Chapter 5: Elements of the Design Document

In the previous chapter, we looked at the basic concept of a design document. We will expand that basic coverage in this chapter by looking at the individual components or ideas that make it up. Many teams will include information such as legalities, target audience, and market analysis for a game in their design document. While this works, it would make sense to include those types of business-related materials in a game proposal to a publisher, which is looked at in more detail later in this chapter. It’s counterproductive to have team members scrolling through pages of information they really don’t need to review.

Game Overview (Storyline)

This may be the most important piece of the entire document puzzle. Without a solid story or game overview, the later steps will be much more difficult to create. Be very thorough with the game overview. If you leave something out, go back and fix it immediately. Sometimes the smallest details can make a big difference in a large project.

Because you don’t know exactly who will read this, make sure to include as many details as possible as you would if you were creating a good storybook. You would be surprised at the number of simple spelling errors that are present in most design documents. While everyone misses a word every now and then, you should try your best to keep grammar and spelling mistakes to a minimum. This is not directly important to you, but again, you don’t know who might end up reading it.

Many teams place background information in its own category, but because it relates to the story, it can be placed within the game overview category. Some genres, such as a sports simulation, wouldn’t have a background section and can therefore be passed over.