Level up! The guide to great video game design
Book - 2025
If you want to design and build cutting-edge video games but aren't sure where to start, then the third edition of the acclaimed Level Up! is for you! Written by leading video game expert Scott Rogers, who has designed for the hits Pac-Man World, God of War, Maximo and SpongeBob SquarePants, this updated edition provides clear and well-thought-out examples that forgo theoretical gobbledygook with charmingly illustrated concepts and solutions based on years of professional experience. The book teaches you how to develop marketable ideas, learn what perils and pitfalls await during a game's pre-production, production and post-production stages, and provide even more creative ideas to serve as fuel for your own projects.
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- Genres
- handbooks
Handbooks and manuals
Guides et manuels - Published
-
Hoboken, New Jersey :
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
2025.
- Language
- English
- Main Author
- Edition
- Third edition
- Item Description
- Includes index.
- Physical Description
- xxxi, 575 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
- ISBN
- 9781394298761
- Foreword
- Introduction Press Start!
- No, You Can't Have My Job
- Who is This Book For?
- Level 1. Welcome N00bs!
- A (Somewhat) Brief History of Video Games
- The Brave New World of Gaming: Mobiles, Online Distribution and Touchscreens
- What's the Difference Between AAA and Indy?
- Game Genres
- Who Makes This Stuff?
- Programmer
- Artist
- Designer
- Producer
- Tester
- Composer
- Sound Designer
- Narrative Designer/Writer
- Community Manager
- Have You Thought About Publishing?
- Product Manager
- Creative Manager
- Art Director
- Technical Director
- Marketing Team
- And the Rest
- Level 2. Ideas
- Ideas: Where to Get Them and Where to Stick Them
- Getting Ahead of the Game
- What Do Gamers Want?
- Brainstorming
- Breaking Writer's Block
- Why I Hate "Fun"
- Level 3. Writing the Story
- Once Upon a Time
- Narrative Design
- Anything is Gameplay
- The Triangle of Weirdness
- A Likely Story
- Time to Wrap It Up
- A Note About "Lore"
- A Game by Any Other Name
- Creating Characters Your Players Care About
- Games Are About Everyone
- A Few Pointers on Writing for Kids of All Ages
- Writing for Licenses
- Level 4. You Can Design a Game, but Can You Do the Paperwork?
- The Game Design Document
- Game Design Document (again)
- Writing the GDD, Step 1: The One-Sheet
- ESRB Ratings
- The Core Loop
- Unique Selling Points
- Competitive Products
- Writing the GDD, Step 2: The Ten-Pager
- The Rule of Threes
- The Ten-Pager Outline
- Writing the GDD, Step 3: The Beat Chart
- Writing the GDD, Step 4: The Game Design Document
- Writing the GDD, Step 4.1: Now, Unlearn What You Have Learned
- Writing the GDD, Step 5: Be Responsible
- Writing the GDD, Step 6 - Other Game Genres
- Role-Playing Games
- Real-Time Strategy Games
- First-Person Shooters
- Battle Royale
- Match Three Games
- Sports Games
- Level 5. The Three Cs, Part 1: Character
- Who Do You Want to Be Today?
- Personality: Do We Really Need Another Kratos?
- Let's Get Personal
- Using All the Parts
- Games Without Characters
- We Are Not Alone
- When More Is More
- Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?
- Finally, We Talk About Gameplay
- Metrics for Other Player Types
- Why Walk When You Can Run?
- The Art of Doing Nothing
- Might as Well Jump
- Hoists and Teeters
- What Goes Up Must Fall Down
- Me and My Shadow
- The Water's Fine… or Is It?
- Level 6. The Three Cs, Part 2: Camera
- Get It Right: Camera Views
- First-Person Camera
- Virtual Reality
- Third Person Camera
- Giving Up Control
- So, You've Decided to Let the Player Control the Camera
- So, You've Decided Not to Let the Player Have Control over the Camera
- So, You've Decided to Let Players Sometimes Have Control over the Camera
- Two and a Half d
- Isometric Camera
- Top-Down Camera
- AR Cameras
- Special Case Cameras
- Tunnel Vision
- Camera Shot Guide
- Camera Angle Guide
- Camera Movement Guide
- Other Camera Notes
- Always Point the Camera to the Objective
- Never Let the Character Get out of the Camera's Sight
- Multiple-Player Cameras
- Level 7. The Three Cs, Part 3: Controls
- Control Is in Your Hand
- You've Got the Touch
- Dance, Monkey, Dance
- Poetry in motion
- All the right moves
- Character or Camera Relative?
- Shake, Rattle, and Roll
- Level 8. Sign Language: UI, HUD, and Icon Design
- How to Create UI
- Heads Up!
- Health Bar
- Targeting Reticule
- Ammo Gauge
- Inventory
- Score/Experience
- Positive Messaging
- Money/Resources
- Radar/Map
- Context-Sensitive Prompts
- Timer
- Player Name/Portrait
- The Clean Screen
- Iconography
- Creating Icons for Mobile Games
- Don't Get QTE
- HUDs and Where to Stick 'Em
- There Are Other Screens Than the HUD
- Starting with the Start Screen
- Let's Pause (Screen) for a Moment
- Let Me Load (Screen) that For You
- Getting in Control
- What's the Score?
