How can you collaborate with programmers without compromising creative freedom?

For achieving our team's project goals, there are always 2 types of requirements: - Functional - Non Functional Our foremost target is to achieve functional requirements first, in which game mechanics are designed as per approved game design. Secondly, there are some non-functional requirements which are playing a vital role in gameplay visuals and user experience. So we prioritise those non-functional requirements and achieve maximum until we reach the deadlines.

1. Programmers and developers thrive with clarity and specificity. High level concepts like "status effects" or "skill trees" may be specific enough to design relationships, but when you're building with code, it might as well say "make it do the thing". Build specs and requests to the degree of detail that need in order to realize your design fully - if you don't ask for it you won't get it. 2. When you're this early in the design/development lifecycle, realize that complexity and iterability are diametrically opposed. Distill mechanics and systems to the bare essentials to validate, and budget for a refactor later with bells and whistles later when you know the idea definitely makes the cut.

This is more than just knowing what your game is. Before a programmer can begin work, you need to be able to explain exactly what you want your mechanic to do, how it will interact with other mechanics, and possible variations on the mechanic that you want to test in the future. Each of these factors will affect how the programmer chooses to implement it, minimizing rework. If you know you want at least two factions, but may want more later, indicate this. If you want a property to scale, be precise as to how. If being able to edit something is important, state this. Inevitably, there will be interactions you missed. When questions come up, be prepared not just to clarify your vision, but to wholly reconsider aspects of the design.

Being a game programmer myself, us programmers highly appreciate it if the goal is clearly defined. There are a few things to consider before collaboration: - clearly define what you want to achieve in the long run. - Instructions should be very clear when making a design document. - Steps should be small and modular. - All the features should be clearly labeled and the instructions written accordingly. Once a goal is defined, the core concept should be concrete. Avoid making too many off the scope changes as this can lead to poor results.

As a designer, it will always be important to communicate design vision clearly to the entire team, as well as on a more granular level to those implementing it. The level to which you'll have to do so can depend on knowing the programmer in question too, some are well versed in the designs you're creating and some will be less so; some will understand the intent of a feature immediately and (in rare cases) have it working before you'd even be able to write a brief! However, best practice dictates being clear, concise and exhaustive while focusing on the feature. However, remember: you're writing a design document, not a book on game design theory. Seen a similar feature in another game? Even better, references always help

Not all designers are programmers, so I think learning to use flowcharts, pseudocode, or even creating prototypes on paper can aid designers get into the logical mindset of a programmer and allow them to be on the same page.

there should be some basic levels of understanding of the tools, structures, coding techniques etc. before communicating with a programmer. Visual material helps a lot when communicating the ideas.

Collaborating with programmers without sacrificing your creative freedom is totally achievable with the right approach. Here’s what works for me: - Learn the Basics: Understand key programming concepts like variables, functions, and data structures to communicate more effectively. - Visual Communication: Use flowcharts, diagrams, and prototypes to illustrate your design logic and vision clearly. - Iterative Feedback: Regularly exchange feedback to ensure your creative goals align with technical realities. - Mutual Respect: Value each other’s expertise to foster a sense of shared ownership in the final product. By bridging the gap between design and development, you can bring your creative ideas to life more smoothly.

Sometimes designers forget that drastic changes are not easy to cater. For this purpose a designer should have technical knowledge of the tools and languages the programmer uses. There are quite a few cases I have seen in which the designer totally forgets that the change they are about to ask to be implemented will disrupt the flow entirely. Know that mostly it affects other modules as well, so they have to be changed too.

Devs and programmers are designers partner's not instruments. I see junior designers and student game designers forget that a video game's design loop isn't complete until someone makes it - a great idea or concept that can't be built in budget is the same thing as a bad idea.

This is probably your best opportunity *to* collaborate. Bring your concepts to the programming team in broader terms, and let them both ask questions to help narrow scope and offer a broader range of solutions. Optimally, they have ideas that either align with yours or have broad support from their peers. Having an idea that gets adopted fosters a sense of ownership in the outcome, which will tend to improve team morale and performance.

Having constant communication with my programmers during the project is an essential part. Which includes giving inputs, testing prototypes, asking their feedback. As a product owner, sometimes I re-access the project's requirements as per difficulties we face in their development phase. After re-evaluation we share feedback with the team and re-define the project scope, and if there are any changes in the project the programmers respond accordingly.