Chris Crawford - Art of Computer Game Design - Online 1982
CS 583 3D Game Programming - SDSU - Kris Stewart
25Feb2013

http://www.stanford.edu/class/sts145/Library/Crawford%20on%20Game%20Design.pdf moving target
www.erasmatazz.com/ Chris Crawford
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Crawford_(game_designer)
www.theswapmeet.com/articles/crawford.html - Articles & Interviews about Interactive 3d Media
"Chris Crawford in 1992, giving the last speech of his career as a "game designer" and his first as a researcher into "interactive storytelling".

Part2 Part3 Part4 Part5 ** very funny **


In the document, The Art of Computer Game Design", Chris Crawford presents a concise and complete characterization of computing and games, from its beginnings through predictions, in 1982, which are right on target. You should read the entire article, but I will present quotes to illustrate Chris Crawford's writing below.

"Art is something designed to evoke emotion through fantasy. The artist presents his audience with a set of sensory experiences that stimulated commonly shared fantasies, and so generation emotions." "Most art sllows very little participation."

"Enter the computer. Conceived long ago, born in war, reared as the servant of business, this now adolescent technology has exploded out of the computer room and invaded shopping centers, pizza parlors, and homes. Popular characterizations of the computer alternate between the old image of the computer as omniscient, cold blooded, giant calculator, and the new image of the computer as purveyor of video thrills and 25 cent fixes. Originally developed as a number cruncher, the computer assumed a new personality when it was given graphics and sound capabilities. These capabilities gave the computer a powerful asset: it could now communicate with the human, not just in the cold and distant language of digits, but in the emotionally immediate and compelling language of images and sounds."

"With a game, the artist creates not the experience itself but the conditions and rules under which the audience will create its own individualized experience. The demand on the artist is greater, for s/he must plan the experience indirectly, taking into account the probable and possible actions and reactions of the audience. The return is far greater, for participation increases attention and heightens the intensity of the experience. When we passively observe someone else's artistic presentation, we derive some emotional benefit, but when we actively participate in a game, we invest a portion of our own ego into the fantasy world of the game."

Ch1: What is a Game?
BOARD GAMES
CARD GAMES
ATHLETIC GAMES
CHILDREN'S GAMES
COMPUTER GAMES
REPRESENTATION
INTERACTION
CONFLICT
SAFETY
Representation: First, a game is a closed formal system that subjectively represents a subset of reality. Let us examine each term of this statement carefully.

Ch2: Why Do People Play Games?
Fantasy/Exploration
Proving Oneself
Social Lubrication
Exercise
Need for Acknowledgement
Summary
MOTIVATION VERSUS SELECTION
Game Play
Sensory Gratification
INDIVIDUAL TASTES

Ch3: A Taxonomy of Computer Games
SKILL-AND-ACTION GAMES
Combat Games
Maze Games
Sports Games
Paddle Games
Race Games
Miscellaneous Games
STRATEGY GAMES
Adventures
D&D Games
Wargames
Games of Chance
Educational and Children’s Games
Interpersonal Games
CONCLUSIONS

Ch4: the Computer as a Game Technology
GAME TECHNOLOGIES
COMPUTERS
DESIGN PRECEPTS FOR COMPUTER GAMES
Precept #1: GO WITH THE GRAIN
Precept #2: DON’T TRANSPLANT
Precept #3: DESIGN AROUND THE I/O
Precept #4: KEEP IT CLEAN
Precept #5: STORE LESS AND PROCESS MORE
Precept #6: MAINTAIN UNITY OF DESIGN EFFORT
CONCLUSION

Ch5: The Game Design Sequence
CHOOSE A GOAL AND A TOPIC
RESEARCH AND PREPARATION
DESIGN PHASE
I/O Structure
Game Structure
Program Structure
Evaluation of the Design
PRE-PROGRAMMING PHASE
PROGRAMMING PHASE
PLAYTESTING PHASE
POST-MORTEM

Ch6: Design Techniques and Ideals
BALANCING SOLITAIRE GAMES
Vast Resources
Artificial Smarts
Conclusions on Artificial Smarts
Limited Information
Summary
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN OPPONENTS
Symmetric Relationships
Asymmetric Games
Triangularity
Actors and Indirect Relationships
SMOOTH LEARNING CURVES
THE ILLUSION OF WINNABILITY
SUMMARY

Ch7: The Future of Computer Games
FAD OR FIXTURE?
THE TECHNOLOGICAL EXTRAPOLATION
ASSESSMENT: TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION
THE NATURE OF CHANGE
The Mass Market
The Flowering of Heterogeneity
CONCLUSIONS

Ch8: Development of Excalibur
BEGINNINGS
EARLY WORK: JANUARY-APRIL, 1982
THE LONG HAUL: MAY-DECEMBER 1982