This document provides an overview of key aspects of game design for a class project. It discusses gameplay elements like objectives, progression, and mechanics. It also covers structural roles in game development such as game designer, art designer, and level designer. The document aims to help students understand the process of designing a game and provides examples and resources to support building a game design document.

1. Pag. Nº Arial Bold 14
2022-03-07
Joao Rosas
TECNOLOGIAS DE JOGOS DIGITAIS
LAB. CLASS 06 – 2023-04-13
GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT

2. Topics
• Gameplay
• Game development roles
• Structure of a Game Design Document (GDD)
• Building the progress reports.

3. Gameplay
• Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game.
• Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, the connection
between the player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, the
plot, and the player's connection with it.
• There are three components to gameplay:
• "Manipulation rules", defining what the player can do in the game,
• "Goal Rules", defining the goal of the game, and
• "Metarules", defining how a game can be tuned or modified
• Video game gameplay is distinct from graphics and audio elements.
• Gameplay vs “game mechanics”:
• Game mechanics is the sets of rules in a game that are intended to produce an
enjoyable gaming experience.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gameplay

4. Gameplay example
• Grand theft auto

5. Gameplay example
• Silent Hill 2

6. Gameplay example
• Fallout, Brotherhood of steel 2

7. Game design roles
• Game Designer
• Art designer
• Level Designer
• UI designer
• …
Collaboration
(no single one can take the full credit of a game)

8. Game designer
• The game designer envisions how a game will work during play. He / She creates the objectives,
rules, and procedures;
• Thinks up the dramatic premise and gives it life; and is responsible for planning everything
necessary to create a compelling player experience.
• In the same way that an architect drafts a blueprint for a building, or a screenwriter produces the
script
for a movie, the game designer plans the structural elements of a system that, when set in motion
by the players, creates the interactive experience.
• The role of the game designer is, first and foremost, to be an advocate for the player. The game
designer
must look at the world of games through the player’s eyes.
• A large part of the game designer role is to keep team concentration focused on the player
experience and not allow the team to be distracted by the other concerns of production.

9. Game designer skills: communication
• The most important skill that you, as a game designer, can
develop is the ability to communicate clearly
and effectively with all the other people who will be working
on your game.
• You’ll have to “sell” your game many times over, before it
ever hits the store shelves: to your teammates,
management, investors, and perhaps even your friends and
family.
• To accomplish this, you’ll need good language skills, a
crystal-clear vision, and a well-conceived presentation.
• This is the only way to rally everyone involved in your cause
and secure the support that you’ll need to move forward.
• But good communication doesn’t just mean writing and
speaking—it also means becoming a good listener and a
great compromiser.
• Listening to playtesters and to the other people on your team
affords fresh ideas and new directions.
• Listening also involves your teammates in the creative
process, giving them a sense of authorship in the final
design that will reinvest them in their own responsibilities on
the project If you don’t agree with an idea, you haven’t lost
anything, and the idea you don’t use might spark one that
you do.

10. Game designer skills: Team meeting
• Game production can be one of the most intense
collaborative processes you’ll ever experience.
• The interesting and challenging thing about game
development teams is the sheer breadth of types of
people who work on them. Many team members may
come from multidisciplinary backgrounds.
• From the hardcore computer scientists, who might be
designing the AI or graphic displays, to the talented
illustrators and animators who bring the characters to
life, to the money-minded executives and business
managers who deliver the game to its players, the
range of personalities is incredible.
• As the designer, you will interact with almost all of them,
and you will find that they all speak different
professional languages and have different points of
view.
• Overly technical terms may not translate well to
artists or the producer, while the subtle shadings of a
character sketch might not be instantly obvious to a
programmer.
• So, a big part of your job, and one of the reasons for
your documents and specifications, is to serve as a
sort of universal translator, making sure that all these
different groups are, in fact, working on the same game.
We might often refer to the game designer as a single team
member, but in many cases, the task of game design is a team
effort.
Whether there is a team of designers on a single game or a
collaborative environment where the visual designers,
programmers, or producer all have input to the design, the game
designer rarely works alone.

