ABSTRACT

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

part 1|59 pages

Game Design in a Nutshell

chapter Chapter 1|8 pages

What Is a Game?

chapter Chapter 2|5 pages

What Is Game Design?

chapter Chapter 3|14 pages

Game Design Documents

chapter Chapter 4|7 pages

Production

chapter Chapter 5|5 pages

Finding a Developer

chapter Chapter 6|11 pages

Game Business Models

part 2|78 pages

Understanding Kids

chapter Chapter 8|7 pages

Child Development Overview

chapter Chapter 9|8 pages

Babies and Toddlers (Ages 0–2)

chapter Chapter 10|14 pages

Preschoolers (3–5 Years)

chapter Chapter 11|12 pages

Early Elementary Kids (Ages 6–8)

chapter Chapter 12|4 pages

Tweens (Ages 9–12)

chapter Chapter 13|4 pages

Teens (Ages 13+)

chapter Chapter 14|5 pages

Public Perceptions of Games for Kids

chapter Chapter 15|20 pages

User Testing with Kids

part 3|102 pages

Game Design Guidelines

chapter Chapter 16|13 pages

Best Practices

chapter Chapter 18|8 pages

Making Educational and Commercial Games

chapter Chapter 20|10 pages

E-books and Interactive Stories

chapter Chapter 21|7 pages

Multiplayer and Cooperative Games

chapter Chapter 23|16 pages

Marketing for Kids and Families

chapter |4 pages

Conclusion: Making a Game