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Copyright Information
Please note that the following characters are copyrighted to the following corporations:
Tennis for Two—This work is in the public domain in Ico © 2001 Sony Computer Entertainment
the United States because it is a work of the United Doom © 1993 id software
States Federal Government under the terms of Title Darksiders © 2010 THQ
17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code. Syndicate © 1993 Electronic Arts
Space Invaders © 1978 Taito Corporation Supreme Commander © 2007 THQ
Galaxian © 1979 Namco Warriors © 1979 Vectorbeam
Star Wars Arcade © 1983 Atari Inc. Castle Wolfenstein © 1981 Muse Software
TM
PAC-MAN & © 1980 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. GoldenEye 007 © 1997 Nintendo
Space Panic © 1980 Universal LittleBigPlanet © 2008 Sony Computer Entertainment
Popeye Arcade © 1982 Nintendo Europe
Pitfall! and Pitfall Harry © 1982 Activision Playstation Dual Shock controller © 1998 Sony
Dark Castle © 1986 Silicon Beach Software Computer Entertainment
Donkey Kong and associated characters © 1981 XBOX 360 controller © 2005 Microsoft
Nintendo World of Warcraft © 2004 Blizzard Entertainment
Mario Bros. © 1983 Nintendo Dragon’s Lair © 1983 Cinematronics
Super Mario Bros., Mario, World 1-1, Super Mario Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninja © 1988 Data East
Bros. Theme © 1985 Nintendo Mortal Kombat © 2009 Warner Brothers Interactive
Ghost n’ Goblins © 1985 Capcom Entertainment
Mega Man © 1987 Capcom Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, Haunted Mansion, Pirates
Mario 64 © 1996 Nintendo of the Caribbean, Peter Pan’s Flight and
Crash Bandicoot © 1996 Sony Computer associated characters, Pirate’s Lair © 2010 Walt
Entertainment Disney Company
Wizard of Oz and associated characters © 1939 Prince of Persia © 2010 Ubisoft
Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Kratos © 2010 Sony Computer Entertainment of
Monty Python and the Holy Grail and associated America
characters © 1975 Solid Snake © 1987 Konami
Star Wars and associated characters © 1977 Marcus Fenix © 2006 Epic Games
Lucasfi lm Ltd Gauntlet © 1985 Atari Games
Robocop © 1987–1998 Orion (MGM) Pictures Spider-Man, Rhino © 2010 Marvel Entertainment/Walt
Maximo vs Army of Zin © 2004 Capcom Disney Company
Maximo: Ghost to Glory © 2002 Capcom Bioshock and associated characters © 2007 2K
Team Fortress 2 and associated characters © 2007 Games 2007
Valve Corporation Demolition Man and associated characters © 1993
Laura Croft © 1996 Eidos Interactive Warner Brothers
Batman © 2010 DC comics Earthworm Jim © 1994 Virgin Interactive
Resident Evil 2 and associated characters © 1998 Master Chief © 2001 Microsoft Game Studios
Capcom Holst, the Planets—Mars Bringer of War, copyright
Army of Two © 2008 Electronic Arts unknown
All other characters displayed within this book are created by Scott Rogers and cannot be
reproduced without his permission. © 2010 Scott Rogers
Dude with Sword, Dude with Sword 832, Relic Relic Raider © 2010 Scott Rogers
Raider, Farm Wars © 2010 Scott Rogers Die Zombie Die © 2010 Scott Rogers
The Mighty Bedbug, Grave Robber © 2005 Scott Farm Wars © 2010 Scott Rogers
Rogers The Mighty Bedbug © 2005 Scott Rogers
Dude with Sword © 2010 Scott Rogers Grave Robber © 2005 Scott Rogers
Dude with Sword 2 © 2010 Scott Rogers
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T
LeveI Up!
The Guide to Great Video
Game Design
Scott Rogers
A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication
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This edition first published 2010
© 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Registered office
John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom
For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services and for information about how to apply for
permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com.
The right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as
permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not
be available in electronic books.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand
names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned
in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the
subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering
professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a
competent professional should be sought.
Refer to page ii for further copyright information pertaining to the content of this book.
ISBN 978-0-470-68867-0
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Set in 10 on 12pt Swiss721BT-Light by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited
Printed in the US by RR Donnelley
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To Brenda Lee
who always thought this would make a great book.
I love you.
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the
following:
Editorial and Production
VP Consumer and Technology Publishing Director: Michelle Leete
Associate Director—Book Content Management: Martin Tribe
Associate Publisher: Chris Webb
Assistant Editor: Colleen Goldring
Publishing Assistant: Ellie Scott
Project Editor: Juliet Booker
Content Editor: Céline Durand-Watts
Development/Copy Editor: Gareth Haman
Technical Editor: Noah Stein
Marketing
Senior Marketing Manager: Louise Breinholt
Marketing Executive: Kate Batchelor
Composition Services
Compositor: Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited (HK)
Proof Readers: Sarah Lewis and Gill Whitley
Indexer: Robert Swanson
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Contents
Foreword by Danny Bilson xiii
About the Author xiv
Press Start! xv
Acknowledgments: Everything I Learned about Writing a Book xxi
Level 1 Welcome, N00bs! 1
A Brief History of Video Games 4
Game Genres 9
Who Makes this Stuff? 12
Programer 12
Artist 13
Designer 14
Producer 15
Tester 16
Composer 17
Sound Designer 18
Writer 19
Have You Thought about Publishing? 19
Product Manager 20
Creative Manager 20
Art Director 21
Technical Director 21
And the Rest . . . 21
Level 1’s Universal Truths and Clever Ideas 22
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viii Contents
Level 2 Ideas 23
Ideas: Where to Get Them and Where to Stick Them 24
What do Gamers Want? 28
Why I Hate “Fun” 30
Brainstorming 31
Breaking Writer’s Block 34
Level 2’s Universal Truths and Clever Ideas 36
Level 3 Writing the Story 37
The Triangle of Weirdness 44
Time to Wrap It Up 48
Creating Characters 50
A Few Pointers on Writing for Kids of All Ages 54
Writing for Licenses 54
Level 3’s Universal Truths and Clever Ideas 56
Level 4 You Can Design a Game, But Can You Do the Paperwork? 57
Writing the GDD, Step 1: The One-Sheet 60
ESRB Ratings 60
Writing the GDD, Step 2: The Ten-Pager 62
The Rule of Threes 63
Ten-Pager Outline 64
The Game Design Document (and the Awful Truth about Writing Them) 72
Gameplay Progression 76
The Beat Chart 77
Above All, Don’t Be a Schmuck 79
Level 4’s Universal Truths and Clever Ideas 81
Level 5 The Three Cs, Part 1—Character 83
Personality: Do We Really Need Another Badass? 85
Let’s Get Personal 88
Finally, We Talk about Gameplay 92
Why Walk When You Can Run? 95
The Art of Doing Nothing 99
Might as Well Jump 100
Hoists and Teeters 104
What Goes Up, Must Fall Down 105
Me and My Shadow 106
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