Player Experience Design in 20 Minutes (Coffee Break Series)

Excellent from start to finish. No filler, no padding.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with game design.

Some sections were excellent and others felt like filler.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. Fine, but there are stronger books on the same subject if you look around.

The clearest explanation of game design I have come across.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. The chapters on game design are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.