game “verbs” and “objects”

Wield the full power of development, conflict, climax, and resolution

Shape scenes, pacing, and player choices

Deepen context via art, animation, music, and sound

Help players discover, understand, engage, and “talk back” to you

Effectively use resistance and difficulty: the “push and pull” of games

Design holistically: integrate visuals, audio, and controls

Communicate a design vision everyone can understand