A Theory of Fun
If you are even THINKING about designing games, you MUST pick up "A Theory of Fun" by Raph Koster.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU Mr Koster!
Reading this book, I couldn't help but agree. EVERYTHING I've been talking about, that I've been working on for these past 3 years was talked about in this book. Even more surprising, there were parts that I DIDN'T think about, and immediately disagreed with. The book CHALLENGED me.
But God, sometimes I feel like nobody gets the point, and this leads me to ask myself if there actually is a point. And it's just great to talk to people (since books are really a one-sided dialog between the author and reader) who SEE the point. Hell, even better than I see it. A lot of my efforts stem from hope more than knowledge. But I know that I will never find that knowledge unless I search for it.
Man, it's been a great week with books.
The last 3 days, I read "Rebel Without a Crew" by Robert Rodriguez. Another EXCELLENT book. As you all know, I came to this medium heavily inspired from comics and movies. I used to draw incessantly as a child, and in highschool I immediately started making movies when my parents bought a video camera. I felt a real connection with Rodriguez. There are some parallels in our stories, growing up unprofessionally making stuff that we wanted to do (although I had simple video games on top of the movies and comic books), fighting against the administrations of formal education, working multiple part time jobs at once, going to school, and working on our passions. While reading all this, I was like "this guy's been there, he understands". His advice about solving problems creatively versus using "the money hose" should be heeded more. And his first peice of advice in his "Ten Minute Film School" - don't say you WANT to be a filmmaker, make movies and say you ARE a filmmaker. GENIUS. I've been telling people all along - you want to make games? well then quit saying you WANT to and MAKE GAMES!
Reading books like these make me feel like I'm on the right track, that my pursuits aren't in vain. That this is a noble pursuit, worthy of my energy. And which is great, because really, at this point in my life while I'm still full of fire, I can't concieve pursuing anything else.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU Mr Koster!
Reading this book, I couldn't help but agree. EVERYTHING I've been talking about, that I've been working on for these past 3 years was talked about in this book. Even more surprising, there were parts that I DIDN'T think about, and immediately disagreed with. The book CHALLENGED me.
But God, sometimes I feel like nobody gets the point, and this leads me to ask myself if there actually is a point. And it's just great to talk to people (since books are really a one-sided dialog between the author and reader) who SEE the point. Hell, even better than I see it. A lot of my efforts stem from hope more than knowledge. But I know that I will never find that knowledge unless I search for it.
Man, it's been a great week with books.
The last 3 days, I read "Rebel Without a Crew" by Robert Rodriguez. Another EXCELLENT book. As you all know, I came to this medium heavily inspired from comics and movies. I used to draw incessantly as a child, and in highschool I immediately started making movies when my parents bought a video camera. I felt a real connection with Rodriguez. There are some parallels in our stories, growing up unprofessionally making stuff that we wanted to do (although I had simple video games on top of the movies and comic books), fighting against the administrations of formal education, working multiple part time jobs at once, going to school, and working on our passions. While reading all this, I was like "this guy's been there, he understands". His advice about solving problems creatively versus using "the money hose" should be heeded more. And his first peice of advice in his "Ten Minute Film School" - don't say you WANT to be a filmmaker, make movies and say you ARE a filmmaker. GENIUS. I've been telling people all along - you want to make games? well then quit saying you WANT to and MAKE GAMES!
Reading books like these make me feel like I'm on the right track, that my pursuits aren't in vain. That this is a noble pursuit, worthy of my energy. And which is great, because really, at this point in my life while I'm still full of fire, I can't concieve pursuing anything else.
posted by Lucas @ 2:39 AM
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