OurProperties:

Gamasutra

SEARCH

GameCareerGuide

LOGIN

IndieGames

BLOGS

ALL

EVENTS

CONSOLE/PC

STORE

INDEPENDENT

SEARCH

VR/AR

GO
SOCIAL/ONLINE

Password:

Login

ForgotPassword?SignUp

NEWSLETTER

Features

Email:

CONTRACTORS
SMARTPHONE/TABLET

MemberLogin

GDC

GAMEJOBS

GO
UPDATES

GDCVault

Contents
TheAnatomyofaDesign
Document,Part1:
DocumentationGuidelines
fortheGameConceptand
Proposal
Page1
Page2
Page3
Page4

PROGRAMMING
ART
AUDIO
DESIGN
PRODUCTION
BIZ/MARKETING

Latest Jobs
ViewAllRSS
June4,2016

TheAnatomyofaDesignDocument,Part
1:DocumentationGuidelinesforthe
GameConceptandProposal
byTimRyan[Design,Production]

11comments

October19,1999

Page1of4

Thepurposeofdesigndocumentationistoexpressthevisionforthegame,describethecontents,and
presentaplanforimplementation.Adesigndocumentisabiblefromwhichtheproducerpreachesthe
goal,throughwhichthedesignerschampiontheirideas,andfromwhichtheartistsandprogrammersget
theirinstructionsandexpresstheirexpertise.Unfortunately,designdocumentsaresometimesignoredor
fallshortoftheirpurpose,failingtheproducers,designers,artists,orprogrammersinonewayor
another.Thisarticlewillhelpyoumakesurethatyourdesigndocumentmeetstheneedsoftheproject
andtheteam.Itpresentsguidelinesforcreatingthevariouspartsofadesigndocument.Theseguidelines
willalsoservetoinstillproceduresinyourdevelopmentprojectforensuringthetimelycompletionofa
qualitygame.
Theintendedaudienceispersonschargedwithwritingorreviewingdesigndocumentationwhoarenot
newtogamedevelopmentbutmaybewritingdocumentsforthefirsttimeorarelookingtoimprove
them.
Designdocumentscomeinstagesthatfollowthe
stepsinthedevelopmentprocess.Inthisfirstofa
twopartseriesofarticles,I'lldescribethepurposeofdocumentationandthebenefitsofguidelinesand
providedocumentationguidelinesforthefirsttwostepsintheprocesswritingaconceptdocumentand
submittingagameproposal.Inthenextpart,I'llprovideguidelinesforthefunctionalspecification,
technicalspecificationandleveldesigns.

Ten4
VR/VirtualReality
CreativeDirector
Planet3
LeadUI/UXDesigner
AgeofLearning,Inc.
LocalizationProducer
AgeofLearning,Inc.
GameDesigner,
Development
SuckerPunch
Productions
Producer
TelltaleGames
Producer

Latest Blogs

ThePurposeofDocumentation
Inbroadterms,thepurposeofdocumentationistocommunicatethevisioninsufficientdetailto
implementit.Itremovestheawkwardnessofprogrammers,designersandartistscomingtothe
producersanddesignersandaskingwhattheyshouldbedoing.Itkeepsthemfromprogrammingor
animatinginabox,withnoknowledgeofhoworiftheirworkisapplicableorintegrateswiththeworkof
others.Thusitreduceswastedeffortsandconfusion.
Documentationmeansdifferentthingstodifferentmembersoftheteam.Toaproducer,it'sabiblefrom
whichheshouldpreach.Iftheproducerdoesn'tblessthedesigndocumentsormakehisteamreadthem,
thentheyarenexttoworthless.Toadesignertheyareawayoffleshingouttheproducer'svisionand
providingspecificdetailsonhowthegamewillfunction.Theleaddesigneristheprincipleauthorofallthe
documentationwiththeexceptionofthetechnicalspecification,whichiswrittenbythesenior
programmerortechnicaldirector.Toaprogrammerandartist,theyareinstructionsforimplementation
yetalsoawaytoexpresstheirexpertiseinformalizingthedesignandlistofartandcodingtasks.Design
documentationshouldbeateameffort,becausealmosteveryoneontheteamplaysgamesandcanmake
greatcontributionstothedesign.

