Quickstart Guide to Game Design

I have read a lot of books on this subject and this is the clearest.

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

Excellent from start to finish. No filler, no padding.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with game development.