This in-depth resource teaches you to craft mechanics that
generate challenging, enjoyable, and well-balanced gameplay.
You’ll discover at what stages to prototype, test, and
implement mechanics in games and learn how to visualize and
simulate game mechanics in order to design better games. Along the
way, you’ll practice what you’ve learned with hands-on
lessons. A free downloadable simulation tool developed by Joris
Dormans is also available in order to follow along with exercises
in the book in an easy-to-use graphical environment.
In Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design, you’ll learn how
to:
* Design and balance game mechanics to create emergent gameplay
before you write a single line of code.
* Visualize the internal economy so that you can immediately see
what goes on in a complex game.
* Use novel prototyping techniques that let you simulate games and
collect vast quantities of gameplay data on the first day of
development.
* Apply design patterns for game mechanics—from a library in
this book—to improve your game designs.
* Explore the delicate balance between game mechanics and level
design to create compelling, long-lasting game experiences.
* Replace fixed, scripted events in your game with dynamic
progression systems to give your players a new experience every
time they play.
"I've been waiting for a book like this for ten years: packed with
game design goodness that tackles the science without undermining
the art."
--Richard Bartle, University of Essex, co-author of the first
MMORPG
  “Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design by Joris Dormans
& Ernest Adams formalizes game grammar quite well. Not sure I
need to write a next book now!”
В -- Raph Koster, author of A Theory of Fun for Game
Design.