Rating: 
Summary: Fairly good - fairly dated though
Review: "This book is out of date" is all I could think of when I read it. Rightly or wrongly, it tries to draw fundamental conclusions about game design by focusing on what has gone before and the present day. Unfortunately, I'd set the book's present day as 1995 with a few updates thrown in. So, you get a fair bunch of interviews from game designers, who produced classic games but not much from real, contemporary (i.e., 2001) games designers - which is what I was more interested in.It's a good background book with some good opinions on what should be in a game and what shouldn't but the CD-ROM is a total waste of plastic though so don't expect much from it.
Rating: 
Summary: An Introduction and More to the World of Game Design
Review: A wonderful book, which has basically become my bible on what Game Designing really is. I am sure that anyone who buys this book will be pleased. First it starts out with a Introduction on what Game Designing is and then it continues with a wonderful chapter on what gamers want in their games. Well, after that there are these great interviews with the top game designers of today which just blew my mind away. And the list goes on...
Rating:
Summary: Excellent game design book plus more...
Review: As a beginning game programmer, this book perfectly fills in the
gap of (hopefully) making me into a better one. The author was wise enough to include interviews with respected
game designers to prevent the book from being too opinionated. The best thing about this book is the author's honesty about
why some of his games were flawed in the hopes that we learn
from them. The sample game design document is one of the best
I've seen. I've seen samples from the web that were either too
short (leaving it to the team to assume anything) or too long
(too detailed). Lastly, he doesn't comment on the 'business' of the game
industry (he pokes at them though). I think this was a wise
move. Who wants to read about project management, financial
forecasts, focus groups, marketing in a book about game
design? I don't think I'll be buying any more game design books until I
find one that can best this.
Rating:
Summary: A Decent Read With Some Interesting Content
Review: For the aspiring game designer I would rate this book as average. Of the 23 chapters, the ones I found the most interesting were the interviews with leading game designers (though I wish they were probed further in certain areas). The chapters on the analysis of games were mixed, some analysis were insightful others were just plain obvious. At least the author analized games from different genres, providing insight into different types of games (other authors tended to stick to what they knew best). The same design document is helpful, especially if you've never seen one before. But there are several examples of design documents available on the internet now. The included CD-ROM is just about useless, but some my find the software helpful. This is not the worst book out there on Game Design, though it's certainly not the very best. I would recommend perusing it in your local bookstore before committing to purchase it.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best That's Out There
Review: I work on video games professionally as a programmer, but I read a lot of books on design because that is the most challenging aspect of what we do. Technology is a solved problem; project management is getting there; that leaves the black hole of design. Of the books I've read, Richard Rouse's is the best. Where most books on game design treat you as if you have somehow landed in the position of creative director for a thirty man team -- and now you need help -- Rouse's book covers everything from level design in the trenches to the concept work of the lead designer. They say those who can't do, write, but Richard is an exception, with a few above average games in his ludography (and a flop or two, just like me). And when his knowledge isn't enough, he supplants it with interviews with the greats. Although it's true that some of the greats are no longer in the game, their advice is still valuable. (One thing that all of them agree on is the value of other people playtesting, whether it's Ed Logg field testing coin-op machines or Steve Meretzky looking at transcripts of people playing text adventures.) This book is also a survey of current trends in game design, from simulation to emergent strategy to meaningful choices. It provoked me to think deeper than I had before. So why only four stars? Yes, it is somewhat dated. Interviews with John Carmack, Warren Spector, and Jason Uyeda would be more relevant than the coin-op/PC game gurus presented here. Furthermore, I could have used less survey and more depth. Take emergent strategies, for example: he touches on this concept, says that It Is Good, but without really giving it the treatment it deserves: how does one create a game in which emergent strategies develop? What are the costs of such an approach to game design? Still, if you only read one book on game design, this should be it.
