Noted game designer and theorist Raph Koster presented a recapitulation of his book “A Theory of Fun for Game Design” to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its publication. The talk was presented at the Game Developer’s Conference in Austin and is available online at the GDC Vault. Koster reviewed the content of the book from a historical perspective, and he described the book’s continuing relevance for today’s game designer. He elaborated on the relationships between games and learning, and he provided meaningful data from the cognitive neuroscience literature to support his theories. Even if you have read the book, it’s worth watching because Koster goes into depth about the deep thinkers that influenced him, and he addresses some of the concerns that have arisen since the book was first published.
