Chapter 1 - In the Beginning, there is the Designer
The game industry spawns from but a collection of dots on the map - the ones who spark the innovation and cast their ideas into the fires of the hot idea-baking, iron world, where ideas get pressed through the lives of many who are involved with the production of a game. The many who are involved are responsible for its reception by those who would be labeled as the consumers, and the talents are spread across a large number of fields, from Anthropology to Fine Arts, Mathematics and Fluid Dynamics, Communication and Presentation, and so many more. Indeed, the game designer is a jack of all trades.
Myself, I am a type of person who likes to figure out "why" - as in why do people play games. And so I dig into the psychology behind the human brain and attempt to define "fun" as such a desired human state of mind in which entertainment is taking place. But fun isn't always a pure feeling in the sense of receiving "pleasure chemicals" - sometimes we struggle and anguish over achieving a difficult task which is in no way a fun effort itself, yet we are pleased to say we were entertained during the process. And in the end, a "Zilmann's Excitation Transfer" effect occurs when you finally achieve a difficult accomplishment, and the player breathes a euphoric sigh of content before continuing on to the next great challenge.
In chapter 1, we see a great overview of what game design means in the perspective of Jesse Schell. We are told that "listening" is the single greatest talent for the game designer, and this would be true because the designer must be that jack of all trades. In fields lacking, it's important to listen where you trod in the dark.
Chapter 23 - The Designer Usually Works with a Team
Jesse Schell talks a lot about love in the game design process. He refers to members of the team loving what they are building, and it is a love that must be shared so as to avoid conflict of interest. This applies to communication as well, because without a solid love there can be no passionate communication. Beyond the aesthetics however, there are some serious points to summarize what "good communication" means. Trust, Persistence and Honesty are just a few of them.
Lens #88: The Lens of Love. Do (we) love what we're building?
Lens #89: The Lens of the Team. Is the team communicating properly?
Chapter 24 - The Team Sometimes Communicates Through Documents
Documents can be used as a way to commit thoughts into writing and enable you to remember them more easily. Documents can also serve as a way to make it seem as if you are more organized. Most importantly though, sometimes documents are used to communicate, as so cleverly pointed out in the title of this chapter.
Lens #90: The Lens of Documentation. What documentation do we need?
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