This in-depth resource teaches you to craft mechanics that generate challenging, enjoyable, and well-balanced gameplay. You'll discover at what stages to prototype, test, and implement mechanics in games and learn how to visualize and simulate game mechanics in order to design better games. Along the way, you'll practice what you've learned with hands-on lessons. A free downloadable simulation tool developed by Joris Dormans is also available in order to follow along with exercises in the book in an easy-to-use graphical environment. In Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design, you'll learn how to: * Design and balance game mechanics to create emergent gameplay before you write a single line of code. * Visualize the internal economy so that you can immediately see what goes on in a complex game. * Use novel prototyping techniques that let you simulate games and collect vast quantities of gameplay data on the first day of development. * Apply design patterns for game mechanics-from a library in this book-to improve your game designs. * Explore the delicate balance between game mechanics and level design to create compelling, long-lasting game experiences. * Replace fixed, scripted events in your game with dynamic progression systems to give your players a new experience every time they play. "I've been waiting for a book like this for ten years: packed with game design goodness that tackles the science without undermining the art." --Richard Bartle, University of Essex, co-author of the first MMORPG "Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design by Joris Dormans & Ernest Adams formalizes game grammar quite well. Not sure I need to write a next book now!" -- Raph Koster, author of A Theory of Fun for Game Design.

Ernest W. Adams是一名美國遊戲設計顧問，現定居於英國。除顧問工作外，他還開辦遊戲設計研討班，並在各種會議和大學中發錶演講，廣受歡迎。Adams先生從1989年起就在互動娛樂行業中工作，並在1994年成立瞭國際遊戲開發者協會（International Game Developers’ Association）。他最近一次任職是在牛蛙公司（Bullfrog Productions）擔任主設計師。在那之前的若乾年中，他在美國藝電（Electronic Arts）擔任《Madden NFL》係列橄欖球遊戲的音效和視覺製作人。在早期職業生涯中，他曾擔任軟件工程師，開發過網絡遊戲、電腦遊戲和遊戲機平颱的遊戲，涉及平颱從IBM360大型機到當今的遊戲設備。Adams還是其他四本書的作者，包括與本書聯係緊密的著作《Fundamentals of Game Design》。他還為Gamasutra網站上麵嚮遊戲開發者的網絡雜誌撰寫“Designer’s Notebook”係列專欄。他的專業網站是www.designersnotebook.com。

Joris Dormans博士是一名荷蘭講師、研究員和遊戲可玩性工程師，現居住於荷蘭阿姆斯特丹。他從2005年起就在遊戲行業和高等教育行業中工作。過去四年中，他一直緻力於研究可用於遊戲機製設計的規範化工具和方法。他的另一個研究領域是如何通過標準化的設計方法來有序地構建齣遊戲。Dormans博士在許多學術和行業會議中發錶論文並主辦研討班。作為一名自由的獨立遊戲設計師，他已經發錶瞭多個電子遊戲和桌上遊戲作品，包括故事驅動型冒險遊戲、物理平颱遊戲以及一個政治諷刺題材的卡牌遊戲。他還參加瞭迄今為止的每一屆Global Game Jam活動。他的專業網站是www.jorisdormans.nl。