Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Introduction Press Start! -- If You Are Anything Like Me -- No, You Can't Have My Job -- Who Is This Book For? -- Why a Second Edition? -- Level 1: Welcome, N00bs! -- A Brief History of Video Games. -- The Brave New World of Gaming: Mobiles, Online Distribution, and Touchscreens. -- Game Genres. -- Who Makes This Stuff? -- Have You Thought about Publishing?. -- Level 2: Ideas -- Ideas: Where to Get Them and Where to Stick Them. -- Getting Ahead of the Game. -- What Do Gamers Want?. -- Brainstorming. -- Breaking Writer's Block. -- Why I Hate "Fun". -- Level 3: Writing the Story -- Once Upon a Time . . .. -- The Triangle of Weirdness. -- A Likely Story. -- Time to Wrap It Up. -- A Game by Any Other Name. -- Creating Characters Your Players Care About. -- A Few Pointers on Writing for Kids of All Ages. -- Writing for Licenses. -- Level 4: You Can Design a Game, but Can You Do the Paperwork? -- Writing the GDD, Step 1: The One-Sheet. -- Writing the GDD, Step 2: The Ten-Pager -- Writing the GDD, Step 3: Gameplay Progression -- Writing the GDD, Step 4: The Beat Chart -- Writing the GDD, Step 5: The Game Design Document (and the Awful Truth about Writing It) -- Writing the GDD, Step 6: Above All, Don't Be a Jerk -- Level 5: The Three Cs, Part 1: Character -- Who Do You Want To Be Today? -- Finally, We Talk About Gameplay -- Level 6: The Three Cs, Part 2: Camera -- Get It Right: Camera Views -- First Person Camera -- Third Person Camera -- Giving Up Control -- Two and a Half D -- Isometric Camera -- Top-Down Camera. -- AR Cameras. -- Special Case Cameras. -- Tunnel Vision. -- Camera Shot Guide. -- Camera Angle Guide. -- Camera Movement Guide. -- Other Camera Notes. -- Multiple-Player Cameras. -- Level 7: The Three Cs, Part 3: Controls -- Control Is in Your Hand. -- You've Got the Touch. -- Dance, Monkey, Dance.

Character or Camera Relative?. -- Shake, Rattle, and Roll. -- Level 8: Sign Language: HUD and Icon Design -- Heads Up!. -- There Are Other Screens Than the HUD. -- A Final Word on Fonts. -- Level 9: Everything I Learned About Level Design, I Learned from Level 9 -- The Top 10 Cliché Video Game Themes -- The Name Game -- Everything I Learned About Level Design, I Learned from Disneyland. . -- Following Procedure -- You've Got the Beat -- Re-using Re-use -- The Gary Gygax Memorial Mapping Section -- Sandbox Play -- Illusional Narrative -- The Dave Arneson Memorial Mapping Section -- Wrapping Up Mapping -- Gray Matters -- Leave the Training Level for Last -- Levels without Characters -- Level 10: The Elements of Combat -- 400 Quatloos on the Newcomer! -- Put 'Em Up! -- And a One and a Two -- The Big Finish -- Live by the Sword -- Now You Have to Kiss Me -- Let's Get Defensive -- Dodging the Bullet -- On Guarding -- State of the Art Bang Bang -- The Best Gun for You -- Run and Gun -- Not Just Shooting -- Dang it, Jones! Where Doesn't It Hurt? -- Death: What Is It Good For? -- Conflict Without Combat -- Level 11: They All Want You Dead -- Sizing Up the Enemy. -- Bad Behavior. -- How Rapid is Rapid?. -- Movement Style . -- Bring on the Bad Guys. -- I Love Designing Enemies. -- I Hate You to Pieces. -- Non-Enemy Enemies. -- How to Create the World's Greatest Boss Battle. -- Who's the Boss? -- Size Matters. -- Location, Location, Location. -- Why Not to Create the World's Greatest Boss Battle. -- Level 12: The Nuts and Bolts of Mechanics -- The Mechanics of Mechanics. -- Holy Death Trap!. -- What I Learned from Making Kids Cry. -- Time to Die. -- The Music of Mechanics. -- Chip Off the Old Block . -- A Nice Little Calm Spot. -- Riddle Me This. -- Puzzle Me That. -- Minigames and Microgames. -- Level 13: Now You're Playing with Power -- Powering Up.

"Love Thy Player". -- Seriously. "Love Thy Player.". -- More Wealth Than You Can Imagine!. -- Bonus Section about Bonus Features -- How to Win at Losing -- Level 14: Multiplayer-The More the Merrier -- How Many Is the Right Number? -- MMORPGS, or Hell Is Other People -- Designing Multiplayer Levels -- Level 15: Everybody Wins: Monetization -- Cashing In -- Money Is the Root of Something Something -- Level 16: Some Notes on Music -- I Know It When I Hear It -- Music with Style -- And the Beat Goes On -- Sounds Like a Game to Me -- Level 17: Cutscenes, or No One's Gonna Watch 'Em Anyway -- A Cut Above -- How to Write a Screenplay in Eight Easy Steps -- Finding Your Voice -- Level 18: And Now the Hard Part -- No One Cares About Your Stupid Little World -- Who's Paying? -- Video Games Is a Haaaard Business. -- What to Do for an Encore?. -- Continue? -- Time to Level Up!. -- Bonus Level 1: The One- Sheet Sample -- Bonus Level 2: The Ten-Page Design Document Sample -- Bonus Level 3: Game Design Document Template -- Bonus Level 4: The Medium-Sized List of Story Genres -- Bonus Level 5: Game Genres -- Bonus Level 6: The Big List of Environments -- Bonus Level 7: Mechanics and Hazards -- Bonus Level 8: Enemy Design Template -- Bonus Level 9: Boss Design Template -- Bonus Level 10: High-Concept Pitch Presentation -- Bonus Level 11: Achievement Unlocked: Exactly Like Making Chili -- Index -- About the Author.