Rating:
Summary: The Best That's Out There
Review: I work on video games professionally as a programmer, but I read a lot of books on design because that is the most challenging aspect of what we do. Technology is a solved problem; project management is getting there; that leaves the black hole of design. Of the books I've read, Richard Rouse's is the best. Where most books on game design treat you as if you have somehow landed in the position of creative director for a thirty man team -- and now you need help -- Rouse's book covers everything from level design in the trenches to the concept work of the lead designer. They say those who can't do, write, but Richard is an exception, with a few above average games in his ludography (and a flop or two, just like me). And when his knowledge isn't enough, he supplants it with interviews with the greats. Although it's true that some of the greats are no longer in the game, their advice is still valuable. (One thing that all of them agree on is the value of other people playtesting, whether it's Ed Logg field testing coin-op machines or Steve Meretzky looking at transcripts of people playing text adventures.) This book is also a survey of current trends in game design, from simulation to emergent strategy to meaningful choices. It provoked me to think deeper than I had before. So why only four stars? Yes, it is somewhat dated. Interviews with John Carmack, Warren Spector, and Jason Uyeda would be more relevant than the coin-op/PC game gurus presented here. Furthermore, I could have used less survey and more depth. Take emergent strategies, for example: he touches on this concept, says that It Is Good, but without really giving it the treatment it deserves: how does one create a game in which emergent strategies develop? What are the costs of such an approach to game design? Still, if you only read one book on game design, this should be it.
Rating:
Summary: A great book on game theory for developers and laypeople
Review: The people below that are bashing on this book for not being technical or specific enough obviously didn't examine it very closely before they purchased it. The introduction clearly states that the book is about game theory--it's not intended to be a programming primer (as Mr. Rouse points out, there are already plenty of those available). And honestly, more developers should more consideration to the topics presented in this book before they dive into their projects, because while programming a game may not be an art, creating one certainly is. Most of the topics covered arer fairly timeless (the technology may have marched on, but the a lot of the design issues are pretty much the same today as they were five or ten years ago). The interviews are a good read even if you have absolutely no interest in getting into game design. Overall, I'd recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Must-have for game designers
Review: There are not many books on game design, as opposed to the relatively huge number of game programming and art books available out there. But game design is the most important discipline in terms of theory. Richard Rouse does a great job of putting together different design elements into this book. I was lucky enough to get the 2nd edition, which is more up-to-date and includes an analysis of games such as The Sims and Grand Theft Auto 3, along with classics such as Karateka and Centipede. It also includes great interviews with some of the most progressive designers in the industry's history.
If you're a game designer, and wish to learn more about your craft, there's no question about it - you must buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: The fundamentals, in a clean read.
Review: This book brings the very fundamentals of game design. I dont think its dated, because those are the things that every game will always have, period. A very good read, with very good examples and interviews. Rouse talks a lot about his own games, specially Centipede 3D, but I think it's natural. To make everything complete, Rouse could get deeper about the commercial side of game industry, with things like schedule pressure, getting fund and etc. The main objective is to teach how to design games, but this kind of information adds great value.
Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Effort
Review: This book is a pleasant surprise. The author modestly sets out to simply tell us what he knows of game design, and that, apparently, is a great deal.
Solid throughout and occasionally inspired, the book touches on a very wide array of subjects, and does so thoroughly and intelligently, offering many and useful practical suggestions.
The book's theory, as far as it exists, is coherent, though nothing revolutionary. This, however is its shortfall - a coherent and comprehensive theory of computer games has yet to be founded, and that is what the field is missing most and no book, including this one, has provided it this far.
Though concise and narrow, the book's six game analyses are excellent and illuminating. Would that computer game critical analysis of this quality were more common. If Mr. Rouse is reading this, I am willing to pay full price for a collection of your game analyses!
Avoiding the mistake that Adams and Rollings have made by erroneously proclaiming that all computer games are not art, the author goes to the other extreme with the too liberal statement that all computer games are art, falling short of the truth that SOME computer games CAN be art. At least he's in the right direction.
The author expresses an understandable yearning for a successful merging of a game and a story in a way that creates a truly interactive story - though in different words. Unfortunately, he does not provide a practical suggestion as to how to strive towards that goal.
That, perhaps, would have been the greatest contribution any book on the subject could make.
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