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So do you make an LLC. or just show off your portfolio to publishers when approaching them with your new game? Can you show us examples of Game Design Docs as well. Maybe do a mock one for those of us who have never created one.

We are a team of four people, making a game. At first we didn't really think that we needed a design doc, but now, when we have it, it's soo beneficial. Really nice video on a great topic.

I love the wind movement on those bushes and grasses. I'd love a tutorial on that!

Very helpful video! It appears I actually made a "design doc" of sorts for my metroidvania without realizing. I have a notebook in OneNote that contains pages for story, lore, gameplay notes, places (and everything that must be in them), progression paths, and inspirations. Recently I even used Unity's world canvas to start putting design notes on the map itself (only visible in the editor). I now realize after 1 year of development (technically more but I restarted), that the project is pretty huge and I will likely need a team. But these notes should prove very useful.

So what is important in terms of what to include, format, etc. for a Game Design Document?

A design document is essential, but what's surprising to me is how little attention so many developers, from indies to big studios with AAA budgets, give to actually designing their gameplay systems. There seems to be incredibly little understanding of game design concepts, and general concepts pertaining to the nature of interactivity itself. Most developers I've talked to can't even define the term "mechanic." And when they do, it's usually something along the lines of "a working part of the game," which is an absolutely _awful_ definition because it communicates nothing meaningful without further clarification, not to mention that there are better, more intuitive terms that can be used for describing most other aspects of a game. Point being: If your use of a term requires clarification in order for anyone to understand exactly what it is you mean, then your term is not well-defined. It's shocking, bordering on appalling how little most developers understand about designing deep, dynamic, and high-functioning gameplay systems. It seems like developers design from the top of the pyramid down, focusing on narrative elements, visual fidelity, presentation, etc. and then slap together basic gameplay that "makes sense" within the context of the other elements. If you can't answer the following questions, then you need to study and understand design concepts before you even bother trying to make a game: What is interplay? What is depth? How does it relate to interplay? What is a game dynamic? How is both related to, yet different from dynamic gameplay? What is the role of depth and dynamics in the generation of novel emergent game states? What is linear gameplay? (Spoiler alert: it's not Point A-to-Point B level design/structure). What does it mean for variety to be meaningful? What makes a decision meaningful? What is negative space? What are the 5 components of skill in video games? And honestly, there are dozens more questions that any game designer should be able answer, but the above are where I see the most ignorance in game design based on how many games are utterly crippled by their neglect of the above concepts. Super Mario Bros got it right in 1985; it's inexcusable for a game in 2022 to not meet the same level of design and function. I mean the Koopa Paratroopa alone is able to support up to _SEVEN_ increasingly deep interactive states, with the number of emergent states being multiplied exponentially by every possible arrangement and dynamic state the system is capable of taking. Most modern games don't manage more than _two_ of these states, and their dynamics are so compressed that emergence is practically nonexistent.

@jocter3594

2 жыл бұрын

Any resources you could recommend in hope to get a better understanding of those concepts?

@sapare7838

9 ай бұрын

I cant define mechanic, but I can define cringe, read above. P.S. You should post whatever game you made, show your studied mind off.

@alondite215

9 ай бұрын

@@sapare7838 Aw, someone feels threatened that somebody else knows more than you about a thing you like. Its OK little guy, your ego will endure, your value is not determined by being the smartest or most knowledgeable person, there's no reason to be insecure and defensive about it.

I think it is challenging to schedule for an indie dev, because a lot of successful games are built like a house with foundation first. AAA teams spend a huge chunk of time on foundation like tools and maybe a whole new game engine. The first mission may not be built until years later. The tools are what made completing the project possible though, for small indie teams this is even more important.

@And_l_Wonder

2 жыл бұрын

Beautifully explained

I started making my first commercial project without a well defined game design doc and after the first months of work, the development became harder and eventually I had to take a break to make that doc, so yeah, such an important part of any project

This step is a must for any discipline's project. You will spend less resources if you have a finished design, which is a clear view of what you want to have built/done. It might seem pointless but, trust me, it will save you from a lot of headaches, even for solo projects.

Thanks Thomas for the reminder to keep a Design Doc. I completely agree. I was trying to design without one and it was a disaster. After realizing that, I decided it was best to take some time and just write my ideas features and overall direction of the project. This helps keep me on track with tasks that need to be done. Its basically a "To Do" for my projects.

It's needed even for solodev. Having something in head not really is a final product, it ofte nchanges. And writing allow to sort it out.

the witness screenshot + "game design doc" is a pretty ironic combination :D

This video really hit the spot for me

"WILL SUFFER" is a misleading... look up DOOM, it did not have a design document, infact they threw out the one Tom Hall worked on and it did not suffer, became a top selling and influential game. Schedule and milestones probably help though

good video! really helpful

Very impressive

So true

muck

Yeah it's best I give this up lol

First comment :D

first comments haha

Hey Thomas, are you a Christian by any chance?