Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Classic and cutting-edge writings on games, spanning nearly 50 years of game analysis and criticism, by game designers, game journalists, game fans, folklorists, sociologists, and media theorists.

The Game Design Reader is a one-of-a-kind collection on game design and criticism, from classic scholarly essays to cutting-edge case studies. A companion work to Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman's textbook Rules of Play- Game Design Fundamentals , The Game Design Reader is a classroom sourcebook, a reference for working game developers, and a great read for game fans and players.

Thirty-two essays by game designers, game critics, game fans, philosophers, anthropologists, media theorists, and others consider fundamental questions- What are games and how are they designed? How do games interact with culture at large? What critical approaches can game designers take to create game stories, game spaces, game communities, and new forms of play?

Salen and Zimmerman have collected seminal writings that span 50 years to offer a stunning array of perspectives. Game journalists express the rhythms of game play, sociologists tackle topics such as role-playing in vast virtual worlds, players rant and rave, and game designers describe the sweat and tears of bringing a game to market. Each text acts as a springboard for discussion, a potential class assignment, and a source of inspiration. The book is organized around fourteen topics, from The Player Experience to The Game Design Process, from Games and Narrative to Cultural Representation. Each topic, introduced with a short essay by Salen and Zimmerman, covers ideas and research fundamental to the study of games, and points to relevant texts within the Reader. Visual essays between book sections act as counterpoint to the writings.

Like Rules of Play , The Game Design Reader is an intelligent and playful book. An invaluable resource for professionals and a unique introduction for those new to the field, The Game Design Reader is essential reading for anyone who takes games seriously.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Foreword (p. x)
• Preface (p. xvi)
• Interstitial: How to Win "Super Mario Bros"
• Topic Essays (p. 1)
• The Player Experience (p. 3)
• The Rules of a Game (p. 9)
• Gaming the Game (p. 15)
• The Game Design Process (p. 21)
• Player and Character (p. 27)
• Games and Narrative (p. 33)
• Game Communities (p. 39)
• Speaking of Games (p. 45)
• Game Design Models (p. 53)
• Game Economies (p. 59)
• Game Spaces (p. 65)
• Cultural Representation (p. 71)
• What Is a Game? (p. 77)
• What Is Play? (p. 83)
• Interstitial: Cosplay
• Texts: Bibliography (p. 91)
• Chart of Texts and Topics (p. 93)
• Interstitial: Urban Invasion
• Nature and Significance of Play as a Cultural Phenomenon (1955) (p. 96)
• The Definition of Play: The Classification of Games (1962) (p. 122)
• Shoot Club: The DOOM 3 Review (2004) (p. 156)
• Interstitial: Collateral Romance
• Construction of a Definition (1990) (p. 172)
• I Have No Words & I Must Design (1994) (p. 192)
• The Cabal: Valve's Design Process for Creating Half-Life (1999) (p. 212)
• Interstitial: Urban Games
• Semiotic Domains: Is Playing Video Games a "Waste of Time?" (2003) (p. 228)
• The Evil Summoner FAQ v1.0: How to Be a Cheap Ass (2001) (p. 268)
• Play and Ambiguity (2001) (p. 296)
• A Theory of Play and Fantasy (1972) (p. 314)
• "Complete Freedom of Movement": Video Games as Gendered Play Spaces (1998) (p. 330)
• Interstitial: DDR Step Charts
• Formal Abstract Design Tools (1999) (p. 366)
• Game Theory (1992) (p. 382)
• Games and Design Patterns (2005) (p. 410)
• Tools for Creating Dramatic Game Dynamics (2005) (p. 438)
• Game Analysis: Centipede (2001) (p. 460)
• Interstitial: Indie Game Jam
• Unwritten Rules (1999) (p. 476)
• Beyond the Rules of the Game: Why Are Rooie Rules Nice? (1983) (p. 504)
• Changing the Game (1978) (p. 518)
• The Design Evolution of Magic: The Gathering (1993 [vertical bar] 2004) (p. 538)
• Interstitial: Blast Theory
• Eyeball and Cathexis (1983) (p. 558)
• Frames and Games (1983) (p. 578)
• Bow, Nigger (2004) (p. 602)
• Cultural Models: Do You Want to Be the Blue Sonic or the Dark Sonic? (2003) (p. 610)
• Interstitial: Red vs. Blue
• Interaction and Narrative (2000-2005) (p. 642)
• Game Design as Narrative Architecture (2004) (p. 670)
• Adventure as a Video Game: Adventure for the Atari 2600 (1983-84) (p. 690)
• Eastern Front (1941) (2003) (p. 714)
• Interstitial: Serious Games
• The Lessons of Lucasfilm's Habitat (1990) (p. 728)
• Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDs (1996) (p. 754)
• Declaring the Rights of Players (2000) (p. 788)
• Virtual Worlds: A First-Hand Account of Market and Society on the Cyberian Frontier (2001) (p. 814)
• Interstitial: Painstation
• Coda: Piercing the Spectacle (2005) (p. 866)
• Interstitial: Le Parkour
• Interstitial Credits (p. 872)
• Index (p. 876)
• Final Word (p. 924)