Game/Level Design books

I would also look into some general Design and Architecture books. A good handle of spatial design and architecture styles will go a long way. Plus they make nice coffee table books.

http://www.amazon.com/Coffee-Table-Book/dp/190103304X

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?optio ... 2&Itemid=2

Quote from Kilrogg

I already have http://www.amazon.ca/Mapping-Modding-Ha ... 53?ie=UTF8

When did this come out?

is this THE modding HL2 book by...

Quote from Polaris

When did this come out?

He said in his cart. So I don't think he has it yet.

Availability: This item has not yet been released. You may order it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives. Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.

Bumping this.

Xmas is close, and as a person that doesn't care at all but has people asking what I would like to get, is there any good game dev/game design/level design book you would suggest? I have a couple in my wishlist: http://amzn.eu/aEZ2Q75 but I'm not sure if they are (still) relevant, good/worth the money.

Suggestions welcome

http://worldofleveldesign.com/store.php

Quote from blackdog

15 hours ago, blackdog said: Bumping this.

Xmas is close, and as a person that doesn't care at all but has people asking what I would like to get, is there any good game dev/game design/level design book you would suggest? I have a couple in my wishlist: http://amzn.eu/aEZ2Q75 but I'm not sure if they are (still) relevant, good/worth the money.

Suggestions welcome

Basically there is only one good design book I have read/seen.

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid…3IqAR7ro-QrAAAA

Quote from Vilham

6 minutes ago, Vilham said: Basically there is only one good design book I have read/seen.

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid…3IqAR7ro-QrAAAA

... and the sequel!

http://www.jnd.org/books/the-design-of-future-things.html

So you're saying there's not really any book that is fundamental more specifically for game/level design?

I mean I know it's a craft that brings several disciples together, and you get better only by practicing, but from the different talks I've seen or articles I've read, I thought there was starting to be some sort of literature, especially now that they do uni game dev courses.

Dont get me wrong, I know I would enjoy reading what you linked

https://www.amazon.de/Universal-Prin…5879/ref=sr_1_1

http://www.hourences.com/product/the-ho…level-design-2/

Quote from blackdog

On 28/11/2016 at 2:14 PM, blackdog said: So you're saying there's not really any book that is fundamental more specifically for game/level design?

I mean I know it's a craft that brings several disciples together, and you get better only by practicing, but from the different talks I've seen or articles I've read, I thought there was starting to be some sort of literature, especially now that they do uni game dev courses.

Dont get me wrong, I know I would enjoy reading what you linked

Unfortunately pretty much all those books are written by people that have never made a game. Complete and utter theory crafting. There might be a few useful books but tbh in general level design resources are pretty poor, the best thing are all the GDC talks etc.

The first problem with design is that it is mostly tacit knowledge, and therefore difficult to pass down to others on paper. It would be the same as trying to write down a manual for riding a bike. You can highlight the instruments and what they do, but beyond that how are you going to communicate the part where they have to balance while starting and stopping, while riding straight, or attempting a turn?

The second problem with design is that it is contextual. Making a level in a horror game isn't the same as making level in a multiplayer FPS, which again isn't the same as making levels for an open world game - although they may all share similar processes. For whichever type of design you want to get into, reading through post mortems/presentations as well as analyses of past projects are a good resource for getting more knowledgeable on the field, but in the end you may find that little of it applies to what you do. The best course of action is to just make games or levels or whatever it is you want to be good at.

Just in case you're looking for more reading material, I got some old Hitman analyses made by a guy I worked for while at Uni: ftp://ftp.repec.org/opt/ReDIF/RePE…SOM-WI09-A1.pdf

Be aware that the language is academic, so it may be hard to read or understand or full of filler stuff, but between all of that there is some interesting thoughts to be had.

That link is dead @Sentura, can you attach it to your post instead? I'd be curious to check it out.

Quote from (HP)

7 hours ago, (HP) said: That link is dead @Sentura, can you attach it to your post instead? I'd be curious to check it out.

Link works for me. If it still doesn't work, I uploaded it on dropbox, maybe that works better.

Imho books are the worst medium to learn from studying anything gamedev related. By the time they get to print, they are already outdated. Never used one in my life