Table Of Content
They effectively convey core ideas and information in a compact format. On the other hand, for smaller projects or uncomplicated games with direct mechanics, a GDD may not be necessary. Input from the entire design team is essential to ensure the cohesiveness of the document.
Ok…I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’M DOING!
Map out the ideal path you want the player to take and what you want them to encounter along the way. A great game level can make your players feel immensely excited and fully engaged in your game. From the level map, milestones, powerups, and obstacles they encounter along the way, every detail is planned during level design.
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Whereas game levels are usually clearest when using a map, as this provides a high-level understanding of how the layout is going to work, even though it’s from a point of view that the player will probably never see. While writing down your game’s design can be useful, a written document can only really be understood in one way, word after word, chapter after chapter. Your design document might do one of these things or it might do all of them but, what’s important is that you understand what information your design document is supposed to provide and who it’s going to provide it to.
Mechanics
If your game will have dedicated level designers, be sure to have them help with this section. Like the Story section, the Art and Sound section is usually an overview or summary of the general direction. If your project has artists, game music composers, and sound designers, then those groups will do most of the heavy lifting by writing more detailed, specialized documents for their own areas. But this section of the GDD can be great to kick off early discussions, and to summarize the larger documents from other groups as they’re developed.
However, while long written documents, that describe every detail of your game, may be considered old-fashioned, at some point, you are going need to communicate your game’s details and ideas to another person. Concept arts are used to inspire the team to create the assets to be used in development. They depict characters, locations, objects, and everything else you see in-game.
Exactly which format you should use for your design document depends on what you’re trying to show. There are a lot of different ways to show information and, a lot of the time, different types of data can be easier to understand and easier to work with when it’s presented in a particular way. As a result, using one-page designs can help you to communicate your ideas more easily, in a better way and, when you do, people are much more likely to actually read them.
Put simply, the process of documenting your design can be an important part of the design process itself. Put simply, it’s the tool that you’ll use to manage and develop the concept of what your game is, how it’s supposed to work and how it will be built. Mention in particular how they figure into the game itself, and the way the player will perceive them initially vs. once they get to know them. A proper User Interface should be clear, easily accessible, and in sync with the chosen art style.
How to write a Game Design Document in 2024 - Game Developer
How to write a Game Design Document in 2024.
Posted: Tue, 15 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Untested ideas, unless you really know that they’re going to work in the way that you expect, will often change as soon as you start to build them or as soon as people try them for the first time. Or maybe you want to use the GDD as a kind of concept document, where the general style and feel of each level is set out, but isn’t specifically described. For example, if you need to keep track of the game’s narrative, keeping a reference to your game’s characters and how the story will unfold can be useful as you develop it.
But this kind of estimation puts limits on the rest of the design, and there should be discussions with the development team to check its feasibility. A project overview is just that, an outline of the most important and deciding factors of your game. The project title, the elevator is the only mandatory section of the project overview, but a better one will include more detail such as budget and time estimation. The game overview section offers a high-level summary of the game’s core features and objectives. Danielle is the editor-in-chief of Game Developer, with previous editorial posts at Fanbyte, VICE, and Polygon.
As a result, they start making multiple mistakes and need clarification on their duties and workflow. To help you get rid of this, here’s a helpful design document example you can refer to while working on your own. In this part, you provide designers and artists with instructions and detailed guidelines on what kind of art you want to see in the game. Of course, you should also leave room for creativity and make sure your team’s vision aligns with your expectations. Emphasize what mood and emotions you’re looking at as well — this shouldn’t be just a strict list of requirements.
Rather than doing away with GDDs altogether, the documentation process can be adapted to support the creative, iterative, and collaborative process of game development. Most people who are interested in creating game design docs are new to the industry. That said, you should mention the characters and describe the relationship between them, the game’s setting, and how the story affects the gameplay. Make it brief yet informative — don’t forget the overall document length.
With each part of the plot, it should be obvious how it will be presented in the game itself. After brainstorming sessions with the artists, they need to bring those abstract concepts to life for the first time. These are not the kind of art that you will directly use in your game. These include the main protagonist and supporting characters, villains, NPC, and enemy types.
You must constantly update and adjust it, adding new relevant ideas and solutions. You’ll get to finalize it once you gather enough information about the game — it usually happens after pre-production. This section could also mention any third-party software, plugins, or middleware that your game will use. Examples might include physics engines, AI systems, UI systems, or audio tools.
Unlike the first two sections, which are relatively static, this section is likely to undergo fundamental changes over the course of your game design process. The outline is highly elaborate, mentioning every question you might have regarding the project, its mechanics, art style, genre, and other aspects. And yes, the game design document template can look like this, as there are no strict regulations on arranging and formatting one.
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