Me and my girlfriend are in the very first stages of creating a game, debating themes, design, etc. I have some basic knowledge of game design, but want to study the best I can so that, one day, we can bring our project to life in the best way possible. What are some of the best books I should read to learn more? What other methods can I use to learn more about this topic? Thanks in advance!
What are the best game design books?
Game Design Workshop: Designing, Prototyping, and Playtesting Games by Tracy Fullerton
A Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster
Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams On Game Design by Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams (duh)
More listed at http://sloperama.com/advice/lesson8.htm (did you try Googling "books on game design"?)
-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com
If you are looking for a book, I can recommend you "The Art of Game Design" by Jesse Schell. The author of this book worked at Disney before, is a professor for Game Design and has his own game studio "Schell Games", which developed "I Expect You To Die". This book might be more expensive compared to other books, but offers insights into game design. You learn also about other things like psychology, game business, agile software development and more.
I would also recommend the YouTube channel Extra Credits, they made a lot of videos about game design.