Theory of Fun for Game Design, 2nd Edition

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to all those who have helped me clarify the thoughts that went into this book, through their writing and direct conversation and by challenging my assumptions. The following are in no particular order:

For the original edition: Cory Ondrejka for passionately dreaming the dream; Ben Cousins for “ludeme” and pursuing empirical approaches; David Kennerly for loving the ludemes; Gordon Walton and Rich Vogel for mentoring, mentoring, mentoring—and letting go; J. C. Lawrence for creating the forum; Jesper Juul for questioning the premise; Jessica Mulligan for opening the art question; John Buehler for the emotion questions; John Donham for indulging and interest; Lee Sheldon for insisting on story; Nicole Lazzaro for introducing me to research on emotion; Noah Falstein for treading down a similar path—keep an eye out for his book; Richard Bartle for the playspace, and for advocating authorial intent; Richard Garriott for injecting ethics; Rod Humble for listening to very long rambles; Sasha Hart for the human condition questions; Timothy Burke and many other players for forcing me to consider the question; Will Wright for insight into formal game systems.

Extra special thanks to those who helped make the book in its original form come together: Kurt Squire for introducing Ben to the original presentation, Ben Sawyer for editing, Dave Taylor and Patricia Pizer for fantastic volunteer editing jobs, Keith Weiskamp for publishing and line-by-line commentary, Chris Nakashima-Brown for legal help, Kim Eoff for laying out the book, and Judy Flynn for copyediting.

The second edition would not have happened without Rachel Roumeliotis, Meghan Connolly, and the team at O’Reilly. Their willingness to dream big, in full color, is what led to the version you now have in your hands.

Special thanks are also due to those readers who willingly went through the original edition with a fine-toothed comb. It is thanks to them that there is updated science, revised cartoon punchlines, and greater depth to many portions of the text. Again, in no particular order: Giles Schildt, Dr. Richard Bartle, Rebecca Ferguson, Ian Schreiber, Mat Cusick, Jason VandenBerghe, Isaac Barry, and Evan Moreno-Davis. After ten years, there have been tens of thousands of people who have read the book. Many of them were kind enough to write to me, post reactions on blogs and in forums, and otherwise engage with the work. I feel incredibly lucky to have such an engaged audience. Thank you all for the debates, critiques, and support over the years.

Above all, to Kristen, who helped scan the images, gave me the space in which to work, and read the drafts as they emerged. Without the time granted to me by her willingness to watch the kids, cook the food, and keep me working, this would never have come to be.

Finally, thank you to all those who in my life have allowed me to pursue this crazy career. And to my family, for fostering the sense of fun from an early age and buying all the darn games and computers for me.