The purpose of this title is teaching from first principles, using as an implementation framework the Unity platform (http://unity3d.com/). What makes the book distinctive is that it is completely self-contained, presenting the art of game design, the basics of prototyping in C#, and a set of complete C#/Unity prototypes (eight games!), all in one.

The book is divided into three parts, largely corresponding to the three aspects identified above: “Game Design and Paper Prototyping,” “Digital Prototyping,” and “Game Prototype Examples and Tutorials.” Part 2 helps readers get Unity up and running on their machine and presents the basics of agile C# development, including the fundamentals of C# programming. For people with programming experience, myself included, the second part of the book is of little utility, but on the other hand it will appeal greatly to complete beginners (or “n00bs” in gaming parlance). This review focuses on the material in Parts 1 and 3, namely the game design ideas and the actual coded prototypes.

In Part 1, the author presents background material on games and their design, including definitions of the concept of a game, such as this one by Sid Meier, the famous creator of the game Civilization and others: “A game is a series of interesting decisions.” The author identifies what makes a decision interesting in the sense of the definition: the player has multiple valid options from which to choose; each option has both positive and negative potential consequences; and the outcome of each option is predictable but not guaranteed.

Many more definitions are given and discussed, and several game analysis frameworks are then presented. In the mechanics-dynamics-aesthetics (MDA) framework for ludology (the formal term for the study of games), the key issues for a game designer are mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics. Each of these is studied in detail, along with the interplay of each of these layers.

The key contribution of the first part of this book is the definition of the layered tetrad, a model that breaks down any game into layers (each layer having four aspects, hence the term tetrad):

• an inscribed layer: this encompasses such issues as how the player and the game interact, what the game feels like, the implementation platform, and story or narrative;
• a dynamic layer: this deals with how the player’s actions affect the course of the game; and
• a cultural layer: this includes aspects related to the effect of the game on culture and vice versa--game modifications by users, fan art and music, fan fiction and tributes, and so on.

In each layer, there are concerns relating to mechanics, aesthetics, narrative, and technology, which when put together are the bread and butter of any serious game. The author advocates for this model of game design, which he uses in the prototypes developed later in the book. Subsequent material in Part 1 is concerned mainly with the processes of prototyping and play-testing, puzzle design, and aspects of the computer games industry.

The game prototypes in Part 3 are the book’s most exciting feature, as this part gets you to code real games (technically, they are prototypes that can be extended into full games): Apple Picker, Mission Demolition, Space SHMUP, Prospector Solitaire, Bartok, Word Game, QuickSnap, and Omega Mage. You can play with the prototypes online (http://book.prototools.net/). The book actually gets you to code them; it is a thrill!

This is a great book for anyone looking to get into computer game design. It goes well beyond the basics. If you’re serious about game design and development, and want to start coding in C# and Unity, look nowhere else. Similar titles include books by Nystrom [1] and Menard and Wagstaff [2].

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