Concepts

Here you will find shorter articles that focus on game design concepts. Over time I will be adding small interactive toys that you can play with to help reinforce the information being presented.

There is no explicit order that you must read these articles, as it is meant to be referential. However, I have done my best to organize them into categories, and the later categories tend to be more specific.

General Concepts

Let's start at the beginning. What does it mean to be a game designer? This section is meant to set a baseline expectation of what to expect on the job. It also includes concepts that are widely applicable.

Semantic Concepts

In this category you will find topics that deal with understanding how to design your game from a semantic-based perspective. A Semantic approach guides you in designing your game from the top and working your way down. These concepts are not better, or worse, than secenario-based design. Just a different perspective. You can think of this as "from the game designer's perspective."

Scenario Concepts

In this category you will find topics that deal with understanding how to design your game from a scenario-based perspective. Somewhat the antithesis of semantic based design, it is like designing your game from the bottom and working your way up. You can also think of this as "from the player's perspective."

Economic Concepts

One could argue that trying to understand your game from an economic perspective is both semantic and scenario at the same time, so I treat it as a separate area and perspective on the job.

Development Process

Here you will find articles that are a bit longer. Each is a breakdown of some real-life process that I use in my work, and each of these are generally amalgams of the concepts above.

Tools

Lastly, here are everyday tools that I use to do my job. Nothing particularly groundbreaking within these words, but maybe stuff that will help you with your job.