module storyboard

Name: Robert Perry Module: Pre-Production Phase of Game Development Slide # 1

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Navigation Information

Clicking on any of the three section will begin the section related to the image. Back – Go back to the intro videoKey Terms – Go to key terms pageCredits– Go to the credits page


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Action: Text appears as the slide plays describing the game design document section. Next – Go to next slideKey Terms – Go to key terms pageMain Menu – Go to the main menu page


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A detailed table of contents can make a major difference in the pre-production phase of your project. Each topic should be listed in your table of contents and the user should be able to quickly navigate to each section by clicking on the section in the table of contents. Be sure to keep this updated as the project continues to grow.


Text on the screen is an image. This is a visual example of how to set up this section of the GDD. Next – Go to next slideBack – Go to previous slideKey Terms – Go to key terms pageMain Menu – Go to the main menu page


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When creating the various sections of your game design document, remember to keep it easy to read by members of the team. This can be accomplished by using short paragraphs and bullet points heavily. It can be a great waste of time to read a wall of text for get a simple answer and no one on the team wants to do so.


Text on the screen is an image. This is a visual example of how to set up this section of the GDD. This text will appear on screen during narration.

Next – Go to next slideBack – Go to previous slideKey Terms – Go to key terms pageMain Menu – Go to the main menu page


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Be sure to provide extensive visuals while creating the game design document. Descriptive text can be beneficial when trying to explain a concept to someone, but nothing gets the point across like a good visual representation. Although your visuals do not have to be spot on, they should provided enough details to accurately explain what will be going on in the game.




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In your game overview section, a game concept and genre sub section should be present. This will give a brief description of your “overall” concept for the project and what genre the game will fall under. Every game will have different intentions from the start. Maybe your game is meant to target a young audience to improve cognitive skills. Perhaps your game offers something innovative to a specific genre that has never been done before. This information should be included in the game overview section, detailing what the intentions of the designer are.





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It is very important to include a game flow summary sub section in the game overview section. The game flow summary will explain the flow of the game, with examples of each type of flow. This is help the reader understand the pace of the game and how it will play out. You should also include a general look and feel section with the game flow summary. This will description how the game is intended to come across to the audience.





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The gameplay and mechanics section of your game design document should have many detailed subsections, including game progression, mission structure and game objectives. Depending on the game in question, these sub sections may overlap each other, but that is ok. The game progression section should detail how the game progresses. If there are individual levels, how are the levels completed. The mission (or challenge) structure will detail how the games challenges will be set up and how the player will encounter them. The objectives sub section can sometimes be the same thing as one of the previous sections, but not all of the time. For example, in a top down shoot’em up title, the objective may be gain an understanding of the ship’s abilities for a large boss battle.





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Along with mission structures and objectives, the gameplay & mechanics section should include… well mechanics. Mechanics are the rules that pertains to the interaction of game objectives. This includes rules such as aiming or shooting in a FPS, or acceleration and deceleration in a racing game. Each game will have different mechanics, so it is important to be as detailed as possible and list anything a player, and NPC or something in the environment can do within the game. Since this section includes interactions within the game, it is a great place to list your game’s AI. This will include any enemies in the game, NPCs or objects that have complex interactions with the user or with other objects in the game.





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The gameplay and mechanics section should also include an actions and economy section. Although actions and mechanics sound the same, they have their differences. Actions will be a higher view of the mechanics, such as combat as a concept or how a health meter effects a game. Actions can include many different sections, so think about what actions mechanics will cause and be sure to document as thoroughly as possible. The economy section can be exactly as it sounds, or it can take on different meanings. Economy can be coins or monetary value in a game, or it could be something not pertaining to money at all. Think of the game economy as a gain and loss system. What can the player gain or lose while playing the game? Document anything that comes to mind and be as detailed as possible.





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The visual system is a major portion of the game interface section. In this section, you will document the player hud and what information it details. Please be sure to be a detailed as possible. On top of the hud information, you should also include in visual effects that may occur to alert the player of certain actions. For example, in a fighting game, a quick red flash may indicate that the player has taken damage. These situations should be included in this section.




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The control system is also a very important section in the game interface. The control system consist of information on how the player interacts with the program. The control system should include every action that the player can perform and what button configuration will control these actions.





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The audio section of the game interface will detail what sounds will occur during the game. This can include any background music, audio during the game or sound effects during specific actions. For example, if a boss makes a breaking noise when it is attacked by the player, the audio that plays needs to be documented. The documentation should detail when the sound is played, why the sound is played and the origin of the audio clip.




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One piece of additional information that needs to be included in the game design document is information pertaining to IPM Flow. IPM stands for introduce, practice and master. For any encounters within your game, there should be a distinct IPM flow. The user should be introduced to a concept (such as an enemies movements and firing patterns), have the chance to practice the concept and finally have the chance to master the concept with a difficult encounter.





