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Game Design Secrets
Cover of Game Design Secrets
Sample
Game Design Secrets
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Design great Facebook, iOS, and Web games and learn from the experts what makes a game a hit!

This invaluable resource shows how to put into action the proven design and marketing techniques from the industry's best game designers, who all started on a small scale. The book walks novice and experienced game designers through the step-by-step process of conceptualizing, designing, launching, and managing a winning game on platforms including Facebook, iOS, and the Web. The book is filled with examples that highlight key design features, explain how to market your game, and illustrate how to turn your design into a money-making venture.

  • Provides an overview of the most popular game platforms and shows how to design games for each
  • Contains the basic principles of game design that will help promote growth and potential to generate revenue
  • Includes interviews with top independent game developers who reveal their success secrets
  • Offers an analysis of future trends that can open (or close) opportunities for game designers

Game Design Secrets provides aspiring game designers a process for planning, designing, marketing, and ultimately making money from new games.

Design great Facebook, iOS, and Web games and learn from the experts what makes a game a hit!

This invaluable resource shows how to put into action the proven design and marketing techniques from the industry's best game designers, who all started on a small scale. The book walks novice and experienced game designers through the step-by-step process of conceptualizing, designing, launching, and managing a winning game on platforms including Facebook, iOS, and the Web. The book is filled with examples that highlight key design features, explain how to market your game, and illustrate how to turn your design into a money-making venture.

  • Provides an overview of the most popular game platforms and shows how to design games for each
  • Contains the basic principles of game design that will help promote growth and potential to generate revenue
  • Includes interviews with top independent game developers who reveal their success secrets
  • Offers an analysis of future trends that can open (or close) opportunities for game designers

Game Design Secrets provides aspiring game designers a process for planning, designing, marketing, and ultimately making money from new games.

Available formats-
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  • EPUB eBook
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  • Available:
    1
  • Library copies:
    1
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About the Author-

  • Wagner James Au is an author, consultant, and game designer, and was lead writer/mission designer for City of Eternals, a Facebook-based MMO acquired by Electronic Arts. He's written on the subject of gaming for Inside Social Games, Kotaku, and Wired. His blog New World Notes (nwn.blogs.com) covers gaming, 3D technology, and virtual culture.

Table of Contents-
  • Read This First xxiii

    Part I   Overview 1

    Chapter 1   Market Overview: iOS, Facebook, and the Web 3

    Understanding Why to Choose These Platforms

    over Others 4

    Surveying the iOS Market 6

    Surveying the Facebook Game Market 7

    Surveying the Web Game Market 9

    Summary 10

    Chapter 2   iOS versus Facebook versus the Web: What’s the

    Right Platform? 11

    Reviewing What Works and What Doesn’t on iOS 12

    What Works Best on iOS 13

    What Doesn’t Work on iOS 15

    Reviewing What Works and What Doesn’t in

    Facebook Games 16

    What Works Best on Facebook 16

    What Doesn’t Work on Facebook 17

    Reviewing What Works and What Doesn’t in Web Games 18

    What Works Best in Web Games 19

    What Doesn’t Work in Web Games 21

    Summary 22

    Part II   Facebook 23

    Chapter     Facebook Games: The Users, the Money, and the Major Players 25

    Understanding Who Plays Facebook Games and Who

    Pays for Them 26

    Identifying Facebook’s Big Three in Games and Three of Its Rising Stars 26

    Getting to Know the Playing Field: The Genres Likely to Go Big, Do Well, or Stay Small  30

    Understanding the Anatomy of a Successful

    Facebook Game 33

    Finding Out Where the Money’s Made in Facebook Games 34

    Pitching Publishers: Who Buys/Publishes Indie

    Games and Why 36

    Summary 40

    Chapter 43 Facebook Game Design: Basic Principles for Growth and Revenue 41

    Gaining and Keeping Users 42

    Earning and Growing Revenue 47

    Chatting with Justin Smith of Inside Virtual Goods and AppData about Game Revenue 53

    Summary 57

    Chapter 5 Facebook Design Lessons from KIXEYE and 5th Planet Games 59

    Designing Facebook Strategy Games the KIXEYE Way 60

    Designing Story-Rich Facebook RPGs the 5th

    Planet Way 68

    Summary 73

    Chapter 6 Future Trends and Opportunities for Facebook Games 75

    Forecasting Future (Likely) Facebook Gaming Trends 76

    Forecasting Unlikely Facebook Gaming Trends 78

    Summary 81

    Part III The Web 83

    Chapter 7 Deep Dive into Web Gaming: Who Plays, Who Pays 85

    Starting Out: An Overview of the Web Gaming Market 86

    Monetization Advice for Indie Developers 92

    Pitching Publishers: Who Buys/Publishes Indie Games, Why They Do, and What You Can Expect to Earn 93

    Getting Your Game on Jay Is Games, the Web Game

    Kingmaker 96

    Summary 100

    Chapter 8 Web Game Design: Basic Principles for Growth and Revenue 101

    Conceiving and Branding Your Game 102

    Distributing, Promoting, and Licensing Your Game 105

    Optimizing Your Game’s Web Presence 107

    Earning Revenue from Your Game 110

    Summary 112

    Chapter 9   Web Game Developer Profiles: Kingdom of Loathing, Nitrome, and Desktop Tower Defense 115

    Learning from Kingdom of Loathing, the Indie Cult RPG 116

    Learning from Desktop Tower Defense—and What Its

    Developer Learned the Hard Way 119

    Turning Hit Web Games into a Hit Web Game Factory, the Nitrome Way 121

    Summary 125

    Chapter 10   Future Trends and Opportunities for Web Gaming 127

    Advertising-Based Payments and Secondary Markets 128

    As HTML5 Rises, Does Flash Have a Future? 128

    The Rise of Hard-Core on the Web 132

    Twitter: A Blue Ocean of Opportunity on the Web 132

    Google+ and Chrome: A Secondary Market Worth

    Watching, Especially in South America...

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    Wiley
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Game Design Secrets
Wagner James Au
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