Leisure and Game Design

Game developer and writer, Chris Avellone (Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment, and Knights of the Old Republic II), had a guest spot as a blogger over at Game Tycoon. He wrote some stuff about researching in game design. I really enjoyed reading it and knowing that game design research can be done at a leisurely pace. Plus, I've picked up some tips that will help me a lot with my Neverwinter Nights 2 module design. Here is the excerpt that I really liked:

"...the best advice for “game” research - read a lot of history. It’s better than any fiction (and sometimes far more unbelievable), although you could argue whether or not it’s “fiction” depends on your perspective and who actually won. But in the depths of the history books is not only good settings and terminology to bring to games, but some of the craziest folks, events, and conflicts than you could imagine."

I agree as well, I've read the Sun Tzu, Mein Kampf, books about ancient civilizations, and some historical fiction, and all of them has given me plenty of ideas about my current module's setting, characters, government, and religion. In addition, it was also fun and educational.