What are the best ways to document and share information with your team in game development?

1 Design documents

Design documents are the blueprints of your game, where you define the core vision, mechanics, features, story, and aesthetics of your project. They help you communicate your ideas to your team and stakeholders, and keep everyone on the same page. Design documents can take various forms, such as text, diagrams, sketches, mockups, or prototypes, depending on the scope and stage of your game. You should update your design documents regularly as your game evolves, and use tools like Google Docs, Confluence, or Notion to collaborate and share them online.

2 Code comments

Code comments are annotations that you add to your source code to explain what it does, how it works, and why you wrote it that way. They help you and your fellow programmers understand, debug, and maintain your code, as well as document your algorithms, functions, variables, and classes. Code comments can be single-line, multi-line, or documentation comments, depending on the purpose and style of your code. You should write clear, concise, and consistent code comments that follow the best practices and conventions of your programming language and game engine.

3 Asset libraries

Asset libraries are collections of game assets, such as graphics, sounds, music, animations, models, or scripts, that you use or create for your game. They help you organize, manage, and reuse your assets, as well as share them with your team and other developers. Asset libraries can be stored locally or online, using tools like Dropbox, Google Drive, GitHub, or Unity Asset Store. You should name, tag, and categorize your assets according to their type, function, and style, and include metadata and documentation for each asset.

4 Testing reports

Testing reports are summaries of the results and feedback from testing your game, either internally or externally. They help you identify and fix bugs, errors, glitches, and issues that affect your game's performance, functionality, usability, and quality. Testing reports can be written, verbal, or visual, depending on the method and tool of your testing. You should use tools like Jira, Trello, or TestRail to track, report, and share your testing progress, status, and outcomes with your team and stakeholders.

5 Feedback channels

Feedback channels are ways of collecting and exchanging opinions, suggestions, critiques, and praises about your game, either from your team or from your audience. They help you improve your game design, user experience, and player satisfaction, as well as build a community and a fan base for your game. Feedback channels can be formal or informal, direct or indirect, public or private, depending on the source and purpose of your feedback. You should use tools like Discord, Slack, or Reddit to communicate and share feedback with your team and players.

6 Documentation tools

Documentation tools are software or platforms that help you create, edit, format, and publish documentation for your game, such as manuals, guides, tutorials, or wikis. They help you provide information, instructions, tips, and support for your game, as well as showcase your game's features, benefits, and achievements. Documentation tools can be text-based, visual-based, or interactive-based, depending on the type and style of your documentation. You should use tools like WordPress, Medium, or YouTube to create and share documentation for your game.