- The Rest of the Stuff
- A Final Word on Fonts
- Game Over
- Wrapping it up
- Level 9. Everything I Learned About Level Design, I Learned from Level 9
- The Top 10 Cliché Video Game Themes
- The Name Game
- Everything I Learned About Level Design, I Learned from Disneyland
- Mapping the World
- Foreshadowing
- Goal Setting
- Following Procedure
- You've Got the Beat
- Re-using Re-use
- The Gary Gygax Memorial Mapping Section
- Sandbox Play
- Illusional Narrative
- The Dave Arneson Memorial Mapping Section
- Wrapping Up Mapping
- Gray Matters
- Let's Get Fighty
- Leave the Training Level for Last
- Levels without Characters
- Level 10. The Elements of Combat
- 400 Quatloos on the Newcomer!
- Put 'Em Up!
- And a One and a Two
- The Big Finish
- Live by the Sword
- Now You Have to Kiss Me
- Let's Get Defensive
- Dodging the Bullet
- On Guarding
- Watch Out!
- State of the Art Bang Bang
- The Best Gun for You
- Run and Gun
- Not Just Shooting
- Dang it, Jones! Where Doesn't It Hurt?
- Death: What Is It Good For?
- Conflict Without Combat
- Level 11. They All Want You Dead
- Sizing Up the Enemy
- Bad Behavior
- How Rapid is Rapid?
- Movement Style
- Bring on the Bad Guys
- I Love Designing Enemies
- I Hate You to Pieces
- Non-Enemy Enemies
- How to Create the World's Greatest Boss Battle
- Who's the Boss?
- Size Matters
- Location, Location, Location
- Why Not to Create the World's Greatest Boss Battle
- Level 12. The Nuts and Bolts of Mechanics
- The Mechanics of Mechanics
- Other Types of Mechanics
- Match Three Mechanics
- Racing Game Mechanics
- Holy Death Trap!
- What I Learned from Making Kids Cry
- Time to Die
- The Music of Mechanics
- Chip Off the Old Block
- A Nice Little Calm Spot
- Riddle Me This
- Puzzle Me That
- Minigames and Microgames
- Level 13. Now You're Playing with Power
- Powering Up
- "Love Thy Player"
- Seriously "Love Thy Player"
- More Wealth Than You Can Imagine!
- High Score
- Achievements
- Money! Money! Money!
- Souvenirs
- Bonus Section about Bonus Features
- How to Win at Losing
- Level 14. Multiplayer-The More the Merrier
- How Many Is the Right Number?
- MMORPGS, or Hell Is Other People
- Designing Multiplayer Levels
- Planning Your Level
- Mapping Your Level
- Building Your Level
- The Dirty Half Dozen
- Level 15. Reality Check: VR, AR, XR, and Beyond
- Designing for VR
- Practically Unreal
- The Many Worlds of Virtual Reality
- Real Life, but Better
- Augment This
- The X Factor
- Reality Is the Best Virtual World
- The Happiest Places on Earth
- Level 16. Everybody Wins: Monetization and Marketing
- Back to Business
- Cashing In
- Money Is the Root of Something Something
- Designing It In
- Marketing: A Million Voices Yelling "Look at Me"
- Catch and Release
- Level 17. Some Notes on Music
- Pitch Perfect Design
- I Know It When I Hear It
- Music with Style
- And the Beat Goes On
- Sounds Like a Game to Me
- Orchestrating it all
- Level 18. No One's Going to Watch Them Anyway
- A Cut Above
- How to Write a Screenplay in Eight Easy Steps
- Finding Your Voice
- Level 19. The Play's the Thing
- Thinking in Systems
- A Delicate Balancing Act
- Emergence, Eschmergence
- Up to the Test
- Play's the Thing
- Level 20. And Now the Hard Part
- The Pitch
- No One Cares About Your Stupid Little World
- Who's Paying?
- Video Games Is a Haaaard Business
- When Reality Gets in the Way
- Vertical or Horizontal?
- Expectations of the Game Designer Position
- What to Do for an Encore?
- Level 21. Continue?
- Bonus Level 1. The One-Sheet Sample
- Bonus Level 2. The Ten-Page Design Document Sample
- Page 1. Title Page
- Page 2. Story and Gameplay
- Page 3. Character(s) and Controls
- Page 4. Gameplay Overview
- Page 5. Gameplay Overview (continued)
- Page 6. Gameplay Experience
- Page 7. Mechanics and Modes
- Page 8. Enemies and Bosses (If Applicable)
- Page 9. Expandability and Replay
- Page 10. Monetization
- Bonus Level 3. Game Design Document Template
- Cover
- Your Game's Title
- GDD Outline
- Bonus Level 4. High-Concept Pitch Presentation
- Slide 1. Title Page
- Slide 2. Company Profile
- Slide 3. Target Specs
- Slide 4. Game Story
- Slide 5. Game Features
- Slide 6. Gameplay Summary
- Slide 7. Gameplay Details
- Slide 8. Monetization and Download Strategy
- Slide 9. Production Specs
- Bonus Level 5. Playtest Questionnaire
- Bonus Level 6. Achievement Unlocked: Exactly Like Making Chili
- Index