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Playful Design is primarily written for designers of conventional software,
websites, mobile apps, and other computer-mediated user experiences
who are looking for novel approaches to creating compelling, satisfying,
and enjoyable designs. It’s well suited to anyone who specializes in
human-computer interaction, digital product strategy, interaction design,
information architecture, usability engineering, graphic design, application
development, or similar roles.
This book also is intended to be accessible to a broader audience of readers
who aren’t user experience (UX) practitioners, but who want to learn more
about how games can achieve great things in the real world. If this sounds like
you, then you might like to start by skipping ahead to Part III, where I survey a
variety of case studies, before circling back to the beginning of the book.
Game designers will find new ways to think about the impact they can have
on the world. Though much of the content in this book reviews practices and
design patterns with which you’re probably very familiar (especially in Part
II), I hope that the overall picture I draw will lead to fresh insights into your
work. I also invite you to explore how opening a relationship with the UX
design community can broaden the reach of games.
I do not assume that readers have a ton of experience playing video games,
although I believe you need to play a pretty good amount to design well for
them. It’s okay if you’re not the world’s biggest gamer, but maybe you can be
persuaded to get into what I believe is a very worthwhile use of your time.
If you do play games, then I think you’re going to have a lot of fun with this
book. You can consider the countless hours you’ve spent playing them to
have been study sessions, as all of your experience will help you to get more
out of every single chapter. You’re well prepared to reflect on the design of
games and their broader significance in everyday life. |