Design Documentation I did - Thinking and Feeling
Haven't been on here in MONTHS... I like the "new" look! :)
I am attaching some design documentation I made for a VR-intensive game. When I began with the idea of documenting a game concept, I found that the pre-production, design documentation phase, were a bit flawed and broken in a sense.
You initially have a Game Design Document which explains all the facets of the game, then you have the Technical Design Document which covers all the technical tidbits of how the game will be constructed regarding the coding and chosen design software. Lastly, you have the High Concept Document, a document which aims to convince the reader/investor that the idea of the game is plausible and possesses the potential of being profitable. But nowhere is there a document which motivates the reader/team member into wanting to make the game and form a personal connection with the material.
Therefore, I constructed the Trigger Document, a document which provides the team member with various stimuli. These stimuli will hopefully help form a connection between the member and material, so that they will be able to give their all and help create an experience that others can wholeheartedly cherish and enjoy. The Trigger Document also incorporates a facet of research through play, where you play games which possesses similar design fundamentals which you want to have in your game, for instance(accessibility, memorability and replay-ability).
We all are emotive beings, and I think by approaching game design with a sense of fragility and humanity, we can make games more interesting as each person on a design team, can put a little bit of themselves within that 2d, or 3d space for others to resonate with.
This by no means mean, that each game need to possess dramatic elements...
Anyway, this is just me, getting some stuff out of my head, and off my chest.
PS: This is the first time I ever made a GDD or a HCD. It became a testbed for me to see if I could actually do it. If you like the docs, I am glad, if you do not, it does not faze me, as I learnt a great deal while doing this. If you want some template docs for a GDD or HCD, let me know.
Or if you want some help regarding documentation, also just inbox me :)
I am attaching some design documentation I made for a VR-intensive game. When I began with the idea of documenting a game concept, I found that the pre-production, design documentation phase, were a bit flawed and broken in a sense.
You initially have a Game Design Document which explains all the facets of the game, then you have the Technical Design Document which covers all the technical tidbits of how the game will be constructed regarding the coding and chosen design software. Lastly, you have the High Concept Document, a document which aims to convince the reader/investor that the idea of the game is plausible and possesses the potential of being profitable. But nowhere is there a document which motivates the reader/team member into wanting to make the game and form a personal connection with the material.
Therefore, I constructed the Trigger Document, a document which provides the team member with various stimuli. These stimuli will hopefully help form a connection between the member and material, so that they will be able to give their all and help create an experience that others can wholeheartedly cherish and enjoy. The Trigger Document also incorporates a facet of research through play, where you play games which possesses similar design fundamentals which you want to have in your game, for instance(accessibility, memorability and replay-ability).
We all are emotive beings, and I think by approaching game design with a sense of fragility and humanity, we can make games more interesting as each person on a design team, can put a little bit of themselves within that 2d, or 3d space for others to resonate with.
This by no means mean, that each game need to possess dramatic elements...
Anyway, this is just me, getting some stuff out of my head, and off my chest.
PS: This is the first time I ever made a GDD or a HCD. It became a testbed for me to see if I could actually do it. If you like the docs, I am glad, if you do not, it does not faze me, as I learnt a great deal while doing this. If you want some template docs for a GDD or HCD, let me know.
Or if you want some help regarding documentation, also just inbox me :)
Comments
Unfortunately I haven't collaborated with anyone on a game yet, but I often think about how to convey a vision and motivation behind a design effectively to collaborators.
This might have a lot to do with the team and structural differences, like when a larger part of the project is managing client expectations rather than explore game feel or incorporating audience feedback; it changes the direction of directive. If I'm reading this right the Trigger Doc goes some of the way to reconciling those expectations, re-inserting the creators into the creation emotively.
I know it's my own privilege/lucky experience history that allows me this perspective, but I sort of want to say that if you need a trigger document (if my understanding is correct about what it is) then maybe it would be more efficient to re-assess the whole pipeline? If the creators on a project can't feel invested in their work, shouldn't the work be re-assessed? It seems like fundamental artistic integrity to me.
@Damousey. To be honest, once you sit down and try to think about all the different facets that are covered in a GDD, your initial seed of an idea, starts to grow into a forest of ideas. It is interesting as it kind of "forces" you to think about things you would not necessarily think about. And that is a good thing, as you now get a more vivid, and complete picture of your game, or the intended experience.
A GGD is suppose to be a living entity, and therefore, in a dev team, somebody needs to be assigned to keep the doc up to date and document the changes that needs to be made. Initially, it needs to serve as the development bible. If the UI,menu designer wants quickly check something, he can jump right to the "menu layout" section, or if the character artist wants to know something about the characters, he/she can jump to the narrative/character section to draw inspiration from.
It sounds like a daunting task to upkeep such a doc, and I assume it is, but I do think there is a great deal of purpose behind having detailed design documentation.
The trigger document is more of a mood document, lol, ull see what I mean, its a bit different.
@Dingle. Same here, I also want to collaborate on a game with somebody. Id love to do docs, or help somebody regarding the narrative and game mechanics of a game. You can look at the docs, and if you want, I can upload the template documents for you?
Anywhoooo, thanks for the comments, really appreciate it.