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
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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
chapter Chapter 7|3 pages
Competitive Analysis and Identifying Market Opportunities
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