Chris Crawford on Game Design is all about the foundational skills behind the design and architecture of a game. Without these skills, designers and developers lack the understanding to work with the tools and techniques used in the industry today. Chris Crawford, the most highly sought after expert in this area, brings an intense opinion piece full of personality and flare like no other person in this industry can. He explains the foundational and fundamental concepts needed to get the most out of game development today. An exceptional precursor to the two books soon to be published by New Riders with author Andrew Rollings, this book teaches key lessons; including, what you can learn from the history of game play and historical games, necessity of challenge in game play, applying dimensions of conflict, understanding low and high interactivity designs, watching for the inclusion of creativity, and understanding the importance of storytelling. In addition, Chris brings you the wish list of games he’d like to build and tells you how to do it. Game developers and designers will kill for this information!

A decent read, but teaches little about game design

I agree with what most of the other reviewers have said, but I guess I enjoyed it slightly less.



The first thing to know about this book is that you’ll learn next to nothing about game design by reading it. Crawford even lists some *other* books to read to learn the subject.



This book if first and foremost about curling up by a fireside and listening to (reading) someone with an enormous ego and an equally large chip on his shoulder, rant about the video game industry. He’ll tell you you’ll never make it, he’ll tell you good design is essential in the success of a game project, and laugh at projects that failed due to (he claims) bad game design. Then you’ll hear him tell you what a bad designer Carmack (sp?) of Doom fame is, and how the best game he (Crawford) ever designed was a huge commercial flop. And lots of other borderline crazy rantings. There’s also a lot of completely worthless fluff in the book, like really long-winded, pointless excercises in trying to define certain words like "game" and "interactive" and so forth.



But tucked in between the ranting, boasting, and fluff, almost by accident, there seem to be a few thought provoking passages and some decently entertaining stories. I’m not sorry that I read this book, but I have trouble giving it a high recommendation to others. You should at least know what you’re getting yourself into before reading it.

A decent read, but teaches little about game design

I agree with what most of the other reviewers have said, but I guess I enjoyed it slightly less.

The first thing to know about this book is that you’ll learn next to nothing about game design by reading it. Crawford even lists some *other* books to read to learn the subject.

This book if first and foremost about curling up by a fireside and listening to (reading) someone with an enormous ego and an equally large chip on his shoulder, rant about the video game industry. He’ll tell you you’ll never make it, he’ll tell you good design is essential in the success of a game project, and laugh at projects that failed due to (he claims) bad game design. Then you’ll hear him tell you what a bad designer Carmack (sp?) of Doom fame is, and how the best game he (Crawford) ever designed was a huge commercial flop. And lots of other borderline crazy rantings. There’s also a lot of completely worthless fluff in the book, like really long-winded, pointless excercises in trying to define certain words like "game" and "interactive" and so forth.

But tucked in between the ranting, boasting, and fluff, almost by accident, there seem to be a few thought provoking passages and some decently entertaining stories. I’m not sorry that I read this book, but I have trouble giving it a high recommendation to others. You should at least know what you’re getting yourself into before reading it.

Worth it for the description of Interactivity alone

I agree with some of the other reviewers on this page that Crawford has some very strong opinions. If you disagree with his point of view (that the computer game industry could aim quite a bit higher than it is currently, and ultimately will have to in order to survive) then you might grumble at certain parts of the book, but Crawford’s description of Interactivity, and its importance to game design, is spot on. It clarified for me why computer games are entertaining to the complex human animal, and why this particular quality sets computer games apart from all other forms of media. A great portion of the book is devoted to Crawford’s own experiences in the game industry. I found these descriptions equally entertaining and illuminating - If you grew up watching the transition from Pong and Atari to Doom and Civilization, I believe you will as well.

a great resource

this book is informative and interesting in that you’ll-be-thinking-about-it-for-months kind of way. it will confirm your thoughts, and offer insights you have yet to gather. crawford’s ego is apparent, yet logical; his points piquant, yet measured.

Further insights

In the spirit of full and open disclosure, I have known Chris Crawford for over twenty years. We are close friends and colleagues. So instead of providing a review, I’d like to comment on some of the things brought up in the other reviews.

