Raph Koster

Discusses the essential elements in creating a successful game, how playing games and learning are connected, and what makes a game boring or fun.

Theory of Fun for Game Design

Aamna

This was such a good surprise. So well written and so much to take away even if you're not a hard core game designer. Will definitely be reading again at some point. Highly recommend.

Peter Polgar

Rather a philosophy or at least highly theoretical book about game design. The main point is along what are games - mainly a teaching tool, much like stories although in a different way. There are many nice comparisons to other media, like writing, music or dancing, as games are a different medium, and just as the others they can be also considered an art form. But for this to happen, games and more so game design need to mature, meaning language around design and analysis needs to evolve, much like around the other art forms.

Nelson Zagalo

Presents the essential elements needed to create a successful game, discussing how playing games is connected to an innate ability to seek patterns and why some games are boring and others are fun.

Theory of Fun for Game Design

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