ViewAllPostRSS
June4,2016
TheLucasArtsYears:
ResolvingAnIdentity
Crisis
AdventuresinGame
WritingPAXEastPanel
QTSpecial:AnInside
LookAtMotionCapture

Documentationdoesnotremovetheneedfordesignmeetingsorelectronicdiscussions.Gettingpeople
intoaroomorsimilarlygettingeveryone'sopiniononanideaoraplanbeforeit'sfullydocumentedis
oftenafasterwayofreachingaconsensusonwhat'srightforthegame.Designdocumentsmerely
expresstheconsensus,fleshouttheideas,andeliminatethevagueness.Theythemselvesarediscussion
pieces.Thoughtheystrivetocementideasandplans,theyarenotcarvedinstone.Bycommentingon
themandeditingthem,peoplecanexchangeideasmoreclearly.
TheBenefitsofGuidelines

IGF

I'mNotAddicted.I'm
Connected!
CreatingEmotionalArcs
WithWeapon
Progression

Press Releases
June4,2016
PRNewswire
FromTheCreatorsOf
The"Burnout"Racing
Franchise
GestureRecognitionfor
GamingConsoles
Consumption
MoreThan40Million
AmericansAge50Plus
PlayVideoGames

Adheringtospecificguidelineswillstronglybenefitallofyourprojects.Theyeliminatethehype,increase
clarity,ensurethatcertainproceduresarefollowed,andmakeiteasiertodraftschedulesandtestplans.
Eliminationofhype.Guidelineseliminatehypebyforcingthedesignerstodefinethesubstantial
elementsofthegameandscalebacktheirethereal,farreachingpipedreamstosomethingdoable.
Clarityandcertainty.Guidelinespromoteclarityandcertaintyinthedesignprocess.Theycreate
uniformity,makingdocumentseasiertoread.Theyalsomakedocumentseasiertowrite,asthewriters
knowwhat'sexpectedofthem.
Guidelinesensurethatcertainprocessesorproceduresarefollowedinthedevelopmentofthe
documentationprocessessuchasmarketresearch,atechnicalevaluation,andadeepandthorough
explorationanddisseminationofthevision.
Easeofdraftingschedulesandtestplans.Designdocumentsthatfollowspecificguidelinesareeasy
totranslatetotasksonaschedule.Thedocumentliststheartandsoundrequirementsfortheartistsand
composers.Itbreaksupthestoryintodistinctlevelsfortheleveldesignersandlistsgameobjectsthat
requiredataentryandscripting.Itidentifiesthedistinctprogramareasandproceduresforthe
programmers.Lastly,itidentifiesgameelements,features,andfunctionsthatthequalityassuranceteam
shouldaddtoitstestplan.

ViewAll

GamesPress

ViewAllRSS

Calendar

Varyingfromtheguidelines.Theuniquenessofyourprojectmaydictatethatyouabandoncertain
guidelinesandstrictlyadheretoothers.Aportingprojectisoftenanobrainerandmaynotrequireany
documentationbeyondatechnicalspecificationifnochangestothedesignareinvolved.Sequels(suchas
WingCommanderII,III,andsoon)andotherknowndesigns(suchasMonopolyorpoker)maynot
requireathoroughexplanationofthegamemechanics,butmayinsteadreferthereaderstotheexisting
gamesordesigndocuments.Onlythespecificsoftheparticularimplementationneedtobedocumented.

ViewAllSubmitEvent

Page1of4

About

RelatedJobs

EditorInChief:
KrisGraft
BlogDirector:
ChristianNutt
SeniorContributing
Editor:
BrandonSheffield
NewsEditors:
AlexWawro
Advertising/Recruitm
ent/Education:
PoccoJimenez

Ten4San
Francisco,California,
UnitedStates
[06.03.16]
VR/VirtualReality
CreativeDirector

ContactGamasutra

Planet3
Washington,District
ofColumbia,United
States

AgeofLearning,Inc.
Glendale,

AgeofLearning,Inc.
Glendale,

[06.03.16]
LeadUI/UXDesigner

California,United
States

California,United
States

ReportaProblem

[06.03.16]

[06.03.16]

