Games GDD

Image from the first article

For this weeks task I had to read two articles and watch a video on game design document, GDD for short. The first article was from another lecturers website and it was called "Communication And Game Design Documents" where he described a game design document. The article tells us that game design documents have a bad reputation in the games industry. It also tells us that there are multiple myths about game design documents for example design documents are magical tools for designers to communicate their ideas to their team provided they are formatted properly and are using the right concept template which is incorrect as different games require different documents and it is very rare that one template will fit all your game requirements. It also mentions that design documents have two purposes, memory aid and communication tool. Memory aid is writing down your game ideas as you come up with them so you remember them later on in the development stage. Communication tool is creating a document that you can communicate with your team in order to develop more ideas. The article also breaks down different types of design documents. These types are:

Game design overview: A few pages documenting the big picture of the game.

Detailed design doc: Describing the games mechanics and interfaces. This helps designers remember details and communicate these details to artists and engineers.

Story overview: Working on the games narrative, characters and characters actions. 

Technical design doc: Communicating the technical details of a game with the engineering team.

Pipeline overview: Assets which are needed in the game.

System limitations: A document used by engineers to communicate the limitations of the game engine and other systems they are using.

Art bible: The consistent look and feel to the game's art.

Concept Art Overview: Helps the rest of the team understand the vision for the game and helps to keep the creative ideas aligned.

Game Budget: A spreadsheet that lists all the work and attached values to help the management team keep everything within the money limits of the production.

Project Schedule: This tracks all important tasks and milestones in the game development process.

Story Bible: A document of the games narrative. This is only necessary if the game has a story. 

Script: A document which records the games dialogue.

Game Tutorial and manual: Teaches the players the basic actions of the game.

Walkthroughs: The arrangements of player strategies and documentations of Easter eggs and other parts of the game players found exciting after the game is released.

The second article was "How To Write A Game Design Document".  The first thing you need is a project description. You must summarise what the game is about without going into too much detail about the game mechanics or anything else and make it clear on what game you are trying to make with at least two paragraphs. Afterwards you need to start on characters because you can't have a story without characters and you also need character descriptions. Next you probably already guessed you need to add a story to your game. After this you need to add a theme so that when people read your design they know what kind of story you want to tell whether it be a comedy, fantasy etc. Next you need a story progression as in how will the game take your players through that story.  Then you move onto your actual gameplay and add the following things to your gameplay: goals, user skills, game mechanics, items and power-ups, progression and challenge and losing. Afterwards you add in your art style which is what the game should look like. Then you add in music and sound FX. Then you add in a technical description. This is where you explain things such as what platform the game will be on and what tools you will be using throughout development. Next up is marketing and funding. This involves planning how you're going to market your game and where the money for your game will come from. Then you add in your demographics. This is the age group your game is targeted for. Afterwards you add in platform and monetization. The next thing is localization. This is the languages you will include in the game. Then the final thing is other ideas that you are not sure will go into the game or not however you should write them down anyway so you remember them in case you decide to use them.

Afterwards we had to watch a video by BenderWaffles called "Using A Game Document". where he taught us how to make an RPG game. In the video he showed us a basic example of a game design document in which he uses OpenOffice4. His was only basic and 5 pages long. He had his summary and gameplay on the first page. He also shows the technical section of his document which included the main menu,  overworld, battle screen, menu, credits and game over screens. The page also included a control and mechanic section. He then showed his level design section which included areas which is the places you are going to go and the game flow which is the order in which you will go to these places. Next up he showed his development section. Afterwards he talked about graphics. Then he talked about sound and music needed. Finally he explained his schedule. He tells us that the first thing he does is add in his map. Then he goes into static scripting which is adding in NPCs that don't do anything bar say hello. Then he moves onto dynamic scripting which is adding in NPCs that actually do things for you.