Casual Game Design out in February (I hope).

My book, Casual Game Design: Designing Play for the Gamer in All of Us is due out in February.  Quite a mouthful, I know.  The book lays out some basic frameworks for thinking about game design, then delves into the specific mechanics of a number of different casual games.  While I was writing it, I had E.M. Forster’s Aspects of the Novel in mind.  I’ve always admired the way he offered tools for thinking about the writing fiction by looking at specific choices and elements from novels good and bad.  It’s all about reading and appreciating.

When I sat down to write this book, I wanted to do something similar with games.  I won’t claim to match Forster’s wit or insight, but hopefully the book provides thought provoking analysis of game mechanics.  It’s all about playing games and then thinking about them–why they work, why they don’t.  Hopefully people will find it useful.  I know I found writing it enlightening–I got to spend months playing games and thinking about them, talking with other designers about games.  And really, there’s no better practice for a game designer than playing games and thinking about them.