100 Principles of Game Design

Introduction

This book is a toolbox of possibilities. It is not a how-to manual. It contains at least four principles (I’m not telling which ones) that insist or imply there is only one true way to begin designing a game, and if it is started in any other way disaster will ensue. They cannot all be right . . . can they?

Well, I’m sure I don’t know, and I’m not going to try to convince you one way or the other either. What I do know is that these ways/principles/philosophies are all coexisting in the current game industry. Different companies, rock-star designers, and schools of thought all use them and swear by them. Maybe there’s a Master’s thesis in there somewhere, but I’m not interested in digging it out and ranking the schools of thought ...