Designing Games for Children: Developmental, Usability, and Design Considerations for Making Games for Kids

by Carla Fisher

When making games for kids, it�s tempting to simply wing-it on the design. We were all children once, right? The reality is that adults are far removed from the cognitive changes and the motor skill challenges that are the hallmark of the developing child. Designing Games for Children, helps you understand these developmental needs of children and how to effectively apply them to games. Whether you�re a seasoned game designer, a children's media professional, or an instructor teaching the next generation of game designers, Designing Games for Children is the first book dedicated to service the specific needs of children's game designers. This is a hands-on manual of child psychology as it relates to game design and the common challenges designers face. Designing Games for Children is the definitive, comprehensive guide to making great games for kids, featuring: Guidelines and recommendations divided by the most common target audiences � babies and toddlers (0-2), preschoolers (3-5), early elementary students (6-8), and tweens (9-12). Approachable and actionable breakdown of child developmental psychology, including cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development, as it applies to game design Game design insights and guidelines for all aspects of game production, from ideation to marketing

276 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2014

Reviews

[Artù · Rating 4 out of 5]

Testo sintetico ma ben fatto.
Copre l’intero arco di progettazione di un gioco digitale per bambini, dall’ideazione alla commercializzazione.
Propone anche dei percorsi di approfondimento per chi ne voglia sapere di più.
Il cuore del libro sono una serie di accorgimenti, suggerimenti e linee guida da adottare per progettare efficacemente un gioco per bambini. Il punto focale è capire come i bambini crescono in fretta e come le loro capacità cognitive si sviluppano velocemente dai 3 anni sino ai 12 anni. Così un gioco che appassiona un bambino di tre può essere una passeggiata per un bambino di sette: scegliere accuratamente il target è cruciale.
Consigliato.

[Mizuna · Rating 5 out of 5]

For such a topic that rarely find a book about it, I liked how the author wholesome all in one book, it was straight forward with good information and some good ideas and how each section was given a good amount of it without extending too much of unnecessary words.
it's one full complete book.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good overview to make games for kids. This book does go through age appropriate learning skills but I did find the author focused more on games for little kids rather than older kids. Regardless, this was a good read, provided some really good tips and examples.

[Sasha Boersma · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the few perfectly summarized books for digital media/games. Anyone wanting to get into games for kids should read this book.

Nothing is in depth, but all the top-level "talking points" about finding developers/studios, business models, designing for the right age, variety of games discussed.

I would have liked more on the dynamics of collaborating with developers/interactive professionals as that can be tricky for many, but she does reference tension points in the relationship - ie, work for hire vs rev share.