The Library
Book recommended for learning Game ​UX design, UXR and Game Design.
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Game specific design books
Book recommended for learning Game ​UX design, UXR and Game Design.
How to be a Game User Researcher
Run better playtests, reveal usability and UX issues, and make videogames better.
By: Steven Bromley
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Game UX Designers should know the basics of how to prepare the material and conduct play tests as well as how to analyse the results. This short book gives you the fundamentals and a lot of good tips and tricks!
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Level: Beginner
Non-game specific design books
The Design of Everyday Things
By: Don Norman
Great fundamental book about design and how design should follow physical rules to tell us how to use them. Design is a language telling us how to use objects and what they are for. Don Normal is in many ways the "Father" of the Western design language.
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This is also relevant in game design because we want the game world to tell us what objects and menus are for and how we should expect to use them.
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Level: Beginner
Emotional Design
By: Don Norman
This book goes through some fundamentals of how emotions are important in design and how it impacts us.
This is extra important in games because we play games to feel in many ways. The examples are all physical items, so there is a bit of a leap neeed to . A good book to get you started in Emotional Thinking in products we use and play in.
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Level: Beginner
Why we love (or hate) everyday things
100 things
Every designer needs to know about people
By: Susan M. Weinschenk, Ph.D.
As UX designers, we should know how people work, think and behave, and this is a great book to build the fundamentals!
It is not specifically about games but the fundamentals of people are still the same, in or outside of playing a game.
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Level: Beginner
Universal Principles of UX
100 Timeless Strategies to Create Positive Interactions between People and Technology
By: Irene Pereyra
A great book with 100 rules and tips on the design of digital products. Short and to the point descriptions of each principle.
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Not all of the principles listed apply for game design, but more often than not, it does because design is universal across all technology. This is one of my most recent favourites.
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Level: Beginner
​Gamify
How Gamification Motivates People to Do Extraordinary Things
By: Brian Burke
Read this if you want to learn about how to tap into the darker side of designs, where it can be used to
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Even if the concept of "Gamification" is borrowed from
games and made to fit other products, it provides a clear introduction to how gamification can be used in all areas of design.
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Level: Beginner
More Advanced books
For deeper learnings and more advanced concepts
The Gamer's Brain
How Neuroscience and UX Can Impact Video Game Design
By: Celia Hodent
Basically, this is the large version of 'The Psychology of Video Games', which goes more in-depth into each topic and study. It reads quite academic, so it is more of a slow and heavy read imo.
Level: Advanced
Non-game specific design books
Actionable Gamification
Beyond Points, Badges and Leaderboards
By: Yu-Kai Chou
Why do some apps, workplaces, and experiences hook people while others fail? Actionable Gamification reveals how you can design experiences that motivate, engage, and drive real results.
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This book is interesting for game UX design because it gives a structure to Gamification and what drives people to use a product or play a game.
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Level: Advanced
Hooked
How to Build Habit-Forming Products
By: Nir Eyal
Read this if you want to learn about how to tap into the darker side of designs, where it can be used to
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This applies to games too, because we all know how addictive games can become.
Level: Advanced
Don't Make Me Think
By: Steve Krug
On the importance of designing products (and games) to make them easy to use and understand. Don't make people think too hard to understand what your design means and what they should do.
The examples used are for Mobile and Web designs, but the fundamentals and design thinking still apply to game UX design too.
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Level: Advanced
