Perspective

I started writing a book tonight. I didn’t get very far, but I think the idea has some potential. It’s basically a game design book. Rather than presenting it as a “here’s how to design a game,” though, it’s more just a book about what it’s like to be a non-celebrity game designer.

That is, what it’s like for 99%+ of the game designers out there. It’s sort of strange, because there is that question of “why should anyone listen to what I have to say?” when writing a book about game design. I’m no Will Wright, or Shigeru Miyamoto. But I think that works in my favor for a book written from this perspective. It’s about dealing with the limitations you encounter on a day to day basis, whether it’s trying to resolve creative conflicts with someone who doesn’t see things your way (and has the power), or hacking your beloved design to bits because the company doesn’t have the resources to create your grand vision.

It is, ideally, about *practical* game design on a day-to-day basis from the perspective of someone with little power and no creative control. It’s about navigating treacherous waters, and trying to make things better where you can, and accept where you can’t.

I doubt I’ll finish, and I doubt it’ll even be very good. But it’s started, so that’s something.

4 comments

  2. Seppo says:

    Quite different, actually. After starting, and writing for about half an hour, I actually wonder whether my fictional account is better and more informative than my nonfictional account.

    I mean, the fictional one tries to put you in that character’s shoes, and give you the experience of what it’s like on a day to day basis to live that life. So, what good is the nonfiction one? A less interesting, less “there” version of that?

    I dunno – I think what I might do is just try to expand the fictional account, and add more detail to the designer-y aspects of it. I think that’s where that particular book was stronger anyway – it sort of fell down when I tried to inject too much plot.

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