So You Want to Be a Game Designer!: A Balanced Book of Practice and Theory

by Merijn de Boer, Anneke Mikkers (Illustrator)

So You Want to Be a Game Designer! is all about designing games, with you as a beginner in mind. Have you ever wondered about the possibilities for breaking into game design but don't know where to start? This book is composed of 50% theory and 50% practical examples, enabling you to start creating classic games right away, while leafing through helpful examples. Several indie developers and seasoned game designers were interviewed for this book, including Vlambeer (Ridiculous Fishing, Super Crate Box) and Launching Pad Games (Scarlett & The Spark of Life, Mighty Fin).

This book is not intended as a standard work to complement existing books about game mechanics or basic concepts of fun. So You Want to Be a Game Designer! is focused on getting you started with the right market segment (independent publishing) by working with intuitive (free) software. The book is meant to expand and will be updated regularly with new game designs and interviews. Every new addition contains a new kind of game and clear instructions on how to create it. Once purchased, you'll receive all new updates for free and you will be able to build on your experience thanks to clearly written tutorials and helpful interviews.

The contents at a glance:
- Three game designs, showing how game mechanics work in Construct 2
- Five interviews with independent developers
- Several tutorials that explain how to create assets such as backgrounds, animations and game objects

Merijn de Boer is an editor for several websites. He reviewed over 2,000 applications & games and interviewed several developers, ranging from the developers of Candy Crush Saga to the small yet immensely successful indie developer Vlambeer. After working for Softonic (Europe's largest download portal and the #34 ranking global website, comScore 2013) as a senior editor and mobile consultant, his focus moved to game design. So You Want to Be a Game Designer! is aimed at helping smaller developers prototype and giving aspiring developers that extra push they need to start designing games. After reading this book you know how classic games such as Breakout and Pong were made, yet also know how to bring your own ideas to life. The software you need is completely free, the only boundary left is your imagination.

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 27, 2013

About the author

Merijn de Boer is a Dutch writer. He is also an editor at Dutch publisher Van Oorschot and he used to be an editor at literary magazine Tirade.