useful non-game design books
I’ve started my second read of ‘The Black Swan,’ a book by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. I’ve found it to be an enlightening read. Black swan theory seems to be on par with natural selection in its explanatory power. Taleb’s thoughts on scalability, in particular, lend a certain utility to game design. I wanted to share this book with you, as well as ask if you have any favorites to add. This book has inspired me to get my hands on a copy of ‘The Selfish Gene,’ but I’d happily read anything as importable to game design.
Thanks Tom; in what order, if any, would you recommend ‘Parkinson's Law,’ ‘The Peter Principle,’ and ‘The Mythical Man-Month?’
Order?
You don't need no stinking order. Read whichever one you get your hands on first, first.
Here is a humble list of such books I put together ages ago.
Tom and Marque posted some great lists. I own a lot of the books on Tom's list, but haven't even heard of some of the ones on Marque's list yet. Here are a couple more sources I'd like to recommend.
Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step By Step by Edward de Bono
De Bono is a prolific writer on the subject of deliberate thinking. One of the points that come up in his books again and again is that the way we are taught to think in school focuses on critical thinking but neglects creative thinking. Some of his books (like the thinking hats) can seem a bit hokey...but his book on Lateral Thinking is worth taking the time to read. You can usually find some of de Bono's books at a library, but this is one that I have on my bookshelf.
Alan Moore's Writing for Comics (Vol. 1) by Alan Moore
Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Promethea, etc.) is a prolific comic book writer that changed the way people look at comics back in the 80's. This booklet is the reprint of an essay he wrote back then, around the time he created the Watchmen. Although his focus is on the comic industry, a lot of his ideas apply to the game industry as well.
Everything by Edward R. Tufte: http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/index
Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design by Lidwell, Holden, & Butler
List at http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson8.htm includes other such books
Tom Sloper
Sloperama Productions
Making games fun and getting them done. www.sloperama.com
Instructor in games, University of Southern California http://itp.usc.edu/
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