A Theory of Fun for Game Design

by Raph Koster

Now in full color, the 10th anniversary edition of this classic book takes you deep into the influences that underlie modern video games, and examines the elements they share with traditional games such as checkers. At the heart of his exploration, veteran game designer Raph Koster takes a close look at the concept of fun and why it's the most vital element in any game.

Why do some games become boring quickly, while others remain fun for years?...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1449363210
• ISBN13: 9781449363215
• Release Date: December 2013
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Length: 297 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 7.5" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Fun in the Sun - Raph Koster sheds new light on games!

A Theory of Fun is a title long awaited. Raph Koster takes an incredibly complicated and seemingly arcane subject and demystifies the magic with lucid insight and laser sharp deconstruction...and it's all done in a wonderfully playful way! I found myself both laughing and saying "aha!" simultaneously at both the insight and humor. Koster's creative talents are clearly demonstrated in the book's unique format - a design mirroring a Left Brain / Right Brain construct, where the left side of each page is packed full of information on games, how we learn, and cognitive functions, while the right side contains fun drawings with a light and moving theme that enhances the left, while striking out on its own, almost like a counter point melody to the book's grand symphony. It really is almost two books in one! Yet even the light and funny elements carry wonderfully heavy insight into what games teach us and why. A Theory of Fun is highly recommended for anyone working in entertainment today - from game designers, to producers, to the film industry, to people working in any creative endeavor, and people who think they don't have a creative bone in their bodies. (They'll soon discover they have a whole skeleton of fun in their proverbial closet after reading this book!) Koster's book clearly demonstrates that `Fun Is As Fun Does' while exposing the method to the madness in gaming. A Theory of Fun is a must read for anyone who wants to understand why games are so pervasive today, as it sheds new light into why fun matters in this world, and how `play' makes us truly human.

A must read for aspiring game designers

Anyone familiar with Raph's long relationship with the gaming community should have an immediate affinity with this book. It's a summation of not only recent research, but his long term love for his chosen medium as both an artist and as an developer, as well as the players who partake in his experiences. This book is not Raph's first vocalization of his opinions, ideas, and experiences. It is the most complete on a specific topic, but Raph has been expressing his views in both professional and player settings for longer than I've been a gamer. He has, quite literally, been there, done that, and gotten the T-shirt on both sides of the equation. Few game developers interface so often with their players in such an open dialog. You will learn from this book, even if it is a new way of thinking about something you may already have had experience with. The book itself is a very easy read. Any thoughts of high-thinking abstract Socratic philosophy should be set aside. This is a book for "the rest of us", the dissemination of complex ideas delivered in a very readable and enjoyable way.

A fun book that reflects it's own ideals

What is fun? This is a question that comes up constantly for game designers, but is something that everyone wonders from time to time. Unfortunately, fun is mysterious, intangible thing, something that would seem to vary wildly from person to person and from circumstance to circumstance. What possible universals of fun could exist that would allow us to understand and better utilize it? Raph Koster has a theory. Who is Raph Koster and on what grounds does he think he can write the book on fun? Currently, he is the chief creative officer of Sony Online Entertainment, makers of Everquest and Star Wars Galaxies. He was part of the original Ultima Online development team and is credited for work both on that and The Second Age expansion. He maintains a series of writings at www.legendmud.org/raph and is a common speaker at several game development conventions. With such a background, little wonder then that the title of the book is A Theory of Fun for Game Design. Yet the book itself is not limited in scope of game design itself, and within Raph Koster attempts to better define the universals of what fun is to humankind as he works his way to the medium of games. It is here that he explains, in easy to follow logic, how fun is a part of the learning process, a reward mechanism attached to the method of encapsulating the world around us into useful ideas for use in our everyday lives. Once we get to the games, which happens at about chapter 3, the real fun begins. In the remaining ten chapters (including the epilogue) Raph Koster revisits the core concept of fun as he explains what games are, what they teach us, and what they're not. He explains how different games hold different appeal for different people. How too much emphasis on learning can be obstructive and how too little learning can be dull, and the necessary elements to get an ideal balance. Why people are resistant to change even if the brain is wired for them to learn, and why designers are resistant to bring new ideas to games. How games can be classified, even as art. There's much more here than I have time to elaborate on. The book closes on an ethical note, along with some visionary ideas about where games can go. The book weighs in at 244 pages, and the content is deep, but the book itself is quite easy reading. It is formatted to have no more than 29 lines a page, and every other page is a helpful and often humorous black and white comic. This approach helps the content flow much easier while simultaneously demonstrating that fun and learning can indeed be related. Has Raph Koster really defined what fun is? Well, it's certainly a good theory. In the end, you learn not only a bit about fun and game design but (like many good books) also a bit about life.

Understanding Comics for gamers

Raph Koster was creative lead and lead designer on Ultima Online and Ultima Online: The Second Age, and the creative director on Star Wars Galaxies -- today, he's the Chief Creative Officer for Sony Entertainment (the division that does the video games). His new book is called Theory of Fun for Game Design, and I was lucky enough to read a review copy last month. Raph's intention here is to write a Understanding Comics for computer games: an accessible, lay-oriented text that explains, finally, what this medium means. Why are grownups playing games? What makes a game fun? What do games do to the way twe perceive the world? What do games do to the way we change the world? Charlie Stross and I have been tossing around an idea for a novel set in a Massive Multiplayer Online game, revolving around the virtual-property-rights debate; Theory of Fun made me rethink big chunks of that book. If you're a gamer, this should be your Xmas prezzie to your non-gamer friends; if you're not a gamer, this is the book for the gamer in your life.

DP Recommended.

I started developing games over 20 years ago, in high school. Back then game design was based mostly on experimentation, mostly due to the limitations of the hardware that we had to work with. All we cared about was, "Is this fun?" Today people expect completely immersive experiences, great stories, amazing graphics, fantastic sound, rich detail, but they also still need "Fun!" So what is Fun? Raph is a key and very experienced game designer in the video game business today that has (somehow) found the time to share his thoughts. These thoughts and insights are focused on this most valuable game design topic, "Fun!" Being creative, he couldn't even just do it the way every one else would have done, he has injected an incredible amount of passion and visual support to his ideas to make reading the book itself a FUN exercise too! It's my favorite work on this subject to date and therefore I highly recommend it. Thanks Raph!" --David Perry, President, Shiny Entertainment Inc.