The Game Design Document
Design Document should include the following topics:
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Overview and vision statement
Audience, platform and marketing
Gameplay
Characters (if any)
Story (if applicable)
World (if applicable)
Media list
The following outline is an example of key points of a typical design
document:
1. Design History
1. Version
2. Vision Statement
1. Game Logline
In one sentence describe the game
2. Gameplay Synopsis
How the game play and what do the players experience (unique
points, mechanics, settings, look and feel)
3. Audience, Platform and Marketing
1. Target audience
2. Platform
3. System requirements
4. top performers
5. Feature comparison
6. Sales expectations
4. Legal Issues
1. copyrights, trademarks, contracts...
5. Gameplay
1. Overview
2. Description
3. Controls (interfaces, rules, scoring...)
6. Game Characters
1. Character design
2. Types (PC, NPC)
7. Story
1. Sysnopsis
2. Complete story
3. Backstory
Game Design Document 1.1
© 2009-2012 by Ben SALEM
4. Narrative devices
5. Subplots
8. Game World
1. Overview
2. Key locations
3. Travel
4. Mapping
5. Weather conditions
6. Time
7. Scale
8. Physical objects
9. Day and Night
10. Physics
11. Society....
9. Media List
1. Interface assets
2. Characters
3. Animations
4. Music and sound effects
10. Technical Specifications
1. Technical analysis
2. Development platform and tools
3. Delivery
4. Game Engine
5. Interface technical specifications
6. Controls technical specifications
7. lighting models
8. Rendering system
9. Network specifications
10. System parameters...
Please note that this is a suggestion of a list of items to be included in the
design document. Every game will have its own design document.
What is important is to remember the purpose of the design document
which is to communicate a game design across the design and development
team(s).
Game Design Document 1.1
© 2009-2012 by Ben SALEM