This book teaches game designers, aspiring game developers, and game design students how to take a digital game project from start to finish--from conceptualizing and designing to building, playtesting, and iterating--while avoiding the uncontrolled overwork known among developers as "crunch." Written by a legendary game designer, A Playful Production Process outlines a process that connects the creative aspects of game design with proven techniques for effective project management. The book outlines four project phases--ideation, preproduction, full production, and post-production--that give designers and developers the milestones they need to advance from the first glimmerings of an idea to a finished game.