ABSTRACT

This book is a way of sharing insights empirically gathered, over decades of interactive media development, by the author and other children’s designers. Included is as much emerging theory as possible in order to provide background for practical and technical aspects of design while still keeping the information accessible. The author's intent for this book is not to create an academic treatise but to furnish an insightful and practical manual for the next generation of children’s interactive media and game designers.

 

Key Features

  • Provides practical detailing of how children's developmental needs and capabilities translate to specific design elements of a piece of media
  • Serves as an invaluable reference for anyone who is designing interactive games for children (or adults)
  • Detailed discussions of how children learn and how they play
  • Provides lots of examples and design tips on how to design content that will be appealing and effective for various age ranges
  • Accessible approach, based on years of successful creative business experience, covers basics across the gamut from developmental needs and learning theories to formats, colors, and sounds

part 1|2 pages

Sparking Interactive Magic

chapter Chapter 1|17 pages

The Power of Play

chapter Chapter 2|9 pages

Creating Invitations to Play

chapter Chapter 3|20 pages

Maintaining Engagement

part 2|1 pages

Engaging the Senses

chapter Chapter 4|13 pages

Old Brainsin a Modern World:

How Inherited Hardwiring Affects Our Perception of Media

chapter Chapter 5|15 pages

Seeing is Believing: Visual Perception

chapter Chapter 6|18 pages

Seeing is Believing: Art and Animation

chapter Chapter 7|13 pages

The Magic of Audio: How We Hear

chapter Chapter 8|18 pages

The Magic of Audio: Designing Soundscapes for Kids

part 3|15 pages

Knowing Your Audience

chapter Chapter 9|14 pages

How Kids Learn

chapter Chapter 10|31 pages

Ages and Stages: Why Kids Do What They Do

part 4|18 pages

Creating Digital Playgrounds

chapter Chapter 12|17 pages

Interface

chapter Chapter 13|12 pages

The User Relationship

chapter Chapter 14|17 pages

Characters, Avatars, and Agents

chapter Chapter 15|16 pages

Supporting Play Patterns

chapter Chapter 16|16 pages

Community and Virtual Worlds

part 5|1 pages

Enhancing the Design Process

chapter Chapter 17|22 pages

Predesign Considerations

chapter Chapter 18|11 pages

The Design Process

chapter Chapter 19|9 pages

The Production Process

chapter Chapter 20|15 pages

Testing with Kids

part 6|1 pages

Case Studies

chapter Chapter 21|6 pages

Case Study: Club Penguin

chapter Chapter 22|8 pages

Case Study: Noodle Words