Game Design Document

Template:Video game industry A game design document (often abbreviated GDD) is a highly descriptive living software design document of the design for a video game. A GDD is created and edited by the development team and it is primarily used in the video game industry to organize efforts within a development team. The document is created by the development team as result of collaboration between their designers, artists and programmers as a guiding vision which is used throughout the game development process. When a game is commissioned by a game publisher to the development team, the document must be created by the development team and it is often attached to the agreement between publisher and developer; the developer has to adhere to the GDD during game development process.

Content

A game design document may be made of text, images, diagrams, concept art, or any applicable media to better illustrate design decisions. Some design documents may include functional prototypes or a chosen game engine for some sections of the game.

Although considered a requirement by many companies, a GDD has no set industry standard form. For example, developers may choose to keep the document as a word processed document, or as an online collaboration tool.

Structure

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. GAME OVERVIEW A. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY B. STORYLINE (N/A) C. NAMES (N/A) II. CORE GAMEPLAY A. MAIN GAME VIEW B. CORE PLAYER ACTIVITY C. GAME CONTROLS D. IN-GAME GUI III. CONTEXTUAL GAMEPLAY A. GAME SHELL FUNCTIONS B. GAME FLOW DIAGRAM C. GAME MECHANICS D. MULTIPLAYER MECHANICS (N/A) E. SPECIAL FEATURES (N/A) IV. GAME ELEMENTS A. CHARACTERS B. LEVEL / MISSION / AREA DESIGNS C. OBJECTS (N/A) D. INTRO SCENE E. MENU F. HOW TO PLAY G. END SCREEN V. SOUND A. MUSIC B. SOUND EFFECTS VI. CHEATS

VII. APPENDIX A: GAMEFLOW DIAGRAM