One thread that runs through many of these reviews is that this is not a book about how to program games, it’s a book on how to design games. If you want to learn how to program games, there are many good books out that will help you do just that. It’s a good thing that there are so many, because they become obsolete quickly. Chris’ book, on the other hand is about designing games and the content has a very long shelf life. Chris does not make the all too common mistake of confusing game design with game development. (Many schools now have "game design" courses and majors that are actually focused on creating game programmers, not game designers.) A game designer does not have to be a competent programmer, artist, or writer in order to design computer games. However, the best game designers have a broad background that include not only programming, art, and writing skills, but a good knowledge of science, history, psychology, literature and mathematics. The best are driven with curiosity about the world around them and have powerful imaginations. If you have these characteristics, you may have what it takes to be a world class game designer-and you’ll love this book.

Another thread that appears in the reviews (here and in other media) is Chris’ writing style. It is direct and conversational. It can be earthy and can contain words you’ve never seen before-often in the same sentence. He has been accused more than once of writing with a Thesaurus close at hand. Let me clear the record here, Chris talks as he writes and I have never seen him refer to a Thesaurus. He loves obscure words, but they come from his memory, not from his Thesaurus.

Another characteristic of his writing is his habit of reducing gray areas to stark black and white and making provocative statements. Chris has a background as a college instructor, with strong skills in lecturing. When he writes (and often when he talks) this is where he is coming from. He wants you to think, he wants you to react, and he wants you to understand a subject as he understands it. You may disagree with Chris on some matters, but you can’t ignore him. Most people appreciate this style, but others-especially those whose sacred cow has been sacrificed at the alter of logic-will react with anger. One of the reviews here definitely falls into that category. As a result of an article in an online magazine, the reviewer was angered by an imagined assault on women and has decided to retaliate by attacking Chris and his book here on Amazon. The clue to this is the reference to "bodice rippers" and "interactive soap operas" which are from the article. (I skimmed through the book again to see if he had also used these phrases, but couldn’t find them. However, Chris has referred to romance novels as bodice rippers-a common reference which he did not invent-in other venues. When given a choice, Chris will usually choose the more colorful descriptions of objects.)

I read his article and read the resulting flame war on a blog site. Chris definitely hit their hot buttons. Despite the high level of emotion in the blog entries, I will confess to being amused at how they twisted his words beyond recognition and then became incensed at their derived meaning.

Further insights

[...]
In the spirit of full and open disclosure, I have known Chris Crawford for over twenty years. We are close friends and colleagues. So instead of providing a review, I’d like to comment on some of the things brought up in the other reviews.

One thread that runs through many of these reviews is that this is not a book about how to program games, it’s a book on how to design games. If you want to learn how to program games, there are many good books out that will help you do just that. It’s a good thing that there are so many, because they become obsolete quickly. Chris’ book, on the other hand is about designing games and the content has a very long shelf life. Chris does not make the all too common mistake of confusing game design with game development. (Many schools now have "game design" courses and majors that are actually focused on creating game programmers, not game designers.) A game designer does not have to be a competent programmer, artist, or writer in order to design computer games. However, the best game designers have a broad background that include not only programming, art, and writing skills, but a good knowledge of science, history, psychology, literature and mathematics. The best are driven with curiosity about the world around them and have powerful imaginations. If you have these characteristics, you may have what it takes to be a world class game designer-and you’ll love this book.

Another thread that appears in the reviews (here and in other media) is Chris’ writing style. It is direct and conversational. It can be earthy and can contain words you’ve never seen before-often in the same sentence. He has been accused more than once of writing with a Thesaurus close at hand. Let me clear the record here, Chris talks as he writes and I have never seen him refer to a Thesaurus. He loves obscure words, but they come from his memory, not from his Thesaurus.