11. Game designer: Inspiration
• A game designer often looks at the world differently from
most people.
• This is in part because of the profession and in part because the
art of game design requires someone who is able to see and
analyze the underlying relationships and rules of complex
systems and to find inspiration for play in common interactions.
• When a game designer looks at the world, he often sees things
in terms of challenges, structures, and play.
• Games are everywhere, from how we manage our money to
how we form relationships
• Everyone has goals in life and must overcome obstacles to
achieve those goals.
• And, of course, there are rules. If you want to win in the financial
markets, you have to understand the rules of trading stocks and
bonds, profit forecasts, IPOs, and so forth
• When you play the markets, the act of investing becomes very
similar
to a game.
• The same holds true for winning someone’s heart.
• In courtship, there are social rules that you must follow, and it’s
in understanding these rules and how you fit into society that
helps you to succeed.

12. Game designer leader
• In charge of arranging the
workload produced by a team
• Keep tasks and deliverables on-
time.
• Represent the team.
• Handle interaction between
team members
• Assumes final decisions
• Makes sure keeping the game
simple
• Take the test:
• https://gd.zeptolab.com/en/leade
r/?locale=en

13. Brainstorming with the team
At the first stage, discuss the topics:
• The player - What is the role of the player, who is he trying to be ?
Does the player have an avatar? (if it has, describe it, as well as any
other character that appears)
• The World & Setting - Where does the game take place, how does it
look like ?Which is the interaction Model (omnipresent, avatar) ?
Which is the Perspective? Define the art and musical style. Which are
the boundaries and dimension ?
• Challenges & Actions - Which are the problems the player will face ?
Which are the moves the player will take to overcame the problems ?
This will define the rules of the game

14. Brainstorming with the team…
At the first stage, discuss the topics (cont.):
• Internal Economy - Define the resources that the player will use if they
Exist.
• Victory or Lose Condition - Describe if it makes sense that you can win or
lose the game. When does the game end?
• Gameplay - Describe the primary gameplay mode. Define the killer
features of the game
• Game Concept - Describe in a few lines what is the game about. It should
transmit the main game idea, define the game genre, and how you play it.

15. Brainstorming with the team
Additionally needs to clarify / define:
• Back Story (if any) – what happens before the game starts
• Beginning stage of the game,
• Middle stage and
• Ending stage

16. Art designer
• Create the artistic aspects of the
game
• Define the art concept of the
game
• Define the style of the world
and key elements of the game
• Describe in detail the main
character of the game
https://dribbble.com/tags/cartoon_game_art

17. Art designer
• Main Objective:
• Describe the Gameplay Modes, namely the primary gameplay mode
(where the player will be most of the time),
– Setting, Perspective, Interaction,
– Challenges, Actions, Mechanics,
– Game Economy,
– draft Game Levels

18. User Interface Designer
• Main Objective:
• Define the main actions the player has to do and map them to the
main input control the game will use
– (Joystick, mouse, keyboard,...)
• Determine the layout of the screen
– namely for the primary gameplay mode

19. Level Designer
Main Objective:
• Fluid communication with the Game Designer and User Interface
Designer
• Level Definition
– Create different scenarios that can challenge the player in different ways

20. Design process: 1st Idea
• Once you have an idea…
• Is it really good?
• Is it worth spending time and money on?
• Discuss it…
https://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/1415/the_game_design_process.php

21. What now?
• Consolidate idea
• Start Designing your Game
• Follow the Game Design Roles receipt
• Loop:
• Discuss
• Document in GDD
• Discuss

22. Game Design Document
• A game design document is a blueprint from which a game is to be built.
• As such, every single detail necessary to build the game should be addressed.
• The larger the team and the longer the design and development cycle, the more
critical is the need.
• For your purpose, the intent is to capture as much as possible of your design.
Think big…bigger than what you can develop. Be clear about what the game
delivers and what the design entails. Define the ultimate game and then clarify
what it is that you have developed.
• All topics must be included, but “not applicable” is fine. The goal is NOT to force
you to make up answers but to assure that you have considered all of these
elements and why they are or are not relevant to your game.
• Your document must include the top levels of the outline explicitly. You should
use your judgment as to how to present the additional detail, particularly when it
is not relevant to your game.

