Field
Manual

Area Denial’s takes, tastes, and principles on game design. Learned from thirteen years designing and delivering League of Legends, Call of Duty, Apex Legends, and more.

Section

00

Preface

Players learn what you value from your systems, not your words. The argument for everything that follows.

  1. 00.01Every system is a statement
  2. 00.02Players hear everything
  3. 00.03One discipline, seven timescales↳Timescale Ruler

Section

01

Game Design

Seven chapters, ordered by timescale, from the first frame to the fifth year.

  1. 01.01Game Feelthe first 33 milliseconds↳Juice Dial
  2. 01.02Game UXthe session↳Eight UX Laws
  3. 01.03Onboardingthe first hours↳Three Hits Funnel
  4. 01.04Competitive Systemsthe season↳Two Numbers Machine
  5. 01.05Metagamethe account↳Match Record Fanout
  6. 01.06Social Systemsthe community↳Scoreboard Machine
  7. 01.07Live Opsthe years↳Reversal Timeline

Section

02

Design Vision

A template for taking a game from blank page to first playable: teardowns, razors, and the Inside-Out Model for deciding what to build first, next, and later.

  1. 02.01Name the crossroads, make one bet
  2. 02.02Dig in the crates
  3. 02.03Razors, not pillars
  4. 02.04The Inside-Out Model↳Inside-Out Model
  5. 02.05Hit the gym
  6. 02.06Deep dive the scariest system

Section

03

Getting Unstuck

Twenty-one ways to get unstuck: beginning, progressing, and finishing a design.

  1. 03.01Beginningseven cards for when you can’t start↳Jumpstart Deck
  2. 03.02Progressingseven for when the middle goes soft
  3. 03.03Finishingseven for getting it out the door

Patch notes

  • v1.0·2026-06-11·First published.
  • v1.1·2026-06-12·Added Part Two: Design Vision. Added imagery.
  • v1.2·2026-06-13·Improved UI. Audiobook edition.
  • v1.3·2026-06-14·Added deep links to interactive experiments. Added paperback option.
  • v1.4·2026-07-16·Re-narrated the audiobook in the author's voice. Streamlined the player and masthead.
  • v1.5·2026-10-19·Retired the paperback. The book stays free to read online and to listen to.