No I meant MacRumours search, as some people here seem to be iffy about people not using it.
The world of game design is far larger than MacRumors search. What else have you tried?
Have you tried designing a simple game? If so, what? If not, why not?
You don't have to create a full-scale blockbuster production. Something as simple as a target shooting game would do. Start with stationary targets and no windage or bullet drop. Then add windage. Or make the targets move. Read about other games that have shooting targets as a fundamental element (Duck Hunt, Space Invaders, etc.). Search Wikipedia. You can find lots of stuff by looking closely at older games written when the technology was much simpler, so the games were necessarily simpler, too. That meant the game-play itself had to be more engaging, because you couldn't count on whiz-bang special effects to get players immersed.
How about breaking down an existing game into it's component elements? If you want to understand how to make something, it can't hurt to start by taking it apart.
Thats just the thing, there a umpti millions of books, you need advice to find the good ones.
Step 1 would be to read the book reviews on Amazon.com. The search results have a number that shows how many reviews there are for a given book. A 5-star rating with 2 reviews is much less impressive than a 4-star rating with 47 reviews.
Step 2 might be to try the search terms
game design instead of
game programming, and see if any other things come up.
I cant exactly just stroll into my nearest Amazon outlet and browse at some.
You could, but reading the book reviews on Amazon.com first might be a better starting point. Then you'd stroll into a bookstore with a prioritized list of what books to look at more closely. You should still look at any other related books they have on hand, because you never know what you'll see until you look.
Then visit your public library, because they may have books you can borrow, even if the subject isn't game design. Game design is a lot more than programming. It has elements of psychology, theatre, narrative, and visual arts, in addition to the programming and math.
It sounds like you're expecting someone else to hand you a fully formed answer, arranged as a complete course of study from basic to intermediate to advanced game design. Or you're at least expecting someone else to hand you a list of books, tutorials, or other resources arranged in sequential order. I don't think that's reasonable, mainly because game design isn't that formalized. If learning it means that much to you, then do your homework. Or more to the point, start your own course of independent study, which means your first task is almost certainly going to be evaluating existing books and other resources in the field. You should also look at online courses, or even university courses, and see what order they have for studies, and what subjects.
If I were teaching a game design course, one of the things I'd do is have the students do a homework assignment of evaluating and summarizing 5 books in the field based on reading reviews and collecting general opinions from various sources. Be prepared to discuss in class next week.
I'd probably make that assignment due after having the students break down one game (or part of one game) into its component elements, and describe why those things work together to make a good (or bad) game element, within the context of the overall game play.