Dedications Acknowledgements Social Media Contacts Additional books Foreword Chapter 1 Introduction 1. The goal of Game Design Deep Dive RPGs 2. The Breadth of RPG Design Chapter 2: The Tabletop Beginnings 1. Discussing Dungeons & Dragons 2. Examining Tabletop Design Chapter 3: The Foundation of CRPG Design 1. The Legacy of Ultima 2. Delving Into Dungeon Crawlers 3. Origins of Open World CRPGs 4.

The Success of the Elder Scrolls 5. The Retro Future of Fallout 6. Bioware's Redefining of CRPGs 7. Morality Trends 8. A Quick Collection of CRPGs Chapter 4: JRPG's Takeover of the Console Market 1. Dragons and Fantasy 2. The Golden Age of JRPGs 3. Pokémon's Pop Culture Dominance 4.

JRPG vs. CRPG Chapter 5: Basics of RPG Design 1. Abstracted vs. Reflex-Driven Gameplay 2. Class-based Design 3. What is RPG Progression 4. Asymmetrical Balance 5. Examining Equipment and Items 6.

Is Grinding Good? Chapter 6: Subgenres of RPGs 1. The Experimentation of RPG Design 2. Devilish Action RPGs 3. Strategy RPG 4. When RPGs got Massive 5. The Height of Immersive Sims 6. Creature Collectors Chapter 7: Modern RPG Design 1. The Blurring of CRPG/JRPGs 2.

Studying Soulslikes 3. RPG Action Games 4. RPG Maker and Indie Development 5. The Wonders of the Witcher 6. The Unique Indie RPGs of the 2010s 7. What Do RPGs Look Like Today? Chapter 8: Putting RPGs Everywhere 1. How and When Everything Became an RPG 2. The Impossible Balance Between Action and Abstraction 3.

The Mobile RPG Market Chapter 9: Advanced RPG Design 1. Understanding the Market for RPGs 2. Creating Choices Through Customization 3. Combat System Creation 4. Enemy and Encounter Design 5. Advanced RPG Progression 6. Basic Rules of RPG Balancing 7. To Break or Not to Break Your Design 8.

UI (and UX) by the Numbers 9. RPG World Design 10. A Primer on Subsystems 11. No Rules to the Rules Chapter 10: Conclusion 1. What Does "RPG" Mean Today? 2. Potential Trends 3. Wrapping Up.