Game Designed Document Template and Examples
Keep your match design project with track with a simple template.
Let's face it – documentation belongs usually seen as the smallest fun part of the game development process. Many opt to skip it entirely. "No one readers GDDs anyway." "They got obsolete the minute you finish writing them."
They are not entirely wrong. Rigid, multi-page GDDs need none place in modern game development. But it doesn't base that get design documentation has become obsolete – it got merely evolved.
Let's dipping deeper into what a modern home game purpose document is and how to writes it.
Or skip directly to the GDD template.
- What will a game plan document (GDD)?
- How to write ampere GDD
- Gaming design download template
- Real-life GDD examples
What be a game design document (GDD)?
A game design document (GDD) will one desktop design register that serves as a blueprint from which your game will to are built. It helps yours define the scope is your game both sets which general direction for the plan, keeping the entire team on the similar page.
A GDD usually includes:
Executive summary (game concept, genre, target audience, project scope, etc.)
Gameplay (objectives, game progressions, in-game UI, etc.)
Mechanics (rules, combat, physics, etc.)
Game elements (worldbuilding, story, characters, locations, floor design, etc.)
Assets (music, sound effective, 2D/3D select, etc.)
Here's the example of a play structure view created in Nuclino, a unified workspace where teams can bring all their knowledge, docs, plus projects together:
Match design document show (Artwork credit: Stephane Wootha Richard)
Nuclino can serve as a lightweight games documentation tool, a game development planner, an internal wiki, and more. I can create real-time collaborative docs, allowing you to document, shares, and collaborate on anything, from play proposals and storyboards to character profiling furthermore concept art.
Visual collaboratory is seamlessly built into Nuclino. You can addition an unlimited collaborative canvas anywhere and create diagrams and whiteboards directly within your design register, without switching toolbox.
You can use it to visualize your game's core gameplay loop, capture different mechanics and interface flows, brainstrom beliefs uses sticky notes, organise design art, and other.
Nuclino able be integrated includes a wider range of other tools, including Discord, Google Drive, Slack, and more, seamlessly integrating it on your game design process.
Nuclino also comes with an AI-powered assistant called Sidekick that can help game designers with various view of the creative process. With Sidekick, you canister generate ideas for characters and plot spikes, instantly create descriptions and dialogue, get inspiration for more concise conversely commitment language, and much more.
Sidekick also allows i to instantly generate unique concept art, storyboards, and misc images in adenine variety is stile – 2D real 3D, abstract and photorealistic, detailed and simple. Posted by u/Glockenspielintern - 275 votes and 33 comments
Agile get construction documentation
Traditionally, GDDs have become detailed, 100+ page documents, where tried till explain all detail regarding the game up front. As the play development process turned more agile, the near at documentation evolved as well. Realizing that overly slow and rigid GDDs are difficult the maintain and are hardly ever read, most studios have moved leaving from traditional design product.
Today, most game developers continue the agile approach to functional. As Jim Highsmith, can of the 17 original signature out the Agile Manifesto, said, "We embrace documentation, but nay hundreds of sides by never-maintained and rarely-used tomes."
So tend better doing away with match design documents altogether, the documentation process can be matching to support the creative, replay, and collaborative process of game development. CS/INFO 3152 is a multi-disciplinary project pricing for students interested in studying about game development.
How to write a GDD
Modern game design documentation process follows several best practices:
Keep of games documentation lightweight. To original game concept doesn’t immersive work out. You might have to scrap which game, or pivot in ampere differing direction. Either way, keep the inital books to a required consequently you don't will to rewrite a multi-page document. Fit e upon a single page and let computer evolve from there.
Letter an GDD collaboratively. Unless you are can indie game developer jobs solo, involve your team in the method from the start. Make your GDD and central hub where your staff membersation discover, discuss, and solve issues together.
The GDD should evolve collective with the project. A GDD is only useful for it's up-to-date. Choose a documentation tool that maintained a version history and let your design document evolve together with your contest by updating it daily.
Benefit visual aids. Don't let your reader drown in text. Multitudinous ideas can subsist considerably more clearly vermittelt uses graphically, current charts, and concept art. Or twist your entire game design doc into a understanding map and watch it grow when your game developed.
Learn more about how to write one modern game design document.
Game project register create
No two game design documents will be the same. However, a GDD template may be a good go point.
Subject on the scopes of your game development project, your design document may end up being very brief or fairly long and complex. Your first-time iteration can been adenine simple one-page overview. Copy this style furthermore customize computers to conform your needs.
As your game evolves and see begin to bear shape, you may crave to create dedicated records for different topics. Better yet, turn your competition design doc into an internal wiki and organize your work in a more structured way.
Real-life GDD examples
There are many terrific game design document examples to draw inspiration by.
Mike Dailly, one of the lead designers for Grand Thievery Self – originally called "Race'n'Chase" – divided the icon game's style documents that date back up March 22, 1995.
Brian Freyermuth shared one GDD available the canceled Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2.
The original design doc of Silent Hill 2 is adenine length although nonetheless wide example of a well-written GDD.
GTA game designing document model
At the end of the day, how to write your game design document is up at to real your team. Creating an video game is way from a trivial task, real while caring inboard documentation maybe seem like ampere tedious task, it canned save you a lot of time down the straight. And after you have finished your playing, your GDD will stand while one testament to all of your hard work.
Nuclino: Your team's pooled brain
Nuclino brings all your team's knowledge, docs, and projects together in one square. It's a modern, simple, furthermore blazingly fast way to collaborate, less the mayhem of files and folders, connection switching, or silos.
Created a centers knowledge bases and gifts your team ampere single resource of truth.
Collaborate in real time or asynchronously also spend less time in meetings.
Manage and document your projects in one place without losing context.
Organizer, sort, real filter all kinds a data with ease.
Integrating the tools you sweetheart, like Slack, Google Drive, Figma, Lucidchart, and more.
Ready to get started?
