RaftCraft

I just finished this book on game design (warning - greedy affiliate link gives me money which I will spend on ice cream):

I think it deserves its high rating on Amazon. Some of it is kind of stating the obvious, but I like that it's so comprehensive. In particular the chapters on balancing gameplay, player interest curves and character design are full of things to think about. This is not a technical book, but there are plenty of other more specific books and websites about technical game-making. The book builds up 100 "lenses" which are basically just condensed guidelines to consider when you get stuck or need some inspiration. My only complaint is that the business advice is not that relevant to indies, who can't get away with selling games in stores for $50. I would like to see an updated version that talks about mobile app stores driving prices down, the saturated indie market, and the effect of Steam Summer Sales and the Humble Bundle. Recommended!