The Game Development Strategy Guide: Crafting Modern Video Games That Thrive

Some of today’s most popular video games have been on the market for decades, while others barely make it days before disappearing forever. What differentiates the games that survive? This expansive look at modern video game development gives you an end-to-end, cross-disciplinary understanding of the people, processes, and core design principles you’ll need to create video games that thrive. 

Who Should Read This Book

This book is for anyone and everyone interested in working on and creating games, including:

• Aspiring game developers of any discipline.
• Veteran game developers looking to reframe their understanding of game development to account for modern trends and standards.
• Creative leaders who need to build and support environments where great video games are created.
• Game designers trying to improve their understanding of the business considerations that have felled so many recent games.
• User experience designers looking to understand, define, and expand their impact in the broader video game market.
• Producers struggling with the choice of business model or monetization choices for their games.
• Partners to video game developers like legal counsel, business development, venture capitalists, marketing, licensing, and human relations.

You’ll learn…

• A standard for basic game design principles.
• Foundational science and the art of universal player motivation, critical to informing decisions about the game.
• The modern gaming business, including live-service games.
• The roles that people and companies play in the game development process.
• A common language for game development techniques.
• How to achieve creative ideation and learn prioritization techniques.
• More advanced design topics to help games thrive over time.
• How to design games that encourage positive social experiences.
• Modern video gaming monetization techniques.
• To recognize common ethical and legal issues.
• About key video games hardware, software, engines, and platforms.
• What works and what doesn’t in gaming—showing common patterns in the industry and design struggles.
• Insights that will apply to teams and games of any size—from indie games to mega games

Cheryl Platz is a world-renowned designer, creative director, teacher, and author whose work on emerging technologies has reached over one billion customers across multiple industries, from best-selling video games to the largest cloud platforms in the world. Past employers include Griptonite Games (Disney Friends), Electronic Arts/Maxis (The Sims franchise), Riot Games (League of Legends, VALORANT, Arcane), Scopely (MARVEL Strike Force), Microsoft (Azure, Cortana), Amazon (Alexa, Echo Look, Echo Show), Disney Parks (PhotoPass), the Gates Foundation, and MAYA Design.

In 2024, Cheryl joined The Pokémon Company International as Creative Director, Game Studio, with an initial focus on Pokémon TCG Live. Cheryl’s first book, Design Beyond Devices: Creating Multimodal, Cross-Device Experiences was published by Rosenfeld Media in 2020.

As a video game director, designer, writer, producer, or voice talent, Cheryl has contributed to or supported shipped titles including The Sims: Makin’ Magic (PC), The Sims 2 (PC, DS), The Sims Bustin’ Out (GBA/Console), The Urbz: Sims in the City (GBA/DS), Disney Friends (DS), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (GBA), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (GBA/DS), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (DS), BATTLETECH (2018, PC), League of Legends (PC), Teamfight Tactics (PC/Mobile), VALORANT (PC), MARVEL Strike Force (Mobile), and most recently Pokémon TCG Live (PC/Mobile). Her popular Game Dev Diaries TikTok series was viewed hundreds of thousands of times with over 30,000 followers at @theCherylPlatz.

As principal and owner of design education company Ideaplatz, LLC, Cheryl has presented her sought-after talks and workshops to global audiences in over 15 countries and five continents.

Cheryl holds a B.S. in Computer Science and Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University and is an adjunct faculty member of Carnegie Mellon’s Master of Entertainment Industry Management program at Heinz College where she teaches the craft of video games. You can find her on Bluesky and Instagram at @funnygodmother, follow her on Medium or LinkedIn, or learn more about all of her work at http://cherylplatz.com.