Helpful Books

There are a lot of helpful books on design and adjacent topics that could substantially change how one would view games.

  • Design
    • The Design of Everyday Things
    • Thinking in Systems: International Bestseller
    • Designing Games: A Guide to Engineering Experiences
    • Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
    • Chris Crawford on Game Design
    • Elements of Game Design
    • Uncertainty in Games
    • Game Theory 101: The Complete Textbook
    • The Joy of Game Theory: An Introduction to Strategic Thinking
    • How Games Move Us: Emotion by Design
    • Game Feel: A Game Designer’s Guide to Virtual Sensation
    • Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals
    • The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses
    • Contagious: Why Things Catch On
    • Replay: The History of Video Games
    • Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
    • The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect
    • A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas
    • Evolution of the Social Contract
    • A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas
    • Evolution of the Social Contract
  • Work / Life
    • Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
    • The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done
    • Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence
    • Why Red Doesn’t Sound Like a Bell: Understanding the feel of consciousness
    • How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens
    • Peak: How to Master Almost Anything
    • Winning the Brain Game: Fixing the 7 Fatal Flaws of Thinking
    • Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
    • Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work
    • Story Physics: Harnessing the Underlying Forces of Storytelling
    • Story Engineering