The Art of Game Design: A Deck of Lenses, Second Edition

What Jesse does with this book is ask important questions that are pertinent to nearly every game. The other thing he does is create a clear and concise vocabulary for those elements of a game that maybe intuitive to us as designers, but perhaps is not articulated that well in our own minds. This clear vocabulary is empowering, as it enables a designer to more easily think about the elements of their game, and in addition, to add to the foundation that Jesse has already put together. We as game designers are thus able to leap-frog far ahead in terms of how we think about our games. An excellent book by an obviously very thoughtful and intelligent person.

I was just reading through them when I first got it and it already had an effect on clarifying my image of how I'm going to design and build my game. So I would say it's worth it. No I don't have the book, it's not necessary if you're not into heavy educational books which I'm not.

We used these for a creative (non-game) brainstorming session; I'm a huge fan of Jesse Schell's book and have used it on game design projects, but wanted to see how they would stack up outside of the games context. They were awesome. Some less relevant than others, but even thinking about heroes and villains in a product design scenario is a really helpful creative exercise. There are some lenses which unlocked truly insightful commentary and discussion. Recommended for software/design professionals as well as those in games.

I tried to explain why I wanted this product to my wife. She asked me why I'd want it if I already have the book. I said it was a handy reference and summary. She asked why I didn't just make note cards. I stammered something about pretty pictures. Ultimately, I just want these because they are more fun than note cards and the pictures are, indeed, pretty. I will say that some of the reviews here made me fear that these would be paper thin, and they're not. They're not as sturdy playing cards, but you're not going to play games with these... are you? For reference, they're about the thickness of the cover of a paper back book.

A great tool for checklist of elements and find some other issues, is not absolute, and depends more of the way of use, team and school of knowledge, frameworks one uses, but is it indeed effective, especially on Gamified Designs. About quality & art, is at the level one will expect, is a tool that in fact will give you some relaxing time on the desk admiring them arranging when you're trying to find a problem or optimize a design.

I enjoyed Jesse's book and looked forward to this deck of cards. They contain the exact same questions from the lenses in the book and they have lovely artwork, that occasionally reminded me of the Magic: The Gathering trading card game. I just have three complaints that make me give it 4 stars instead of 5: 1) The cards are much bigger than regular playing cards. There's a lot of text on some of them, but I would've preferred to have regular-sized cards. This deck isn't as convenient to carry as a normal deck of cards. 2) The cards don't feel like playing cards. They are a bit flimsy and it's still a pretty thick deck. Once again, I'd prefer regular-sized cards even if that meant that they would've been seperated in two decks. 3) The box is firm and durable, I guess, but the finishing isn't very good. It feels like it's something that's been put together manually. That said, I would still recommended the deck. As a creative or evaluative tool it's excellent.

To be fair I'm not a game designer - I'm a game artificial intelligence programmer, but the "Deck of Lenses" is the one game design tool that I make sure to always have at my desk. Not only is this deck (as well as the Book of Lenses) a fantastic tool for game design... but a fantastic tool for any type of abstract design. Whenever I have some downtime I flip through this deck and always leave with plenty to think about - not just in terms of game design, but in terms of AI design and problem solving in general.

This is a fantastic way to quickly look through the different lenses and get a different perspective on your game quickly without having to flip through the book. Great to keep on your desk and flip through while idle and looking for some inspiration. Each card has a surprising amount of information on it, and is surprisingly easy to grasp even if you haven't read the accompanying section in the book.

As a lecturer and a lead designer in a studio I find Jesse Schell's work as an invaluable tool for both education and practical design purposes. These cards are great in both settings, the tactility of them beats the app version and open up more possibilities in shaping your design. The content itself is great and works as a shortcut in helping to improve your game and get you thinking about design in new ways. Thank you, Jesse for creating these cards and for all your work in the field, I'll always recommend these to any students and new designers I come across.

The cards came out right, I really like the card content, especially the design since it resembles a tarot card.

Great Product! Great Delivery! Very proactive seller, constantly valuing customer satisfaction.