Why do gamers sink countless hours of free time into playing video games? We could be doing anything else with our free time - knitting, learning Japanese, starting an insect collection, swimming the English Channel, etc. Why do we keep coming back to video games week after week? And, if we're perfectly honest with ourselves, why are they sometimes more fun than reality?The answer is ingenious design. Drawing ideas from fields as diverse as psychology, computer science, literature, sports, military science, and business, designers create fascinating worlds for players to engage with and escape into. The goal of this book is to have you learn from some of the best examples of indie game design, so that you can make compelling and entertaining games yourself. Seriously Fun takes six indie games and thoroughly deconstructs them into their component parts, laying out the ingredients that make them a blast to play. These games are:* Spelunky* Stardew Valley* Cook, Serve, Delicious!* FTL: Faster Than Light* Plague Inc: Evolved* Concrete JungleIn addition, this book analyzes the Fifteen Fun Factors of Video Game Design, and includes dozens of practical design tips distilled from the six games above. It also features an "Indiedex" that consists of each indie game referenced within (over 90 total) and a curated list of hidden gems.Please note that this is not a programming book - you won't find technical details here about how to code a video game from the ground up. However, it does contain high-level design advice that can help differentiate your game from the pack.Whether you are a seasoned game designer, an aspiring game designer, or simply a game enthusiast, this book is for you! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy.