Learn from the
designer behind role-playing best-sellers
like Betrayal at Krondor, Planet's Edge, and Might &
Magic III: Isles of Terra Computer role-playing
games
(RPGs) allow players to assume the
role of a hero on an
epic quest. During the course of the
game, the player's
character "learns" new spells and skills that, in turn,
allow him or her to explore even more of the game world and
to solve the challenge presented by the game designers.
Never in the history of gaming have role-playing titles
been more popular.
Swords & Circuitry : A Designer's Guide to
Computer Role-Playing Games takes the reader on a
journey into the arcane world of game development,
deciphering the mysteries of the role-playing audience, the
history of RPGs, the technical definition of the genre, the
roles of a game designer, the fundamentals of building good
gameplay and interfaces, and last, but certainly not least,
the art of professional worldbuilding. Featuring actual
design document excerpts from the hit games Deus Ex,
Fallout, Nox, and Stonekeep, it also presents in-depth
interviews with top role-playing designers like John Cutter
(Betrayal at Krondor), Chris Taylor (Dungeon Siege), Trent
Oster (Neverwinter Nights), Sarah Stocker (Pools of
Radiance II: The Ruins of Myth Drannor), Jon Van Caneghem
(Might & Magic series), and Carly Staehlin (Ultima
Online). Game industry artists Shawn Sharp, Jon Gwyn, Jim
Wible, and Jeff Perryman also provide exciting and topical
illustrations that evoke not only the look, but the feel,
of the worlds that every role-playing designer strives to
create. Co-written by a veteran marketeer and the designer
behind role-playing bestsellers Betrayal at Krondor,
Planet's Edge, and Dungeon Siege, Swords &
Circuitry provides everything that a role-playing title
must have to succeed!
Contents
Foreword
Introduction
- Shadow of the Past
- The Designer's Domain
- Workshop of the Gods
- The Games
- Appendixes
Index