Another characteristic of his writing is his habit of reducing gray areas to stark black and white and making provocative statements. Chris has a background as a college instructor, with strong skills in lecturing. When he writes (and often when he talks) this is where he is coming from. He wants you to think, he wants you to react, and he wants you to understand a subject as he understands it. You may disagree with Chris on some matters, but you can’t ignore him. Most people appreciate this style, but others-especially those whose sacred cow has been sacrificed at the alter of logic-will react with anger. One of the reviews here definitely falls into that category. As a result of an article in an online magazine, the reviewer was angered by an imagined assault on women and has decided to retaliate by attacking Chris and his book here on Amazon. The clue to this is the reference to "bodice rippers" and "interactive soap operas" which are from the article. (I skimmed through the book again to see if he had also used these phrases, but couldn’t find them. When given a choice, Chris will usually choose the more colorful descriptions of objects.)

I read his article and read the resulting flame war on a blog site. Chris definitely hit their hot buttons. Despite the high level of emotion in the blog entries, I will confess to being amused at how they twisted his words beyond recognition and then became incensed at their derived meaning.

Dated, in many respects.

Crawford suggests that gaming has not changed in the last ten years or so, which suggests that he has not been keeping up with current gaming trends.

Further, in his writing about women and gaming, Chris Crawford claims that women would be more likely to play if only he, and others like him, designed electronic "bodice rippers" (his words) or "interactive soap operas" (ditto) to cater to the female demographic.

At the very least, his blatant gender stereotyping suggests that Crawford is hopelessly out-of-touch with the current trends in gaming; comments like these also border on the outright offensive.

A Must Read for Serious People Interested in Games

I used to think that this book had some sort of flaw in its conception. It’s written by one of the greatest game designers of all time, who is also the number one computer game theorist in the world, yet it neither teaches the craft of game design nor does it contain any great theoretical breakthroughs. There are important concepts in here, as well as many useful points, but it really doesn’t seem to live up to Crawford’s reputation.

But I was wrong. This book is perfect for what it sets out to do. It is designed as a complex, long-winded, utterly convincing argument aimed at the games industry, with the sole purpose of opening the reader’s eyes to the sad truth - the computer games industry is in a dire situation from an artistic and creative perspective, and it’s only getting worse.

Among other things, Crawford exorcises many of the buzzwords that haunt the dialogue of game design, presenting principles that are so much cleaner and more accurate than we’ve come to expect from game design books. He contends that "fun" is not a sufficient design goal for a game, indeed, that it’s hardly a design goal at all, and presents what served as his goals on his many game projects. He gives examples of several games he’d like to make, each of which is completely different from anything ever seen on the market, although they are all great ideas, and this just serves to prove how narrow the creative emphasis of the games industry is.

This book is the painful look in the mirror that the games industry needs so badly. It lucidly explains what went wrong and why, and what needs to be done differently. If you are a serious person interested in games, then this is an excellent book to learn why today’s games are less and less worthy of your attention. If you are actually a game developer, this book will show you the path to a creative freedom and artistic possibilities beyond common imagining, if you’re honest and can take the criticism. Either way, Crawford’s wit and insight will entertain and enlighten you, as will his stories of the early days of game design.

Highly recommended!

Entertaining and thought-provoking

I have been making video games for about 7 years and have reached the top technical position I can at my company. So I wanted to learn some more about game design.

I bought 3 books on game design. The first, I discarded after 5 minutes of browsing as full of common sense and no real meat. (Be warned - there are lots of books on game design like that out there.)

Here’s really where I think this book is different. I devoured this book in one siting. It’s interesting and thought provoking, and I honestly came away feeling like I had some more insight into making games.

High points:

* Some interesting theories (or perhaps opinions masquerading as theories, but I mostly liked them all) about what is at the heart of a good game. Why do people "play?" Why is interactivity so important
* Lots of examples of games he felt had good design, and some analysis of what made them good.
* A list of common mistakes people make when trying to make games.
* A list of game ideas! He has a list of game ideas he’s had that he’s never turned into games.
* Plenty of war stories about how some of his games came into being, including the political battles and the evolution of ideas.
* PLENTY of strong opinions. This guy is opinionated. He either likes it or he hates it. I didn’t agree with everything he said, but I enjoyed the way in which he pursued his arguments.
* An eye-opener as to just how narrow our industry really is, versus the range of games that we could be making. This, to me, was the most inspiring. He basically says that we’ve dug a hole for ourselves, and will have a hard time climbing out of it and becoming a mass-market medium. He says that video games we make are primarily making "candy" or "cartoons" to use food or television analgies. But where’s the sandwiches, vegetables, salads, the olives, or the sitcoms, mysteries, dramas, or chick-flicks that would be consumed by a more mature and diverse audience? I think a light bulb came on for me and I realized how we are all fighting to see who can get the most piece of this little tiny pie, when there are so many other pies.