LocalizationProducer

GameDesigner,
Development

SubmitNews
[ViewAllJobs]

CommentGuidelines
BloggingGuidelines
HowWeWork

TopStories

Gama Network
Ifyouenjoyreadingthissite,
youmightalsowanttocheck
outtheseUBMTechsites:
GameCareerGuide

Thesmallteam
behindDangerous

Frontier
inadvertentlydrives

TheWit.nesisa
Witnessdemakefor

Growingupwith
gamedevsfor

Golf'shuge

Elite:DangerousAI

theoriginalNES

parents:Lifeatthe

destructionfests

tocreate
superweapons

Romerohouse

IndieGames

Comments
AnupamBiswas
ThankyousomuchforthisarticleTimRyan.

LogintoReplyorLike

1Mar2011at12:38amPST

DavidOso

23May2011at3:25pmPST

eh?
theGDDneedstoincludetheproposalaswellastheconceptdesigndocuments?
whyshouldtheybothbeincludedinthegamedesigndocument?
theconceptdesigndocumentisusedtogetthepublishersattention,proposalisusedto
pitchyourideatothepublisher.SoIdon'tknowwhybothmustbeincludedintheGDD
again.

dotheyhavetobeincluded?
LogintoReplyorLike

AaronPierce

12Jun2011at9:12pmPST

Whywouldn'ttheybe?Theproposalespecially.It'sthebasisofthegame,
the"thisiswhatwe'regoingfor"document.It'sthebackbonethatsays
"Hey,we'reofftargetonthisfeature"or"thatfeatureisspoton"duringthe
developmentprocess.Andtheconceptdesignartissuchanintegralpartof
thegamesdesignprocessthatIcouldn'tseeitNOTbeingapartofthe
GDD.Now,mindyou,chancesareitbeasupplementtotheGDD(a
conceptdesignBibleofsomesort),butit'dbeapartofitnonetheless.
LogintoReplyorLike

MelanieStegman

20Nov2015at7:29amPST

It'sbeenmyexperiencethateveryefforttokeepeverymemberofthe
teamonthesamepageshouldbetaken.Afterburyingyourheadin3or3
weeksofcodeormodelingitiseasytostartdownanotherpath.

LogintoReplyorLike

DannyBreen

29Oct2011at11:22amPST

thankstim,thishashelpedmequiteabitwithmycoursework!

LogintoReplyorLike

NarasimmarajanK

25Oct2012at1:49amPST

informative...

LogintoReplyorLike

CelmarGalindez

7Jan2014at10:03pmPST

Well,expressivethoughts.Thisisanusefultoolfornovicewhohadneverbeeninthe
industry.Simpleyetwellspoken.

LogintoReplyorLike

TimothyRyan

10Jan2014at8:04pmPST

Wow,thisisreallydated.Ishouldrewriteit.:)Thanks,Gamasutra.I'mgladthisremains
available.

LogintoReplyorLike

TynanWyllie

16Apr2014at5:20pmPST

That'dbegreat!I'mverymuchstartingoutandwouldloveanupdate.Love
what'shere,though,anditisprovingquitehelpful.

LogintoReplyorLike

WillJones

2May2015at10:20pmPST

Thisissomegreatinformationandveryusefulforanyonenewtocreatinggamedesign
documents.

LogintoReplyorLike

WillJones

14May2015at8:36pmPST

Greatinfo.
ApplythesesameconceptstothenewGameDesignDocumentcreatorandmanagerat
Dundoc.http://www.dundoc.comIt'sgonnabegreat!
LogintoReplyorLike

TECHNOLOGYPORTFOLIO
BlackHat
CloudConnect
DarkReading
EnterpriseConnect

Fusion
GDC
GTEC
Gamasutra

HDI
ICMI
InformationWeek
Interop

NetworkComputing
NoJitter
Tower&SmallCellSummit

COMMUNITIESSERVED

WORKINGWITHUS

EnterpriseIT
EnterpriseCommunications
GameDevelopment
InformationSecurity
ITServices&Support

AdvertisingContacts
EventCalendar
TechMarketing
Solutions
ContactUs
Licensing

TermsofService | PrivacyStatement | Copyright2016UBM,Allrightsreserved