Table Of Content
Start by outlining the core gameplay loop — what players will be doing repeatedly throughout the game. Describe the unique mechanics and gameplay features that set your game apart, and explain how they contribute to the overall experience. Instead, try to think of the one-page approach, and game design documents in general, as an exercise in communication.
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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]
This will help your team get started obtaining and (if necessary) learning the tools, and will help your producer start to understand licensing requirements and costs. For the sound section, share your thoughts about the game’s musical style, and any specific themes or motifs you want to incorporate. You can also include high-level thoughts on sound effects, especially any unique sounds for specific actions or events in the game. But if you’re starting fresh and aren’t yet sure what you need to include, here are some of the most common sections to write first. Feel free to pick and choose whichever sections make sense (or don’t make sense) for your unique game. Team members can check the GDD whenever they have questions about the design, instead of having to ask the game designer.
Page 6: Project Status Report
These key concepts, or pillars, are driving forces which we use to help us select the best trade-offs for our unique vision when two equally viable paths present themselves. You need to understand that in the end of the day, game design is a maker’s craft, which means studios want to see what you’ve made, so they understand how do you make your design decisions. If you're ready to jump into your game's production, or want to better organize something you're already working on, feel free to grab my GDD template using the link below, or by clicking here. Comparable games are games you can use as a reference point when describing certain parts of your game. That can be a good thing, in the sense that familiar experiences are easier to jump into than totally alien ones.
Rule #2: Start with one concise sentence
With that in mind, start with the basics – or use this 1-pager game design document template to save time. Luckily, in my two decades of working as a game designer, I’ve only made the mistake of a massive game design document once and I want to emphasize this point so you don’t waste your time and energy making something obsolete. If you’ve ever worked on a game before, you’ll realize how little game design documents matter compare to your ability to rapid prototype and iterate.
Communication with your team members is at the heart of being a great game designer. And today, your team is smarter, more technically capable and less patient than ever. Yes, building a game engine or complex game elements takes sophisticated technical experience and careful planning. But game development is also a creative endeavor, one that benefits from a flexible, adjust-as-you-go approach.
Various Formats for Game Design Documents
And after you have finished your game, your GDD will stand as a testament to all of your hard work. Large and overly detailed game design documents generally require a lot of upfront work, are almost always out of date and can be restrictive, particularly if the design of your game is likely to change over time. Conversely, game design wikis offer a more flexible and collaborative approach to game design documentation. They allow multiple individuals to access and modify shared information, thereby supporting the development and upkeep of a GDD through collective contribution and revisions. An ideal tool for writing a game design document is open, collaborative, and most importantly visual. Nuclino aims to be such a tool – create a free account to get started.
Authorship and Maintenance of the GDD
So, if you’ve never built a game before, then doing any GDDs outside of helping you organize the games you’re actually building is a huge waste of time. It covers all the sections in this guide, and also includes instructional starter content for every section - including accessibility. Feel free to use it in your studio, for your game, or in your classroom. At the time of publishing this guide, I've not yet seen any GDD article, guide, or template that explicitly calls out accessibility. With many studios seeing accessibility as a "tax" to pay at the end of production, this is honestly no surprise.
In the Story section, you’ll outline your game’s narrative, characters, and settings. Start with a short overview of the plot, calling out the main story beats, and any branching paths or player choices that would impact the narrative. Do note that veteran game designers discourage their peers from blindly copying other GDD formats. Make sure that the document itself is specific to your project and the most important ideas you need to communicate amongst your team. Fortunately, many game developers have shared their game design documents online.
[STUDIO] Blizzard Entertainment: Content, mechanics, and systems designer
However, whatever your research, should give you insight into your target audience. This information will help you to tailor your design according to the players’ needs. A very short description of what your game is about that has to immediately grab the attention of the reader. Make it as short and as exciting as possible because you often have to pitch it to a manager or sponsor with a very tight schedule.
Before that, I advanced my expertise in engineering, management, traffic marketing, and analytics working for large game development studios with a $1M+ monthly income. With a clear vision of how game development should work, I run Whimsy Games, being responsible for the marketing and sales of our products and services. Here, you’ll need to mention plot-related aspects that somehow affect the characters and their storyline. Think of each character’s lore, skills, strengths and weaknesses, and personality.
How to Write a Game Design Document - Game Developer
How to Write a Game Design Document.
Posted: Fri, 10 Sep 2021 11:30:56 GMT [source]
Nuclino also comes with an AI-powered assistant called Sidekick that can help game designers with various aspects of the creative process. Exactly how you secure an agreement with a publisher is beyond the scope of this article and I’m not going to pretend that it’s as simple as only writing a marketing focussed game design document. Whether you’re a game designer or not, it helps the development team a lot to be able to check out a few fully finished games to guide their own direction and fill in the possible gaps in the design. A GDD is necessary to organize the game development process and establish a shared understanding among team members. To create a design document, you should prepare distinct sections, consider access requirements, and provide visual examples. Additionally, include a project overview, product requirements, and deliverables in the document.
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