He’s a bit bitter with the industry, and angry with the path it has taken - he basically says that nothing new has ben done in video games in the past 10 years, which consist of an endless stream of doom-wanna-bes. As I’m starting to become a more veteran person and some of the newness has worn off and I’m seeking new challenges, I can see how this happened to him.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The one negative about this book, is that he is coming from a time when everything was new and games were a lot simpler. To make a hit game, you took one key idea and ran with it - and the entire game was SO focused on that one idea. I mean it really was very simplistic. But that’s where the rubber really hits the road, isn’t it? Let’s ignore graphics, sound, etc. The average game today is FAR more complicated than those simple games of 10 years ago. Even games like SimCity, Civilization, the Sims, Half Life, or GTA3 - which take a new idea and run with it - they are really deep and involved games. Almost all of his examples are 5 or 10 years old - which sort of makes it hard to apply to today’s market. This is where I think his book leaves you hanging. Of course, the other design books I’ve read all suffer from this flaw of putting a bit too much stock in old games and forgetting that with modern games, the devil really is in the details. Buy this book for inspiration, not for practical advice.

His Least Successful Work, but Still Great

One thing I naturally expected from this book was that, like Mr. Crawford’s other works, it would be very witty and funny. In that respect, I was greatly disappointed. The book’s tone ranges from serious to grim, which actually shouldn’t have come as a surprise considering the author’s justifiable disappointment and disdain towards the gaming industry.

The other unfulfilled expectation I had for this book is that, like Mr. Crawford’s previous works, it would at least have some form of loosely defined general thesis driving it. Instead, the topics seem mostly disconnected from each other, and could perhaps be best defined as Chris Crawford’s thoughts on his career as game designer.

But thoughts, as those familiar with his writings know, are his forte. The expectation that this book unfailingly fulfills is that it be filled with challenging concepts that enrich the thinking of the reader when assimilated, together with a few great practical ideas.

As usual, the book does contain quotes from the author’s other books or his website, but surprisingly it does not contain several of the concepts that made his first, classic book on game design so valuable. Anyone who is interested in the subject MUST read that book (The Art of Computer Game Design), available on the internet.

However, these two taken together are still very far from being a practical manual. Consider the width of Richard Rouses’ book on the topic to complement the depth of these two.

Definitely a worthwhile read, though we’ve seen better from Mr. Crawford.

A must have

Definately not a classical text book, if there’s anything classical in here.But worth every penny

Good job Chris

This is very personal book. The author shares his experience and knowledge with you, showing you the strenghts and weaknesses of his designs. What is important it looks he always worked alone ( as designer and programmer ), so you can see all the difficulties related with such lonely achievments. From time to time Chris compare his games with Sid’s Mayer Civilization (1991), but he do not mention that this game was created by a team of maybe 12-15 people!
This book is also a wonderful essay of game development history.
How to create a game if processor of your computer does’t know how to devide two numbers (there is not such assembler instruction)!
Chris also diagnoses that entire game industry is in crisis today. He argue that from quite a long time the most important thing during game creation is not a game itself or the gameplay but just a beatiful graphics! So today, almost every game has beatiful graphics but it is difficult to find any fun while playing! And I agree with him.
Game creation is the form of the art. From the other side, the game should be fun for the player. This is very important to keep track on both.

Crazy but Great

Chris Crawford has a reputation in the game industry for being a bit of a nut. But it is this nuttyness -- or original thinking -- that makes this book worth reading. Who else but Chris Crawford would list Siboot, his own game, as one of the most important computer games of all time?

Crawford’s attacks on the game industry are for the most part accurate, although not always completely fair. His perspective on what makes an interesting game is unique, and contrary to most of the things that are hyped in this disposable industry. Not many people see things his way, but not many people have cared about computer games this much for this long.