Rating: 
Summary: 51% Opinions, 30% Fluff, 19% Insight ¿ But a Must Read
Review: Anybody who is familiar with Chris Crawford won't be surprised to know that his latest book on game design is littered with opinions! Also they wouldn't be surprised to know that there are some real gems of insight buried within the morasses of fluff and opinion. This book is a 'MUST READ" for that 19% of insight.His rants, side tracks and "old fart stories" are always amusing, I am sure some people will take offense and unfortunately they probably wouldn't get past the first few chapters and hence miss out some great thoughts on game design. This should not be your only book on game design in your library, but it should definitely be there. Chris's thoughts on creativity, his list of "games I would like to write" and analysis of his games are worth the entry price alone. Overlook the ego, be amused by rants and stories, ignore the author's over use of a thesaurus to sound smart but most definitely take note of his insights. Only 4 stars, but no books with this much bias can truly get 5.
Rating: 
Summary: Crazy but Great
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Crazy but Great
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A must have
Review: Definately not a classical text book, if there's anything classical in here.But worth every penny
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and thought-provoking
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: No game designer should be without this one!
Review: I picked up this book on a whim, not expecting much from it. Games today seem to be made in cookie-cutter fashion, and I was expecting something along the lines of how to make your game stand out from the rest of the similar ones in the market. Instead I was presented with a mind-boggling analysis about what is wrong in the game industry nowadays, and what can be done about it. Designers need to be more social-minded, as well as programmers. It seems simple, but it's very far from it. Programmers tend to be a closed bunch, mostly anti-social outside of their own group, and tend to appeal to the baser emotions of our human nature, I.E. violence and sexual gratification. I don't know exactly how to target a game towards more social strata of our community, but it's easy to see that game design is vilified precisely because it seems so base. In essence, Mr. Crawford details a series of rules that designers should follow, and a list of books that they should read so as to better inform programmers as to what a greater section of the public would want. There's lots of retrospectives on other games that Mr. Crawford has designed. Balance of Power was one game I had seen before, and though I never got to play it, I did get to see some of the workings behind it. I didn't know that Mr. Crawford was the author of the game, and appreciate him letting us see what was going on behind curtain. This is a great book that no game designer should be without.
Rating:
Summary: His Least Successful Work, but Still Great
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on Game Design I've read yet!
Review: This book is great and I couldn't put it down. While it may be a bit too wordy for some people, the wisdom and information on the game industry from this over 20 year veteran is valuable indeed. Unlike many other design books I've read that state obvious solutions and techniques to game designing that everyone uses, Crawford takes a whole new view on not only design, but the problems with the industry as the whole and how we've backed ourselves into a "Safe" corner that discourages new ideas. Really great stuff in this book, can't say that enough. I love reading his stories of not only his own designs but working and talking with other famous designers. This book should be required reading for anyone getting involved in the game industry, too much wisdom to miss out on by not doing so!
Rating:
Summary: Great book...
Review: This is a great book for anyone who thinks they may want to be a game designer. There's a reason that there's not a lot of famous game designers, or even game designers in general. Chris talks about what kind of an education the aspiring GD will need and has a whole chapter just listing out the books they should read. He also talks about a lot of the games he designed and created in the late 70s and into the early 90s. After reading this book, I've pretty much decided that programming is where I am good and I probably don't have what it takes to be a game designer. My favorite section was the "Old Fart Stories" which is the last chapter of the book, but then I am always a sucker for computing stories from "back in the day". I'd definitely recommend the book to anyone interested in game design, or with an interest in computer games and their history.
Rating:
Summary: Great book...
Review: This is a great book for anyone who thinks they may want to be a game designer. There's a reason that there's not a lot of famous game designers, or even game designers in general. Chris talks about what kind of an education the aspiring GD will need and has a whole chapter just listing out the books they should read. He also talks about a lot of the games he designed and created in the late 70s and into the early 90s. After reading this book, I've pretty much decided that programming is where I am good and I probably don't have what it takes to be a game designer. My favorite section was the "Old Fart Stories" which is the last chapter of the book, but then I am always a sucker for computing stories from "back in the day". I'd definitely recommend the book to anyone interested in game design, or with an interest in computer games and their history.
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