23. Title Page
• Game and team identification
• Date last update.
• Tagline examples:
https://champw.com/2021/09/17/gaming-slogans-and-tagline/

24. Game overview
• Game concept:
• A game concept is an idea for a
game, briefly describing its core
play mechanisms, who the players
represent, and how they win or
lose.
https://hub.packtpub.com/how-develop-game-concept/

25. Game overview
• Target audience:
• Making an educated guess about who
your game’s target audience will be helps
you increase the efficiency and
effectiveness of what you spend to
choose your time and money on.
• You will lose your money/time/… if you
advertise your game to the wrong
audience.
• Market segmentation (dividing a broad
target audience into smaller, more specific
groups).
• Free way to analyze the target audience
for a game:
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/busines
s/how-to-research-your-next-game-s-
target-audience-for-free
https://medium.com/@getachieve/review-of-the-get-achie
target-audience-and-data-on-the-market-d40cdbcebae5

26. Game overview
• Genre:
• A video game genre is a specific category of games related by similar
gameplay characteristics.
• Video game genres are not usually defined by the setting or story of the game
or its medium of play, but by the way the player interacts with the game.[
• For example; a first-person shooter is still a first-person shooter regardless of
whether it takes place in a science fiction, western, fantasy, or military setting;
• So long as it features a camera mimicking the perspective of the protagonist
(first-person) and gameplay centered around the use of ranged weaponry.
• Genres may encompass a wide variety of games, leading to even more specific
classifications called subgenres. For example, an action game can be classified
into many subgenres such as platform games and fighting games. Some
games, most notably browser and mobile games, are commonly classified into
multiple genres.

27. Game overview
• Genre:
… and more. See at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_genres

28. Game overview
• Game flow Summary:
• The Game Flow Summary outlines
how screens interact with each
other.
• For instance, from the main screen
you can go to options, about, and
gameplay.
• From the gameplay screen, you can
go to options or results.
• From results you can go to
gameplay or main screen.
https://www.gameskinny.com/cxzs6/a-game-designers-guide-
to-a-gdd-part-1

29. Game overview
• Look and feel:
• The Look and Feel part of the GDD is used to
describe the style of the game to the reader.
• Here, you can bring in the influences that
brought together the game.
• For example: "This game is the love child
between Paper Mario and Super Smash
Bro's, brought to you on the mobile screen
courtesy of Little Big Planet's parenting
advice."
• Each of the games mentioned has a unique
feel to it.
• That means we can save time explaining all
the awesome things about the game by
pulling easy comparisons to others.
• Another way of thinking about it is
explaining what an elephant is to someone
who has never seen an elephant.
https://www.gameskinny.com/cxzs6/a-game-designers-guide-
to-a-gdd-part-1

30. Gameplay
• Objectives:
• The aim of the game
• For instance: “The Objective of the game is to beat through all the levels to
reach Eden. In the meantime, collect spells and artifacts to power up”
(https://vinesmsuic.github.io/2021/02/01/game-
onesteptoeden2/#missionchallenge-structure).

31. Gameplay
• Game progression:
• Sets a course of action that a player must complete to move forward in the game.
• Depends heavily on checkpoints that a character must reach to advance to the next level. These
checkpoints vary according to the game genre. Some general checkpoints include:
• Defeating the level boss in action, adventure and role-playing games (RPGs)
• Finishing in the top three on a particular track in racing games
• Completing a series of puzzles in a puzzle game
• Destroying the enemies' home base in real-time strategy games.
• The majority of games are built according to a progression gameplay model.
• Progression gameplay is popular with designers because it allows them to craft a solid storyline
around the action of the game.
• The goal of every game is to be both immersive and fun to play.
• Supporters of progression gameplay point out that, because the designers know the course a
game will take, they can build a much deeper and more complex story around that course.
• On the opposite side, proponents of emergent gameplay want games where the random actions
of the players affect both the story and the world they take place in, leading to limitless
possibilities rather than a limited number of outcomes that are mapped out by designers. There is,
of course, a lot of middle ground between the two approaches. Many games have elements of
both progression and emergent gameplay.
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/27044/progression-gameplay

32. Gameplay
• Game progression:
• See more at: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/gameplay-design-fundamentals-gameplay-
progression
NPC: Non-Player Character

33. Gameplay
• Play flow:
• Addresses how the game flows for the main player.
• It is different from the game progression, which is kind of a third-person point of view.
• Instead, think of the play flow from the first-person point of view.
• See example here: https://vinesmsuic.github.io/2021/02/01/game-onesteptoeden2/#missionchallenge-
structure
• Screen flow:
• The screen flow is basically how each screen interacts with others. So here we will have the screen flow chart,
the screen descriptions, game options, and stuff like replaying and saving.
https://www.gameskinny.com/le76n/a-game-designers-guide-to-a-gdd-part-2

34. Play flow example
https://vinesmsuic.github.io/202
1/02/01/game-
onesteptoeden2/#objectives

35. Gameplay
• Mission challenge structure:
• Enumerate levels and sub-levels.
• How sub-levels are assigned
(random, pick the favorite).
• Conditions to pick a level (e.g.
after winning a boss fight)
• Changes in behavior (e.g. the
enemies get stronger after each
completed level.
https://vinesmsuic.github.io/2021/02/01/game-onesteptoeden2/#missionchallenge-structure

36. Game mechanics
• GM are the rules that govern and
guide the player's actions, as well as
the game's response to them.
• It specifies how the game will work
for the people who play it.
• Gameplay is more a design concept.
• Game mechanics is more an
engineering concept.

