Books for independent game developers

This time I'm going to share a couple of books that have influenced my design and/or business thinking within the game industry. Some of these books you may have heard of, or maybe you've even read them already. Some of them have nothing to do with "game design" or making games in any way. Let's take a look:

Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek

Start With Why takes a look into the "why" we do what we do and what keeps us interested in something. It's a perfect reminder to either figure out the "why" behind your game development or why people become interested in what you're doing.

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan

When establishing a game company, you may end up trying to multitask, which can lead to either long work hours or lower quality work. While some people still believe multitasking is effective, I challenge you to read this book and think twice.

A Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster

By far the best game design book out there, A Theory of Fun takes a deep dive into what makes things fun and what aspects you may want to focus on to achieve enjoyment. I keep coming back to this book after years and still discover more each time I read it.

The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses by Jesse Schell

Before reading this book, I believed that game design was a "science" with set "recipes" for creating awesome games. However, The Art of Game Design helped me understand that game design is far from a strict science, and I should focus more on testing and iterating. Viewing game prototypes as laboratories for fun iteration processes has been a game-changer. By using the lenses outlined in the book, it's easier to understand what to focus on next.

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