The Ultimate Guide to Creating An Amazing Game Design Document

You can have the most brilliant ideas for a video game, with every level mapped out and all the characters ready to go. But without a solid game design document (GDD) for reference, it’s extremely hard to bring that vision to life. Creating a GDD is one of the most crucial steps in creating a video game. It’s where you lay out your ideas, give each component its own section, and provide as much detail as possible about what you want to achieve with your game. A GDD will help you stay organized and on track during development. It’ll also make it a lot easier for other team members -- like your coders or audio specialists -- to understand your vision.

What is a Game Design Document?

A GDD is a written document that describes what your game is about, what your game’s features are, and the game’s design and architecture. A GDD is divided into sections that each describe a part of the game. The GDD is the most important document in game development since it is the foundation for all your other design and implementation documents. The GDD gives information about the purpose of the game, its target audience, the game genre, and the gameplay elements. It also gives information about the game’s plot, the protagonist and antagonist, and the game’s setting. A GDD is crucial in the game development process since it enables the team members to visualize the game in their minds and know what they are supposed to do to finish the game.

How to create a good Game Design Document

Define your game goals

First and foremost, you need to clearly understand what you want your game to achieve. What do you want players to get out of it? What’s the intended experience? Write out a few paragraphs that describe the goals of your game. This will serve as the spine of your GDD.

Map out the basics

Once you’ve got a clear idea of what you want your game to be, it’s time to start thinking about the details. Break the core concepts of your game down into elements, then write a paragraph for each one to explain what it is, how it works, and why it’s important. This will create a skeletal GDD that you can use to start filling out all the important details.

Find your voice

Crafting a GDD is a lot more than just adding a little structure to your creative process. It’s a chance to get really creative. You can use a GDD to tell your team members the kind of tone you want to use, the art style you want, and the kind of language you want to use in the game.

Art and Animations Guide

Art style

What is the overall look and feel of the game? Is it 2D or 3D? What is the desired aesthetic? What’s the color palette? You can break this down into subsections, like characters, objects, and environment.

Character design

What are the basic aesthetics of each character? Do they have a specific type of clothing? What is their overall personality? How do they fit into the overall story? You can break this down into subsections, like playable characters and enemies.

Level designs

What are the basic layouts of each level? What are the goals for each level? Are there any puzzles or challenges to be overcome? Does the location tie into the story? You can break this down into subsections, like playable levels and cinematics.

Level Designs Guide

Puzzles and challenges

Are there puzzles or challenges that must be overcome? What are the main concepts behind them? How do they tie into the story? What are the main tools to overcome puzzles? This can also be used as a subsection for gameplay.

Gameplay

What are the game modes? What are the main concepts? What are the rules? Are there any special rules to take into account? What are the necessary controls? How does progression work? This can also be used as a subsection for level designs.

Enemies

What are the different types of enemies? What are their roles in the story? How do they differ? How are they different from the other enemies? What are their strengths and weaknesses? This can also be used as a subsection for level designs.

Player Behaviour Guide

Game flow

What are the events that make up a normal playthrough? How is the game structured? What are the major milestones? How is progression broken down? This can also be used as a subsection for level designs.

Player motivation

What are the reasons players would want to play your game? What are the rewards? This can also be used as a subsection for player behavior.

Player progression

How does progression work? What kind of upgrades are there? How are these upgrades unlocked? What is the order of events? This can also be used as a subsection for player behavior.

Controls Guide

Controls

What are the different control schemes? How are they mapped? What are the main buttons? What are the important features? This can also be used as a subsection for controls.

Visual aids

Will there be any visual aids? Will they be necessary? How do they work? This can also be used as a subsection for controls.

Technologies Guide

Game engine

What is the game engine being used? What are its strengths and weaknesses? What are the necessary plugins? What are the required system specifications? This can also be used as a subsection for game technologies.

Programming languages

What are the necessary programming languages? Which ones are required? Which ones are optional? Are there any important libraries? This can also be used as a subsection for game technologies.

Design tools

What are the necessary design tools? Which ones are required? Which ones are optional? This can also be used as a subsection for game technologies.

Conclusion

The creation of a game design document is an extremely important part of game development and is often treated as a tedious and boring task by many individuals in the industry. However, this task is crucial to the game development process and should not be taken lightly. If you are developing a video game and do not have a game design document, start working on one as soon as possible. It will greatly benefit your team members and will make the development process much easier to manage. While it may be tedious and boring, creating a good game design document is necessary and can help you save a lot of time and money in the long run.