Reading - CMPS 80K - Foundations of Interactive Game Design

The primary textbook for the class is:

• Rules of Play, Katie Salen, Eric Zimmerman, MIT Press, 2004.
  A review of the text by Aki Jarvinen in Game Studies, vol. 4, no. 1, November 2004.
  A review of the text by Caroline Pelletier in Visual Communication, vol. 4, no. 1, 2005.

Students using Game Maker for their game project might find the following book to be useful:

• The Game Maker's Apprentice: Game Development for Beginners, Jacob Habgood, Mark Overmars, APress, 2006.

Some readings for the class are not found in these texts. These readings are available in digital form from the course website. Directions on accessing these materials will be given in class, and can also be obtained by emailing the TA or the Professor.

The following books are considered to be classics on computer game design.

• The Art of Computer Game Design, Chris Crawford, 1982.
• A Theory of Fun for Game Design, Raph Koster, Paraglyph Press, 2005.

UC Santa Cruz has a number of books on game design available in the library, many with full contents available in electronic form, viewable from a Web browser at an on-campus computer.

• Patterns in Game Design, Staffan Bjork & Jussi Holopainen, Charles River Media, 2005.
• Gender Inclusive Game Design, Sheri Graner Ray, Charles River Media, 2004.
• What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, James Paul Gee, Palgrave MacMillan, 2003.
• Game Design: The Art & Business of Creating Games, Bob Bates, Thomson Course Technology, 2004.
• Swords & Circuitry: A Designers Guide to Computer Role Playing Games, Neal Halford, Jana Halford, Prima Tech, 2001.
• Character Development and Storytelling for Games, Sheldon Lee, 2004.

There are also a number of e-books on computer game technology in the UC Santa Cruz library, including:

• Beginning DirectX 9, Wendy Jones, Thomson Course Technology, 2004.
• Programming Role Playing Games with DirectX, 2nd ed., Jim Adams, Thomson Course Technology, 2004.

Last modified: 12/29/2006