I recently managed to finish reading The Art of Game Design by the great Jesse Schell. It took me three months and I ended up taking around ninety full pages of notes, and that’s by far the most time and attention I’ve ever given a book. I plan to share my notes on the book so others might find them useful as well, but first, I want to give you an overview of what the book is about, and what I think about it.
Originally published in 2008, The Art of Game Design is frequently referred to as the game design bible. It takes a player-centric approach to making games, and touches upon many critical aspects of making a good game, and selling it. I originally made the mistake of thinking it’s a beginner book, but I’m amazed at just how profoundly impactful this book has been for me as a game developer with more than ten years of experience. Here I’m reviewing the third edition, which came out in 2019. I’ll do my best to stay objective, and give you a clear picture of what it’s strengths and shortcomings are.
Length
The first thing you’ll probably notice about the book is just how long it is. I think it definitely could have been cut short in a few places here and there, but given how comprehensive it is when it comes to teaching the reader about the difficult and demanding craft of making games, I’m more than willing to let that pass.
That said, the place where the book’s size hurts its usefulness the most is the sheer number of the “lenses” it has. For starters, the unique thing about the book is that it gives you a number of “lenses” through which to examine your design and your game and see how you can make them better. Some of them are extremely useful, while a fair number of them are not. Long story short, by the time you are finished with the book you have over 100 lenses on your hands, and applying them to your designs becomes a big chore. What I would have loved to see would be a much smaller collection of lenses (maybe ten) that ask you the big questions that can point you in the right general direction, and make you think for yourself. In trying to be comprehensive, the book gives you way too many lenses, inadvertently forcing you to only think the way it wants you to think, rather than thinking for yourself and developing your own style and philosophy of game design. Cutting down that number would have made the book much more practical to use.
Insights
The best thing about the book for me is just how insightful and practical it is, and I believe it’s due to the fact that all of it comes from Schell’s experience as a successful game maker. I really wish I had read it sooner in my career, but the silver lining for me is that a lot of the questions this book tries to answer were ones I had already encountered in my journey as a game designer, and that made the book that much more useful.
The book’s unique focus on human experience, psychology, and creativity not only makes it a solid foundation on which to begin the design of any game, but it also means there are lessons and insights for professionals in many other fields where good experience design matters, especially in entertainment. Also, the way of thinking the book proposes and its approach to problem solving are deeply transformational, and can positively affect how the reader views their work and life challenges, making it much more than a simple game design book.
Scientific Soundness
Considering the fact that many of the tips shared in the book come from personal experience, it makes sense that some of them may not have the solid scientific foundation one might expect them to have, and even Schell admits to that. I believe that was inevitable with a book trying to teach from experience, and holding back some of the insights because of their lack of scientific backing might have hurt the book more than helping it. It’s just something to keep in mind when reading the book, to not take everything it says as gospel and to apply your own critical thinking to it.
Technology
One thing I absolutely love about the book is how little it talks about the technology that goes into making games. Coming from a technical background, I have frequently found myself missing the forest for the trees—focusing on fancy tech with no objective impact on user experience instead of trying to make a great game. I believe this shift in perspective was much needed for me, and could prove really helpful for other people that are prone to spending too much time on the tech side of things. That said, the one chapter where the book actually talks about technology was also really eye-opening and insightful, and changed how I view game tech in many ways.
Verdict
The book has simply been transformational for me when it comes to how I approach making games, and products in general. If making great games is your goal, this book is absolutely worth your time. I’m going to share my notes on it with you soon.
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