37. Game mechanics
• Rules:
• A game’s mechanics are the rules
and procedures that guide the
player, and…
• The rules the game uses as a
response to the player, and
• The rules the game itself follows.

38. Game mechanics
• Model of the game
universe/world:
• A game world is an artificial
universe, an imaginary place in
which the events of the game
occur.
• The things that make up a game
world is what elements and assets
the developer or designer decide
to put into the game, and then the
story and lore that is behind it all.
https://dribbble.com/shots/16304226-Game-World

39. Game mechanics
• Physics:
• Physics involves the introduction of the
laws of physics into a simulation or game
engine, particularly in 3D computer
graphics, for the purpose of making the
effects appear more realistic to the
observer.
• Typically, simulation physics is only a close
approximation to actual physics, and
computation is performed using discrete
values.
• Additionally, games may intentionally
deviate from actual physics for gameplay
purposes; a common example is allowing
the player to double jump when there is
nothing to jump from, or changing the
values of certain physical parameters,
such as the amount of gravity present. https://alchetron.com/Game-physics

40. Game mechanics
• Economy:
• As players engage with your game, they gain
and consume assets (XP, currencies, items,
etc.).
• Game economy design handles the crafting
and balancing of these game systems to
translate player engagement into
monetization opportunities and embeds
them into the core gameplay loop.
• There are two purposes for game
economies:
• One is to provide players with opportunities for
economic advancement within the game
setting.
• The other is to generate revenue (real money)
for the game studio.
• The goal of a well-designed game economy
is balancing these purposes so that neither
overwhelms the other in importance.
https://machinations.io/articles/what-is-game-economy-design/
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/building-a-cross-game-item-future
https://vinesmsuic.github.io/2021/02/01/game-onesteptoeden2/#deck-building-
and-upgrades

41. Game mechanics
• Character movement in the
game:
• How does the character move?
Does the player have control over
it with buttons or not?
• Is there any special kind of
movement?
• How about objects in the game? Is
there a specific way to pick things
up or move them about? These
answers go here.
https://forum.unity.com/threads/character-
movement.859480/
https://www.gameskinny.com/le76n/a-game-designers-
guide-to-a-gdd-part-2
https://www.pngkit.com/bigpic/u2q8y3u2q8o0u2r5/

42. Game mechanics
• Objects – how to pick them up
and move them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCKK7TBlM9c
https://craftpix.net/freebies/free-underwater-world-2d-game-
objects/

43. Game mechanics
• Actions, including whatever
switches and buttons are used,
interacting with objects, and
what means of communication
are used:
https://dreadnought.fandom.com/wiki/Game_Controls

44. Game mechanics
• Combat – If there is combat or
even conflict, how is this
specifically modeled?
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/the-fundamental-
pillars-of-a-combat-system

45. Game mechanics
• Screen flow:
• The screen flow is basically how
each screen interacts with each
other.
• So here we will have the screen
flow chart, the screen descriptions,
game options, stuff like replaying
and saving.
https://www.gameskinny.com/le76n/a-game-designers-guide-
to-a-gdd-part-2

46. Story and Narrative
Example from zip package: GDD_silent-hill-design-document.pdf

47. Game world
https://modthesims.info/d/466890/world-editor-more-stuff-
amp-new-sn-stuff.html

48. Characters
https://starloopstudios.com/character-design-in-video-games-types-classes-and-
characteristics/
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/out-of-character-how-to-design-good-game-characters

49. Levels
• Detailed overview on levels:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/intro-
level-design-games-troy-dunniway
• Levels in Unity:
• https://unity.com/how-to/beginner/level-
design-tips
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4oqO
dBCy3c
•
https://www.deviantart.com/lovetobeartist/art/Game-levels-545361763

50. Interface
https://dribbble.com/shots/10733554-Far-Skate-Main-menu
https://www.pluralsight.com/blog/film-games/designing-a-
hud-that-works-for-your-game

51. Wip report