Game Development is a fairly complex process. The beauty and the challenge in it is trying to handle both the artistic and the technical sides. Like all the other industries we too have our fair share of guidelines. However one of the most important parts of this process for Game Designers and Product Managers has to do with "thinking shit up". The decisions taken during this Pre-Production phase decide the future of the game. There are many ways to go about this and there is an immense amount of literature to help you with that. However, The Art of Game Design: A book of Lenses by Jesse Schell is insanely useful.
There are 4 simple ways of using this book as a tool:
The first three ways are pretty straightforward and are provided by the author. But I have found that the MindMap as an excellent way to use the entire book as a tool.
How do I use this MindMap?
A MindMap is a flow chart of sorts but is interactable and is a very useful aid for logical thinking. I have created the MindMap of the book using the XMind tool. Here are the steps to view this:
- Download the XMind tool.
- Create an account.
- Download the Book of Lenses MindMap.
- Start using it.
The book deals with many aspects of the game development process and poses important questions during every stage. For example, if you need to learn about the balancing of the game, all you need to do is to go to the balancing section and explore all the areas. The tool with help to glance through each of the questions posed which will be the guide for your Pre-Production process.
One of the reasons for writing this post is to bring in a direction and a process for creative thinking. Hope it helps.
Get A Book of Lenses on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2qozQJD