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Another important aspect of the game design document is the asset list. The asset list contains items that will be needed to build the game. With some engines, there will be assets readily available to use. In other situations, you may have to download packages or create your own assets with assistance from programs such as Photoshop, 3DS Max and Maya. You should list all of the needed assets as accurately as possible. In most situations, this list will change through production, but it is a good starting point.


Text on the screen is an image. This is a visual example of how to set up this section of the GDD. Next – Go to next slideBack – Go to previous slideKey Terms – Go to key terms pageMain Menu – Go to the main menu page


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Back – Go to previous slideKey Terms – Go to key terms pageMain Menu – Go to the main menu page


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While visually appealing images can be nice, they are not necessary for the pre-production phase of game development. A rough, hand drawn sketch can be just as effective as an image created in photoshop as long as the needed elements are present. Although the images do not have to be appealing, it is crucial that the needed elements are present in storyboards or level layouts. This information can vary depending on your genre. Be sure to give a good amount of thought of what actions are needed in the storyboard or level layout and represent the action in an image.


Videos are started by interacting with images that are located on the slide. Next – Go to next slideBack – Go to previous slideKey Terms – Go to key terms pageMain Menu – Go to the main menu page


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When creating a level layout, be sure to always use a top down view. This will allow you to create player pathways and accurately represent encounters on the layout. Remember to use appropriate icons for your representations in the layout. If an area of the map is suppose to have tanks there, don’t throw on a monkey icon and be satisfied. This is confusing to the viewer and can send the wrong message. If an appropriate icon cannot be found, use letters to represent your various occurrences on the map. While using appropriate icons is important, it would be better to use inappropriate icons that are properly documented in the legend than to use appropriate icons that are not documented. If the information is not located in the level’s legend, another person is not going to fully understand what they are seeing. Everything must be documented so that no questions are left unanswered.




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Scale can have a drastic impact on your level layouts. Scale is created with a grid system, that can be as simple as graphing paper. Each block should represent a specific distance that suits your level, as well as the engine you may be using. If you are building a video game and not an analog game, you will need to select an engine. Each engine will have a different unit system. For example, in UDK, 16 units equal one actual foot. On the other hand, one unit in Unity equals one actual meter. That is quite a difference between two engines. No matter what units are used, it is important to take scale into consideration when building your level layouts so that you can accurately build your level to match.




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Name: Robert Perry Module: Pre-Production Phase of Game Development

Slide # 23

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When beginning to build your prototype, it is important to keep the different options available in mind. Prototypes can be created in many different forms. You can create your prototype with a game engine, use a language such as Perlenspiel to quickly script your prototype, create a pen and paper prototype or make a working board game prototype. It is your task to find the method that best fits your concept. Each method of prototyping will have their own strengths and weaknesses. Creating a pen and paper prototype or a board game prototype can be extremely fast and efficient. The downside of these methods is that some video game mechanics do not translate well into analog games and will not give an accurate representation. Creating a prototype using a game engine or through straight script will create the most accurate portrayal of your concept if your are creating a video game. The downside of these two methods is that they can be very time consuming in certain instances. It is important to weigh the pros and cons and pick your method wisely. No matter what method of prototyping you choose to utilize, it will be very important to create your important systems before anything else. Interact with the game engine to begin the next lesson. Understanding which systems are most crucial to the functionality of your game will be essential to the prototype phase. If you do not prioritize correctly, you can end up spending a great amount of time creating less important systems just to find out that your most important aspects do not work the way you want them to.


6 Audio options available in the circle matrix. Next – Go to next slideBack – Go to previous slideKey Terms – Go to key terms pageMain Menu – Go to the main menu page


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To create the important systems first, you need to understand which systems have the greatest impact of your game. If you need help discovering your important systems, think about which systems are crucial to game progression. Also, think about what actions or encounters the player will have the most of or which systems are effected by the player, AI or the environment the most. For example, in a top-down shoot’em up title, your most important system may be the ability to swap weapon bays and the absorb mechanic to take on new abilities. Since these are the most crucial to the games success, these systems need to be built before a shield for your fighter or bullet time to slow down the game’s speed during certain situations. The “priority systems” will change drastically from game to game, even games that share the same genre. Be mindful of your most important needs and create those first.


Click any of the four boxes for more detail related to that section. Next – Go to next slideBack – Go to previous slideKey Terms – Go to key terms pageMain Menu – Go to the main menu page


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Prototypes are not suppose to be big and extravagant, prototypes are suppose to be fast and cheap to make. For this reason, many shortcuts are usually taken when creating a prototype and this is ok. This gives you a quick representation of what will happen in your game without having to build everything first.The quick representation is vital to the project’s success, as the main goal of the prototype is to test the concept, not create an accurate depiction. Many projects go through many changes during and after the prototype phase that can drastically effect the game’s look and feel, so don’t get hung up on these things. Just make sure your prototype is functional and shows how you want the concept to behave.


Click either of the images for more information. Next – Go to next slideBack – Go to previous slideKey Terms – Go to key terms pageMain Menu – