Playful Structure - A Game Design Methodology: Theory and Practice

The creative process for designing a playful structure applicable to a board game, video game, gamified system, gamification, edutainment, and art games, among others.

PLAYFUL STRUCTURE - A GAME DESIGN METHODOLOGY

By applying the five essential elements of playful structure (satisfying desires and needs, a progression system, a scalable challenge, objectives, and a reward system), it is possible to analyze a game mechanism, solve gameplay problems, and make a product more likely to appeal to and retain people. The methodology can be applied to video games, board games, role-playing games, card games, gamified activities, edutainment, advergaming, and other playful systems. You save time and money.

CONTENT

•Fundamentals of Game Design
•The Design Process
•Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics
•Practice with Board Game Design
•Playful Structure as a Method
•Internal Economy and Balance
•Agile Production
•Level Design
•Design Documents
•Art Games
•Advergaming
•Edutainment
•Gamification

Suitable for the curious, game enthusiasts, professionals looking to specialize, and guardians of the galaxy! Includes a free design online kit.

If you're reading this, you might be curious about game design, or you may be a passionate lover of the entertainment industry and its art. In the first case, the aim of this book is to turn curiosity into passion. To design games, it's good to know the techniques that are part of the trade. Technique is the blood, flesh, and bones; however, passion is the soul. Technique can be learned; the soul exists in an invisible point within us, patiently waiting to be found. We conceive of games as a form of artistic expression, loving them from the gut, feeling like a part of a special world and diverse culture, what we ultimately call being gamers.

Game design is one of the most interesting professions of the century because it best combines art, technology, and the social sciences. It has a concrete present and a promising future in various fields that go beyond mere entertainment.