The website’s name, Fun Mines, is a term that is occasionally (and sardonically) used by video game developers to describe their work. Creating a great game can be deeply satisfying, but the enjoyment it offers is a very different in nature than the enjoyment and diversion that can be had by playing a great game. So if you are new to game development, be forewarned that entering the “fun mines” to create engaging games is going to be difficult (and sometimes frustrating) work.
This is the companion website to Learning Video Game Design on the Tabletop
The book and website’s author is Ethan Ham. He has eleven years’ experience in the computer game & media industry as a game designer, programmer, and producer. Ethan has helped develop games that have garnered numerous awards including E3 Game Critics’ “Best Simulation Game,” the Academy of Interactive Arts & Science’s “Best Massively Multiplayer Game,” and Game Industry News’s “Online Game of the Year.” In addition to his ongoing work developing and writing about games, Ethan is a Professor of Game Design & Development in the Department of nteractive Media at Bradley University where he is the Interim Dean for the Slane College of Communications & Fine Arts. The university’s undergraduate game degree programs are ranked #18 and its graduate game program is ranked #21 in the nation by the Princeton Review.
The contents of Ethan’s game cabinet can be seen on BoardGameGeek.