Design template. AnAntsLife GameDesignDocument. Friendly Fire DesignDoc. Race´n´Chase Design Document. GrimPuzzleDoc small. Doombible. Design Dokument RO2. Design Document Gretel and Hansel. The Anatomy of a Design Document, Part 1: Documentation Guidelines for the Game Concept and Proposal. The Anatomy of a Design Document, Part 1: Documentation Guidelines for the Game Concept and Proposal The purpose of design documentation is to express the vision for the game, describe the contents, and present a plan for implementation.
A design document is a bible from which the producer preaches the goal, through which the designers champion their ideas, and from which the artists and programmers get their instructions and express their expertise. Unfortunately, design documents are sometimes ignored or fall short of their purpose, failing the producers, designers, artists, or programmers in one way or another. This article will help you make sure that your design document meets the needs of the project and the team.
It presents guidelines for creating the various parts of a design document. Design documents come in stages that follow the steps in the development process. The Purpose of Documentation Documentation means different things to different members of the team. The Anatomy of a Design Document, Part 2: Documentation Guidelines for the Functional and Technical Specifications. The Anatomy of a Design Document, Part 2: Documentation Guidelines for the Functional and Technical Specifications Editor's note: Part 1 of this article was published on 10.19.99.
Did you ever look at one of those huge design documents that barely fit into a four-inch thick, three-ring binder? You assume that by its page count that it must be good. Well, having read some of those design volumes from cover to cover, I can tell you that size does not matter. They are often so full of ambiguous and vague fluff that it was difficult finding the pertinent information. This article is part two of a two part series that provides guidelines that when followed will ensure that your design documents will be pertinent and to the point. Functional vs Technical Specifications Traditionally in the game industry, there was only one spec. This problem was tackled as more and more seasoned programmers and managers of business software development moved into games. Death of the game design document. Jagex's James Sweatman on why central design documents don't always work, and the alternatives available It has been called many things over the years – GDD, Design Bible, Game Overview Document.
Regardless of title, they all describe one thing; the living design document for a video game. The GDD has been a pillar of design direction for decades, providing countless developers and artists a singular vision for a game. Sounds great right? Who wouldn't want one place to store everything there is to know about a game? I wouldn't. Build a Game Design Document.