Raph Koster - A Theory of Fun for Game Design

Copyright 2010

Limits of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty

The author and publisher of this book have used their best efforts in preparing the book and the programs contained in it. These efforts include the development, research, and testing of the theories and programs to determine their effectiveness. The author and publisher make no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, with regard to these programs or the documentation contained in this book.

Trademarks

Trademarked names appear throughout this book. Rather than list the names and entities that own the trademarks or insert a trademark symbol with each mention of the trademarked name, the publisher states that it is using the names for editorial purposes only and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringing upon that trademark.

The author and publisher shall not be liable in the event of incidental or consequential damages in connection with, or arising out of, the furnishing, performance, or use of the programs, associated instructions, and/or claims of productivity gains.

Special thanks to all those who have helped me clarify the thoughts that went into this book over the last few years, through their writing and direct conversation and by challenging my assumptions. In no particular order:

Cory Ondrejka for passionately dreaming the dream; Ben Cousins for coining ludeme and pursuing empirical approaches; David Kennerly for loving the ludemes; Gordon Walton and Rich Vogel for mentoring, mentoring, mentoringand letting go; J. C. Lawrence for creating the forum; Jesper Juul for questioning the premise; Jessica Mulligan for opening the art question; John Buehler for the emotion questions; John Donham for indulging and interest; Lee Sheldon for insisting on story; Nicole Lazzaro for introducing me to research on emotion; Noah Falstein for treading down a similar pathkeep an eye out for his book; Richard Bartle for the playspace, and for advocating authorial intent; Richard Garriott for injecting ethics; Rod Humble for listening to very long rambles; Sasha Hart for the human condition questions; Timothy Burke and many other players for forcing me to consider the question; Will Wright for insight into formal game systems.

Extra special thanks to those who helped make the book in this form come together: Kurt Squire for introducing Ben to the original presentation, Ben Sawyer for editing, Dave Taylor and Patricia Pizer for fantastic volunteer editing jobs, Keith Weiskamp for publishing and line-by-line commentary, Chris Nakashima-Brown for legal help, Kim Eoff for laying out the book, and Judy Flynn for copyediting.

Above all, to Kristen, who helped scan the images, gave me the space in which to work, and read the drafts as they emerged. Without the time granted to me by her willingness to watch the kids, cook the food, and keep me working, this would never have come to be.

Finally, thank you to all those who in my life have allowed me to pursue this crazy career. And to my family, for fostering the sense of fun from an early age and buying all the darn games and computers for me.