Design dokument Agenda Intro Guidelines for the Game Concept Guidelines for the Game Proposal Guidelines Functional specification Kilde: Ryan, Tim (1999).The Anatomy of a Design Document, Gamasutra Part 1: Documentation Guidelines for the Game Concept and Proposal Part 2: Documentation Guidelines for the functional and Technical Specifications

Design dokument ” the purpose of documentation is to communicate the vision in sufficient detail to implement it. It removes the awkwardness of programmers, designers and artists coming to the producers and designers and asking what they should be doing.” Har forskellige betydning for forskellige roller: producer, designer, programør etc. Er et redskab til at kommunikere og diskutere spillet igennem udviklingsprocessen

Udviklingscyklus Conceptual Phase Document: Game Concept Document: Game Proposal Design Phase Document: Functional Specification Document: Technical Specification Documents: Tool Specifications (if applicable) Production Phase/Implementation Phase Production Schedule Technology and Art Demo First Playable Level Documents: Paper Level Designs (not always a deliverable) Alpha - Functionally Complete Testing Phase (Quality Assurance) Beta - First Potential Code Release Gold Master - Code Release

Game concept: Indhold Udtrykker centrale i spilideen på 1-2 sider Introduktion – ‘elevatorpitch’ Baggrund – uddybning af indledning Beskrivelse – lad læseren opleve spillet Key features – ‘unique selling points’ Genre – brug velkendt genreklassificering Platform(s) Koncept art – visualisering

Game concept: klassiske fejl Klassiske fejl: Sikre dig at, det er en del af publishers strategi Vær realistisk I ressourceallokering Beskriv handlingerne i spillet Hvert element er i konceptet skal være sjovt Bliv ved

Game proposal Indhold af Game proposal 1.Revised game concept (preceding) 2.Market analysis 3.Technical analysis 4.Legal analysis (if applicable) 5.Cost and revenue projections 6.Art “As a game proposal takes time (and therefore, money) to do correctly, it should only be developed for promising game concepts. “

Game proposal: Market analysis Target market Top performers Feature comparison Technical analysis Experimental features Major development tasks Technical risks Alternatives (if any) Estimated resources Estimated Schedule

Game proposal: Ressource budget Ansatte Hardware/Software Ekstraomkostninger Retail Salgspris Indtægtsoverslag Art Skal være med i proposal Nogle vil kun vælge ud fra det… en designer

Game proposal: Klassiske fejl: Magic numbers Kedeligt at læse Common-sense Forslagsstiller er sensitiv overfor kritik Forslagsstiller er ufleksibel overfor ændringer i spillet

Design dokument – next level Functional specification(desig doc): “what goes into the game and what it does is documented in the. This is often written from the perspective of the user.” ”It fleshes out the skeleton of the vision as expressed in the game concept and game proposal. It is a springboard from which the technical specification and schedule is derived and the implementation begins.” Start med game concept og proposal (forankrer vision/processsen – får marketing, finans, tech. med) Ikke et salgsdokument, men en grundig beskrivelse

Design dokument – next level Indhold Game Mechanics User Interface Art and Video Sound and Music Story (if applicable) Level Requirements Klassiske fejl Utilstrækkeligt materiale Taler ned til læseren Modsigende og tvetydig gennemgang af materiale Design doc. from hell(for meget af det gode) Binder forslag for meget op på sin person Lader forslaget bliver styrende af spil her-og-nu

Design dokument – next level Technical specification: How it is implemented and how it performs the function is documented in the. This is often written from the system perspective. ”By asking for one, the producer is just making sure the technical staff thinks everything through, even if he or she doesn’t understand it. To the lead programmer, it’s a way of organizing his or her thoughts and creating an accurate picture of the work involved. ” ……… technical stuff