RESOURCES
ThatTomHall: Resources
These resources are a living list. I recommend them all as great works to learn more about game design, creativity, game making, and creative skills. Plus I added some related great books by game dev/journalism friends of mine!
GAME DESIGN
The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses
Jesse Schell
In its third edition, this is a great book about the choices you make and things to think about when designing a game. Jesse Schell takes you through the game design process step by step, and presents over 100 sets of questions to ask yourself as you build, play and change your game until you finalize your game design.
Understanding Comics
Scott McCloud
This discusses the creative decisions in making a work. Here, about comics, but the same types of choices apply to game design.
Game Design Workshop
Tracy Fullerton
This book (and accompanying workbook) puts you to work prototyping, playtesting, and revising your own games with time-tested methods and tools.
A Theory of Fun for Game Design
Raph Koster
Raph posits what fun is, how your brain works at learning and solving problems, and how that applies to making fun games.
The Aesthetic of Play
Brian Upton
Develops a framework for understanding play, introducing a set of critical tools that can help us analyze games and game design and identify ways in which they succeed or fail.
Challenges for Game Designers
Brenda Brathwaite (now Romero), Ian Schreiber
Exercises to figure out how you make game rules and mechanics around a series of carefully crafted assignments. No computer required!
Game Balance
Brenda Romero and Ian Schreiber
How the heck do you balance a game? Here’s how.
Rules of Play
The Game Design Reader
The former: Scholarly work presenting a framework of game design language. The latter: a collection of essays on games and game design.
CREATIVITY
The Creative Act: A Way of Being
Rick Rubin
A treatise on the nature of creativity, giving yourself space for timeless play, then setting a deadline to get it to the finish line.
The Creative Gene
Hideo Kojima
A book on how creative input means creative output. Books, movies, games, articles, life experiences – they are all fodder for your next creative work. A series of essays.
GAME-MAKING TOOLS
RNDGAME
That Tom Hall
Can’t think of a game? Can’t come up with a game idea? Generate millions of cool and silly game names to inspire your creativity!
https://thattomhall.itch.io/rndgame
A great game inspired by RNDGAME, UFO Swamp Odyssey!
https://paranoidcactus.itch.io/ufo
Pico-8
It’s a “fantasy console” – a game engine and set of tools for an NES-era console that never existed. It’s the easiest way to get a game going, with harsh constraints and you can share carts magically as a PNG! Great for testing game ideas and tiny game creation! What to graduate into after Scratch.
https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php
Top 200 Pico-8 Games
https://nerdyteachers.com/PICO-8/Games/Top200/
Picotron
Pico-8’s “Big Brother” is a “fantasy workstation”. It’s higher resolution, more space to work with, but early in development but a blast to work with. It’s like an early Amiga/Atari 800/Apple //gs/Mac Color but designed with fun in mind.
https://www.lexaloffle.com/picotron.php
Some great games in Picotron:
Paul Hammond’s a retro-homage master:
https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?uid=33292&mode=carts
Picovania (homage to Castlevania)
https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?pid=163402#p
Solitaire Suite (need to have sound added, though…)
https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?pid=145162#p
GameMaker Studio
Popular game engine and tools for indie developers.
GameMaker Studio:
Some Games made in GameMaker Studio:
Nidhogg 1&2
Spelunky 1&2
Godot
Free, open source game engine for indie developers.
Godot:
Some games made with Godot:
https://godotengine.org/showcase/
Unreal
Unreal 5 is the most powerful game engine available, and it looks great. Developer-friendly licensing. But a big learning curve to use. Luckily, they provide wonderful tutorials.
Unreal Engine site:
https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US
Unreal 4 games:
https://www.thegamer.com/great-games-use-unreal-4-game-engine/
Unreal 5 games:
https://www.thegamer.com/unreal-engine-5-best-games/
Scratch
A tool developed by MIT for young kids to learn the basics of making games.
Scratch:
Scratch Games:
https://scratch.mit.edu/explore/projects/games/
Not Currently Recommend: Unity
Once the king of indie game engines, their developer-hostile changes to their engine licensing fees had developers flee them in droves. Though they rolled back on their awful policies, I find it hard to recommend/trust them now. But many great games were made in Unity.
CREATIVE SKILLS
Story
Character
Dialogue
Robert McKee
This applies to scripts and writing, but applies to game writing. A trilogy of books that discuss how to develop the various aspects of creative writing for a narrative work.
RELATED: GREAT BOOKS BY BUDS
DOOM GUY
John Romero
From humble beginnings, how John became a game designer through force of will, co-founded the first person shooter genre, journeyed through a career of incredible highs and shattering lows.
REPLAY
Jordan Mechner
The story of his family, told in concert with the development of his games/movies. Touching tale.
Breaking Into the Game Industry
Brenda Brathwaite (now Romero) / Ian Schreiber
How can you get into the game industry? Read this and find out a real path to making fun.