Hello there! Come in, come in! What a nice surprise — I had no idea you would be visiting today. I’m sorry if it is a little messy in here, I’ve been writing. Please — make yourself comfortable. Good, good. Now let’s see… where should we begin? Oh — I should introduce myself! My name is Jesse Schell, and I have always loved designing games.
I’ve done a lot of different things. I’ve worked in circuses as a professional juggler. I’ve been a writer, comedian, and magician’s apprentice. I’ve worked at IBM and Bell Communications Research as a software engineer. I’ve designed and developed interactive theme park rides and massively multiplayer games for the Walt Disney Company. I’ve started my own game studio, and become a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. But when people ask me what I do, I tell them that I am a game designer. I mention all this only because at various times in this book, I will be draw- ing examples from these experiences, since every single one of them has taught me valuable lessons about the art of game design. That might sound surprising now, but hopefully, as you read this book, it will help you see the ways that game design meaningfully connects to the many experiences in your own life.
One thing I should clarify — while the goal of this book is primarily to teach you how to be a better videogame designer, many of the principles we explore will have little to do with videogames specifically — you will find they are more broadly applicable than that. The good news is that much of what you read here will work equally well no matter what kind of game you are designing — digital, analog, or otherwise.
I’ve done a lot of different things. I’ve worked in circuses as a professional juggler. I’ve been a writer, comedian, and magician’s apprentice. I’ve worked at IBM and Bell Communications Research as a software engineer. I’ve designed and developed interactive theme park rides and massively multiplayer games for the Walt Disney Company. I’ve started my own game studio, and become a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. But when people ask me what I do, I tell them that I am a game designer. I mention all this only because at various times in this book, I will be draw- ing examples from these experiences, since every single one of them has taught me valuable lessons about the art of game design. That might sound surprising now, but hopefully, as you read this book, it will help you see the ways that game design meaningfully connects to the many experiences in your own life.
One thing I should clarify — while the goal of this book is primarily to teach you how to be a better videogame designer, many of the principles we explore will have little to do with videogames specifically — you will find they are more broadly applicable than that. The good news is that much of what you read here will work equally well no matter what kind of game you are designing — digital, analog, or otherwise.
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