Quickstart Guide to Game Design

Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

I have read a lot of books on this subject and this is the clearest.

I have been working with game development for a few years now and I still found plenty here that was new to me. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.