Game Idea: [Title of the Game]
Game Idea in Brief [Template]
Tony Manninen
26.2.2003
This template provides an example for the structure of game idea document.The overall number of individual chapters makes the document rather long.Therefore, the designer should pick and choose the applicable sections for his or her initial idea description (pitcher, treatment, synopsis, …).The order of sections is not necearily from the most abstract to the most detailed one, although this has been the main philosophy in arranging the list.
Brief game idea document might contain, for example, the following set of sections:
1.Description
2.Why create this game?
3.Target Audience
4.Treatment
5.Key Ideas
6.(Marketing)
7.(Technical Requirements)
However, the designer may want to choose slightly different set of sections depending on the situation.The brief idea document should not be longer than two pages.In some occasions, the designer may choose to write down a preliminary idea description (or game concept seed) for poible future development.In these cases the length of the document should be restricted to half a page.
Description
Brief description of the gamethe basic concept? Genre, theme Philosophy Main philosophy behind the game design Is it concept, gameplay, content, technology, or bits and pieces of them all? Why create this game? Why are you creating this game?Motivation, background, vision Why is this game worth the effort? Target Audience Who are the players? What makes this group important? Treatment How the game is going to be built? What are the main methods, tools and procees? What is the basic technological platform? Key Ideas Killer ideas Most important features
Tony Manninen 1
Gameworld and Level Design Where does the game take place? Describe the world that your game takes place in.A description of the various levels in the game (?) The style of the levels, their main characteristics, number of levels, … How does gameworld/set of levels affect the game and gameplay? Look and Feel Style of the game (artistic point of view) What does the game look like? Main artistic sources (books, movies, music, etc.) Background Story If applicable, tell the story of the game that leads into the beginning of the game, and tell the story that unfolds during gameplay, if any.What is the tone?What is the basic narrative?What is the \"heart\" of the story? Is it a linear story? Objectives Describe the objective of the game.What is the main focus? What is the player supposed to achieve in this world?What is the player\'s goal and why would he or she want to accomplish it?Rules Basic rules and rule sets (which are known at this point) What are the core rules that make the game as it is? Evaluation of other rules (their estimated functionality, poible problems, etc.) What are the supporting and/or poible additional rules that enhance the game? Gameplay Describe the way the game works, from beginning to end.How do the rules affect the features? Describe the basic logic on general level Describe the A.I.of the computerised opponents/characters/objects, if any.It is sometimes helpful to write a \"walkthrough\" of the game to further enhance the reader\'s ability to visualise the game.What is the basic interactive structure? (e.g.Chapters vs.Great Middle Section, Levels, etc.).What is the \"heart\" of the gameplay? (e.g.speed, actions, style, continuous, turn-based, etc.?How does multi-player work?How difficult is the game?How long will it take the average player to complete? User Interface A description of the user interface What is the planned interface?What is the planned perspective (1st person vs.3rd person)?What does the player control? How many characters does the player control?
Seion control (saving, loading, instructions, etc…) Some examples Entities (players and computer) Units, objects, characters, resources, … Number of entities Start up
Beginning of the game/levels (resources, locations, situation, etc.) Poible choicesFeature List A list of all the features (enemies, power-ups, special stones, resources, etc.), with information on what their function is and where and how they appear in the game
Marketing
USP:t (Unique Selling Points) Market analysis, sale estimations, … Technical requirements Various versions Platform(s) Requirements (graphics, audio, proceor, …)
