Game Design Documents 1 Design Documentation Stages n

Game Design Documents 1

Design Documentation Stages n High Concept n n Treatment n n Game feasibility, funding, relevance, interest Pitch document/proposal; concept details Design specification/production document n All details. Needed for production 2

High Concept 1. Game Analysis An overview of the game - an introduction - what is the game (i. e. , Legoland Games - a 10 event Olympic style competition). 1. 1 Game Concept Two to three sentences clearly stating the concept of the game 1. 2 Game Goals Three to five goals of the game – all future decisions will be measured against these goals. 1. 3 Game Information Genre, type, style, etc. 3

High Concept 1. 4 License/Brand Analysis Treatment of license or brand elements in the game. How they relate to the overall intent of the game? 1. 5 Target Audience Who the game is aimed for? 1. 6 Competitor’s Analysis Brief analysis of the competition. Statement of differentiation. 4

High Concept 2 Game Design 2. 1 Expanded Game Concept Two to three paragraphs - explain the game concept in slightly more detail. 2. 2 Game Structure Modes, levels, etc. 2. 3 Gameplay Two to three sentences defining core gameplay 2. 4 Expanded Gameplay Walkthrough of game play experience - two to three paragraphs. 5

Game Treatment Show off your idea in the best possible light 10 to 30 pages Fill in a few of the gaps and answer some of the questions left by the high-concept 6

Game Treatment Title Page – Title , tagline. Author’s name, date, copyright or confidentiality information. Must be attractive and fun. Include a big color picture. 7

Game Treatment Executive Summary – one-page bulleted list of the most important things to know about the game. Copies all the best points from later in the document onto the first page. Can/should duplicate stuff found elsewhere that’s 8

Game Treatment Game Overview – First major section, consisting of: High Concept Genre Hooks License Game. Play Highlights Online Highlights Technology highlights Art and sound Hardware 9

Game Treatment Production Details – Current Status Team Budget Schedule 10

Game Treatment Competition – A publisher will want to know what other games this product will be going up against in the marketplace, and how to position yours to beat them. 12 to 24 months in the future For each competing product, list its name, who makes it, what machine it’s for, and when it’s expected to ship, along with a summary of its key features. Indicate what will make your game different from it and, above all, better. 11

Game Treatment Game World – Background material that draws the reader deeper into your world. Backstory – what happened previously to create the conflict seen in the game story. Objective – what do you do to complete the game? Characters – list them and their nature. Powers/skills. Mission/Progression – the narrative arc 12

Design Document n More formal and complete than game treatment n n What does the player do? What is the interface? What is the plot? Level Details n n n What are the levels? Who are the characters? How do characters interact? 13

Design Document Content n Game Overview n n Plotline detail n n More detailed revision of game treatment List player goals and achievements and work backwards Story outlines for each game section 14

Outlining Your Game n Describe universal elements- common features to every part of the game n n n scoring rules names special powers anything else? Details of every scene or game level n n n Name for scene Resource details Physical and audio appearance 15

Outlining Your Game n Details of every scene (continued). n n n n Background or playfield Foreground objects and characters Animations present for the scenes Music and sound effects Script for characters Scenes and transitions Flow charts for story branches Miscellaneous elements (credits, saving games, setup, etc. 16

Game Design Document Sections n n n n Table of Contents Introduction/Overview Game Mechanisms Artificial Intelligence Game Elements Story Overview Game Progression Bibliography 17

Product Specification n n n Who is the production team? Target audience Gameplay Shelf-life? Production tools Schedule with milestones and deliverables 18

Game Specification n What is it like to play the game? Interface mock-up Story-line summary n n n Major: final accomplishments Minor: intermediate tasks Storyboards n Prototype artwork and screen sequences 19

Game Specification n Character bibles n n Flowcharting n n Profiles and biographies for each character What are the decision points and scene transitions? Scripts n What happens in each scene and during each level? 20

Storyboarding n n n Story outline Draw 6 -12 scenes from game and assemble them like a comic strip Add some notes to each sketch describing the action, artwork, sounds 21

Detail Questions n n n n What can characters do (fly, jump, invisible)? How many enemies does hero fight? What weapons are available? How does the player get rejuvenated? Multi-player stuff? Game perspective (side, tops, 3 D, first person)? What kind of sound track? What about main character’s personality? 22

Level Outline n n n Name of section, level, or scene Physical or audio appearance Foreground objects and characters n n n Actions? Animation? Sound effects? Character scripts Transitions 23

Character Bible n n Journal in which the designer writes a profile and biography for characters used in the script Script may not be linear, so hypertext technology may need to be used to maintain continuity 24

Good Design Documents n n n State the goals of the game explicitly Make the document itself readable Give priorities to ideas so that team members know what is important and what may be rejected List all details (e. g. behavioral model) Describe how you will do things 25

Why Use Prototypes? n n n Minimize risk of starting over from scratch Involve client in development process early Prototypes can function as an animated storyboard 26

Prototypes Answer Questions n n What will the finished product look like? What do we need to do? Can we produce the product at all? Can we attract a publisher? 27

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Typical Game Sections 1. Game startup n n 2. 3. 4. Initialize variables Set up data structures Allocate memory Load graphics and sound files Game enters main loop or exits to OS User is prompted for input User input retrieve 29

Game Sections - 2 5. 6. 7. Game state updated based on user’s last input Based on last player action AI is applied, collisions processed, objects move Once player logic processing is complete, background animation performed, music, sound effects, and housekeeping performed 30

Game Sections - 3 Current animation frame is rendered (drawn to virtual buffer) Program displays frame by copying buffer to screen Frame display rate locked to 30 fps Exit section (game over) 8. 9. 10. 11. n n n Release resources Restore system settings Exit to OS 31