As games grow more complex and gamers' expectations soar, the discipline of game systems design becomes ever more important. Game systems designers plan a game's rules and balance, its characters' attributes, most of its data, and how its AI, weapons, and objects work and interact. Introduction to Game Systems Design is the first complete beginner's guide to this crucial discipline. Writing for all aspiring game professionals, even those with absolutely no experience, leading game designer and instructor Dax Gazaway presents a step-by-step, hands-on approach to designing game systems with industry-standard tools. Drawing on his experience building AAA-level game systems (including games in the Star Wars and Marvel franchises), Gazaway covers all this, and more:


Exploring the essentials of game design and its emerging subdisciplines
Asking the essential questions at the heart of all design
Getting started with modern game system design tools, including the spreadsheets most professionals now use
Creating systems and data from a blank page
Populating and quantifying a world of data into a game
Tuning and balancing game systems
Testing game systems and data
Leveraging communication, psychology, and rewards within your games
Balancing game probability within systems


Whether you're a college freshman entering a game design program, an indie developer using Unreal or Unity, a Dungeon Master, or anyone who wants to really understand modern games, this guide will help you get where you want to go.