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.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Who Is This Book For? How Is This Book Organized? Companion Website. Chapter 1 Designing Game Mechanics Rules Define Games Discrete Mechanics vs. Continuous Mechanics Mechanics and the Game Design Process Prototyping Techniques Summary Exercises Chapter 2 Emergence and Progression The History of Emergence and Progression Comparing Emergence and Progression Games of Emergence Games of Progression Structural Differences Emergence and Progression Integration Summary Exercise Chapter 3 Complex Systems and the Structure of Emergence Gameplay as an Emergent Property of Games Structural Qualities of Complex Systems Harnessing Emergence in Games Summary Exercises Chapter 4 Internal Economy Elements of Internal Economies Economic Structure Uses for Internal Economies in Games Summary Exercises Chapter 5 Machinations The Machinations Framework Machinations Diagram Basic Elements Advanced Node Types Modeling Pac-Man Summary Exercises Chapter 6 Common Mechanisms More Machinations Concepts Feedback Structures in Games Randomness vs. Emergence Example Mechanics Summary Exercises Chapter 7 Design Patterns Introducing Design Patterns Machinations Design Pattern Language Leveraging Patterns for Design Summary Exercises Chapter 8 Simulating and Balancing Games Simulated Play Tests Playing with Monopoly Balancing SimWar From Model to Game Summary Exercises Chapter 9 Building Economies Economy-Building Games Analyzing Caesar III Designing Lunar Colony Summary Exercises Chapter 10 Integrating Level Design and Mechanics From Toys to Playgrounds Missions and Game Spaces Learning to Play Summary Exercises Chapter 11 Progression Mechanisms Lock-and-Key Mechanisms Emergent Progression Summary Exercises Chapter 12 Meaningful Mechanics Serious Games Communication Theory The Semiotics of Games and Simulations Multiple Layers of Meaning Summary Exercises Appendix A Machinations Quick Reference Appendix B Design Pattern Library Static Engine Dynamic Engine Converter Engine Engine Building Static Friction Dynamic Friction Stopping Mechanism Attrition Escalating Challenge Escalating Complexity Arms Race Playing Style Reinforcement Multiple Feedback Trade Worker Placement Slow Cycle Appendix C Getting Started with Machinations References Index