Rules of Play : Game Design Fundamentals

by Salen Tekinbas, Katie; Zimmerman, Eric

• ISBN13: 9780262240451
• ISBN10: 0262240459
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-09-25
• Publisher: MIT PRESS

Summary

As pop culture, games are as important as film or television-but game design has yet to develop a theoretical framework or critical vocabulary. In Rules of PlayKatie Salen and Eric Zimmerman present a much-needed primer for this emerging field. They offer a unified model for looking at all kinds of games, from board games and sports to computer and video games. As active participants in game culture, the authors have written Rules of Playas a catalyst for innovation, filled with new concepts, strategies, and methodologies for creating and understanding games.. Building an aesthetics of interactive systems, Salen and Zimmerman define core concepts like "play," "design," and "interactivity." They look at games through a series of eighteen "game design schemas," or conceptual frameworks, including games as systems of emergence and information, as contexts for social play, as a storytelling medium, and as sites of cultural resistance. Written for game scholars, game developers, and interactive designers, Rules of Playis a textbook, reference book, and theoretical guide. It is the first comprehensive attempt to establish a solid theoretical framework for the emerging discipline of game design.

Author Biography

Katie Salen Tekinbaş is Professor in the School of Computing and Digital Media at DePaul University and Chief Designer and Researcher at Institute of Play.

Eric Zimmerman is a game designer, game design theorist, and co-founder and CEO of gameLab. He has taught at universities including MIT, the University of Texas, Parsons School of Design, New York University, Rhode Island School of Design, and the School of Visual Arts.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Frank Lantz	ix
Preface	xiii
1 About This Book	1	(10)
2 The Design Process	11	(11)
Commissioned Essay: Reiner Knizia	22	(6)
Unit 1: Core Concepts	28	(88)
3 Meaningful Play	30	(8)
4 Design	38	(10)
5 Systems	48	(8)
6 Interactivity	56	(14)
7 Defining Games	70	(14)
8 Defining Digital Games	84	(8)
9 The Magic Circle	92	(8)
10 The Primary Schemas: RULES, PLAY, CULTURE	100	(6)
Commissioned Game: Richard Garfield	106	(10)
Unit 2: RULES	116	(182)
11 Defining Rules	118	(8)
12 Rules on Three Levels	126	(14)
13 The Rules of Digital Games	140	(10)
14 Games as Emergent Systems	150	(22)
15 Games as Systems of Uncertainty	172	(18)
16 Games as Information Theory Systems	190	(12)
17 Games as Systems of Information	202	(10)
18 Games as Cybernetic Systems	212	(18)
19 Games as Game Theory Systems	230	(18)
20 Games as Systems of Conflict	248	(18)
21 Breaking the Rules	266	(20)
Commissioned Game: Frank Lantz	286	(12)
Unit 3: PLAY	298	(204)
22 Defining Play	300	(12)
23 Games as the Play of Experience	312	(16)
24 Games as the Play of Pleasure	328	(34)
25 Games as the Play of Meaning	362	(14)
26 Games as Narrative Play	376	(44)
27 Games as the Play of Simulation	420	(40)
28 Games as Social Play	460	(30)
Commissioned Game: Kira Snyder	490	(12)
Unit 4: CULTURE	502	(100)
29 Defining Culture	504	(10)
30 Games as Cultural Rhetoric	514	(22)
31 Games as Open Culture	536	(20)
32 Games as Cultural Resistance	556	(14)
33 Games as Cultural Environment	570	(18)
Commissioned Game: James Ernest	588	(14)
Additional Reading and Resources	602	(2)
Conclusion	604	(4)
Bibliography	608	(12)
List of Games Cited	620	(18)
Index	638