THIS BOOK IS THE result of seven years of research and labor that grew out of my graduate school thesis on developing a game-based design method for architectural design. Through the development of this book I have had the support of a great many people who I will attempt to acknowledge here (sorry if I miss anyone).
I thank the staff at AK Peters/CRC Press for allowing me to develop this project for publication, especially Rick Adams and David Fausel. I thank my wonderful reviewers, Jeff Howard (who also got me in touch with the publisher) and Helen Stuckey, whose direction was of great benefit to the quality of this book. Also thanks to my wonderful interviewees—Greg Grimsby, Chris Pruett, Robin Rath, Gnarwal Studios’ Chris Weed and Joe Sklover and Eric Zimmerman—for offering their insight into their game and level design processes. Thanks also to the organizers of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) for sponsoring an event that allows game developers, writers, teachers, and students to meet and make valuable networking connections, some of which made this book possible. Thanks to the GDC associate program for being such a wonderful part of my life and allowing me to get to GDC in the first place.
I certainly would not have had the courage to pursue such a project were it not for the valuable opportunities to discuss the concepts in this book in several venues beforehand. For this I owe a great deal of gratitude to Christian Nutt at Gamasutra, who has helped me develop and publish several articles for that wonderful publication. I also thank the organizers of the East Coast Game Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) for allowing me to speak and properly “playtest” the information contained here.
Many thanks to my supportive colleagues in the Computer Game Design Program at George Mason University: Mary Bean, Greg Grimsby, Seth Hudson, Scott Martin, Matt Nolan, Chris Ondrus, Boris Willis, Chris Wren, and Stewart VanBuren. Thanks to Dorothy Green for her help with this and other projects, and the members of the D.C. chapter of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), especially Trey Reyher and Taro Omiya, who have been wonderful collaborators on many gaming endeavors. Thanks to the development team for my current project for their patience with me as I took time to write this. I certainly cannot forget the faculty of the Catholic University School of Architecture, who have supported my efforts since I began this journey.
Lastly, I thank my parents, without whose guidance I would not have become the person to conceive of a project like this, and my amazing wife, Clara, whose encouragement and support have allowed me to make this book something tangible.