Bernie DeKoven
| Bernie De Koven | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Bernard Louis De Koven October 15, 1941 Appleton, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Pen name | Major Fun, General Fun |
| Occupation | Game designer, writer, humorist, fun theorist |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | Villanova University |
| Period | 1967-present |
| Notable works | The Well Played Game |
| Notable awards | 1967 Rockefeller Fellowship (playwriting) 2006 Iffil-Raynolds award |
| Spouse | Rosanne "Rocky" Friedlander (m. 1966) |
| Children | Shael, Elyon Avram Micah |
| Website | |
| www |
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Bernard Louis "Bernie" De Koven or DeKoven (born October 15, 1941) is an American game designer, author, lecturer and fun theorist. He is most notable for his book The Well Played Game, for his contributions to the New Games Foundation, his pioneering work in computer game design, and for his long-running web site, deepFUN.com.
In 1968, De Koven began work on his Interplay Curriculum for the School District of Philadelphia. The curriculum was published in 1971, and a second edition printed in 1974.
In 1971, De Koven and his family established The Games Preserve, a retreat center for the study of games and play located in Eastern Pennsylvania.
In 1975, De Koven first became involved with the New Games Foundation.
In 1976, De Koven designed Playday on the Parkway for the city of Philadelphia - the culminating event in Philadelphia's Bicentennial celebration.
In 1978, De Koven authored The Well-Played Game, which BYTE later called "wonderful ... a must for prospective game designers". In 1982, BYTE's reviewer called his strategy game Ricochet (coauthored with Jeff Connelly and published by Automated Simulations) "easily the most original game I've seen this year ... a game-player's delight", and stated that it "expresses many of the ideals" of The Well-Played Game. That year De Koven was interviewed by InfoWorld magazine concerning the future of computer gaming; he accurately predicted the advent of games using motion control similar to the Kinect, as well as app store and related game distribution systems, stating that networking "will greatly increase the availability of games. Instead of having to buy each game, users will be able to download more and more complex games as networks become more popular."
Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, in their 2003 game design textbook Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, extensively reference De Koven's The Well-Played Game.
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