No Show 2012 - Tim Crosby - Can You Write That Down
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Six flavor of quarks, six colors of M&Ms, and six varieties of game design documents: coincidence? Almost certainly. But can you really take that chance? Whether you’re trying to record design decisions, refine project scope, or get investors on board, a good game design document can be critical factor in success. Get vital tips on choosing the right format and crafting the perfect document to lead to a more perfect game design. We’ll discuss document structure, defining goals, best tools for the job, place in a game’s lifecycle, pitfalls to avoid, and examples of both good and bad design documents. Whether you’re a fledgling developer or long established and looking to improve your process, you’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of how to make the best design documents possible. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll learn to love great documentation as much as I do.
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No Show 2012 - Tim Crosby - Can You Write That Down
- 1. Can You Write That Down? The Six Types of Game Design Documents and Finding the Right One(s) for You No Show Conf 2012 Tim Crosby
- 2. Outline 1) Orientation 2) Lifecycle of document 3) The six types of documents 4) Examples 5) Best Practices 6) Questions
- 3. Orientation Why do you care? Better design docs make for better (faster, stronger): - Ideas - Processes - Games Documents are not: - Unchangeable - Solitary - Universally useful
- 4. Development Timeline This isn’t accurate … little better Concept Design Production QA When design documents are written Two Pager Brainstormer Bible Review Copy Prototype Documentation
- 5. Development Timeline Concept Design Production QA When design documents are useful Two Pager Brainstormer Bible Review Copy Prototype Documentation
- 6. What’s the Design Document Purpose? Same as the purpose of a game designer Communication
- 7. The Six Types of Game Design Documents
- 8. Talking to the World Two Pager Truly necessary A component of most other documents • Elevator pitch • Vision • Keywords • What game is like • What makes it different • Maybe one picture • Sentences ≈ Paragraphs
- 9. Talking to the World Two Pager Technology: • MSWord / OpenOffice • Webpage • Whatever works for you
- 10. Talking to the Game Designers Brainstormer Early stage, collaborative, blue-sky Needs a designer to drive it • Document all ideas • Can organize / sort ideas later • Can be in sessions or over time
- 11. Talking to the Game Designers Brainstormer Technology: • Wiki • Evernote • Google Docs • Dry erase board with notes and dissemination
- 12. Talking to the Team Bible Communicate design ideas to the entire team Bring new team members up to speed • Include many many flowcharts • Not one thing – really a set of documents – Documents – Sample Text – Illustrations / Style Guides / Concept Art – Spreadsheets / Formulae • Repeat information for redundancy of concepts
- 13. Talking to the Team Bible Technology: • Google Docs • MSOffice (Word, Excel, Visio, PPT) + Source Control • Wiki • XML / YML / Other markup languages • Email and Skype or other IM
- 14. Talking to Outsiders Review Copy Snapshot of design thinking Similar to core document of the Bible Can be early marketing/investing material Have graphic design pass in addition to writing “No one will read it” Except: “They will only read the first page” Except: One person will read it, and give invaluable feedback
- 15. Talking to Outsiders Review Copy • Hierarchy / Structure – Logo – One pager at front – Player types – Game description and features – Market analysis / competition • Many pictures • If it’s an external property, show love and respect • Show capability for deep thought
- 16. Talking to Outsiders Review Copy Technology: • MSWord – better than OpenOffice – way better than wikis • + Photoshop • + PDF converter
- 17. Talking to Your Future Self Documentation To remember what you thought To remember what you said May be set of documents for different purposes Must have explicit references to other documents / consistent naming scheme / clear folder structure
- 18. Talking to Your Future Self Documentation Technology: • MSWord, Excel, Visio, Powerpoint • Google Docs • Whatever works to communicate with others
- 19. Talking to the Game Prototype “Non-Document” Good for determining / displaying interactions Not same code as full game You can throw it away For some games, prototype is rules (such as tabletop RPGs)
- 20. Talking to the Game Prototype Technology: • Paper, post-its, index cards, markers • Whatever tech you work in fastest • Quick prototyping software (e.g. Moai for 2D, Protoshare for web)
- 21. Hybrids Further specific purposes Bible x Documentation: long-running projects or part-time projects (e.g. student work) Brainstormer x Bible: future features list Review Copy x Prototype: investor packet One Pager x Prototype: kickstarter video?
- 22. Examples Two Pager: FanSwarm Two Pager: Brainstormer: 50 Cent’s Blackjack: 23 pages Bible: 50 Cent’s Blackjack: 59 pages Review Copy: 50 Cent’s Blackjack: all documentation exposed Documentation: 50 Cent’s Blackjack: ~100 documents ; FanSwarm: ~50 documents Prototype: 50 Cent’s Blackjack Tech prototype to ensure simultaneous play possible, included game rules
- 23. Example Game of Thrones Ascent Two Pager: Executive Summary; Vision; Overview; Market Differentiation Brainstormer: 20 text-heavy pages Bible: v2 had no pictures, incomplete, 26 pages ; v8 had painted concepts, incorporated external feedback, 154 pages Review Copy: same as Bible from v5.1 onward Documentation: well over 100 documents Prototype: paper prototype confirmed core mechanics ; prototype city layout decided to go different art direction
- 24. Best Practices Integrated designer better than short-term contractor If you believe a design doc is useful that makes it useful Vision-holder should be in charge of design docs Solicit feedback about doc content Solicit feedback about doc structure There is always time to iterate Adapt doc structure to fit how the readers learn Ultimately document less useful than making the game
Editor's Notes
- Also in heirarchy: future features, earnings projects and estimates, possible rough project plan