Design document?
Author
Hi, I was wondering if any of you might be able to help me what a 'Design Document' contains within it?
*waves magic wand*
why, good sir, would you ask when you already know the answer ?
i'm in an unusually hyper mood.
<edit :: forgive me, you deserve a rough explanation. a design document contains pretty much every scrap of information related to the game, from the gameplay aspects to technical specifications (although i've read somewhere that part can be separate). its a blueprint that everyone can see and use for building your game, describing team management, background story, event sequences, character plots, and anything else needed to get your game completed. while not set in stone, it should be flexible enough to accomodate additions and subtractions that may crop up during developement.
why, good sir, would you ask when you already know the answer ?
i'm in an unusually hyper mood.
<edit :: forgive me, you deserve a rough explanation. a design document contains pretty much every scrap of information related to the game, from the gameplay aspects to technical specifications (although i've read somewhere that part can be separate). its a blueprint that everyone can see and use for building your game, describing team management, background story, event sequences, character plots, and anything else needed to get your game completed. while not set in stone, it should be flexible enough to accomodate additions and subtractions that may crop up during developement.
Author
...ok. I assume that Gamasultra is the place that would be able to answer questions about how a game development company works then?
<edit> So a Design Doc is pretty much a very well told story(by that, I mean practically everything is described from a characters appearance to every nook and cranny of a building?)
<edit> So a Design Doc is pretty much a very well told story(by that, I mean practically everything is described from a characters appearance to every nook and cranny of a building?)
Well usually you wouldn't want to go as detailed as that, but it's really up to you. Generally the design document outlines the gameplay of the game. It might be wise to keep other stuff (such as level design, story) in another file to keep everything managed.
Quote:<edit> So a Design Doc is pretty much a very well told story(by that, I mean practically everything is described from a characters appearance to every nook and cranny of a building?)
pretty much. you're trying to inject as much detail as you can, so that you (and anyone else involved) can (at any point in the developement process) visualize what it is you have in mind at that point, and then (again, using the steps you laid out in the design doc) implement it in a logical and efficient fashion. it also (if you haven't read that part yet) serves as a pitch to potential publishers, so it is best to lay it all out in good form and be very detailed.
Another thing that need to be said is that a design document also describes what a project IS NOT.
It is as important to define what a project is not as it is to define what a project is.
With that, it is possible to set things "in-stone" and begin to build something. Later, when someone come into the office and say "I thought it was possible to do that thing !" you can show him the original design document and answer "This is what we decided, do you remember ?"
It is as important to define what a project is not as it is to define what a project is.
With that, it is possible to set things "in-stone" and begin to build something. Later, when someone come into the office and say "I thought it was possible to do that thing !" you can show him the original design document and answer "This is what we decided, do you remember ?"
[ Slightly off-topic but... ]
Instead of using a ms-word document, I was thinking of using a different media to store the design documents - namely some sort of wiki which would allow the designers (both the game designers and the software architects) to update the document on a regular basis and to immediately publish the updates to the whole crew (with, of course, some classical "update-review-accept" process).
With some kind of automatic PDF genration, it should help to keep the design doc up-to-date.
[ Return back to topic ]
A really useful design document is a complete and very detailled reference of what should be done. It must contains the gameplay elements, the storyline, the description of the effects, and so on. It HAVE to be complete. If it isn't then the whole team will not be able to progress without asking endless questions to the game designers - which is counter-productive.
Regards,
Instead of using a ms-word document, I was thinking of using a different media to store the design documents - namely some sort of wiki which would allow the designers (both the game designers and the software architects) to update the document on a regular basis and to immediately publish the updates to the whole crew (with, of course, some classical "update-review-accept" process).
With some kind of automatic PDF genration, it should help to keep the design doc up-to-date.
[ Return back to topic ]
A really useful design document is a complete and very detailled reference of what should be done. It must contains the gameplay elements, the storyline, the description of the effects, and so on. It HAVE to be complete. If it isn't then the whole team will not be able to progress without asking endless questions to the game designers - which is counter-productive.
Regards,
Quote:Original post by Emmanuel Deloget
Instead of using a ms-word document, I was thinking of using a different media to store the design documents - namely some sort of wiki which would allow the designers (both the game designers and the software architects) to update the document on a regular basis and to immediately publish the updates to the whole crew (with, of course, some classical "update-review-accept" process).
With some kind of automatic PDF genration, it should help to keep the design doc up-to-date.
Go for it.
Actually, I'm thinking that a tool that accepts a stylesheet and a set of wiki page sources (and an indication of "where to start") and outputs a .ps or .pdf (somehow deciding on a logical ordering) could be *very* valuable.
Quote:Original post by Emmanuel Deloget
Instead of using a ms-word document, I was thinking of using a different media to store the design documents - namely some sort of wiki which would allow the designers (both the game designers and the software architects) to update the document on a regular basis and to immediately publish the updates to the whole crew (with, of course, some classical "update-review-accept" process).
With some kind of automatic PDF genration, it should help to keep the design doc up-to-date.
A Wiki works quite well. I've just been experimenting with mine and it's pretty cool. Very good for multiple developer modifications. If you're too lazy to set up your own wiki, feel free to use mine....
Ernest has set up a Wiki for his new MakeDeezGames project. I suggest you check it out.
Quote:Original post by Zahlman
Actually, I'm thinking that a tool that accepts a stylesheet and a set of wiki page sources (and an indication of "where to start") and outputs a .ps or .pdf (somehow deciding on a logical ordering) could be *very* valuable.
Somewhat hard - because of the ordering. But if there is a logical ordering available (for example: a hint in the keyword), it should be possible to create it. /me thinks, me thinks...
Quote:Original post by Rob Loach
A Wiki works quite well. I've just been experimenting with mine and it's pretty cool. Very good for multiple developer modifications. If you're too lazy to set up your own wiki, feel free to use mine....
Very good. Seems I'm not that stupid :)
Our main customer just set up another one to speed up the communication process between the developpers and the designers. All the design docs are going to be wikified in the next months - mainly as a test before they adopt the tool for all the other projects.
Quote:Original post by Rob Loach
Ernest has set up a Wiki for his new MakeDeezGames project. I suggest you check it out.
Great too :)
Regrads,
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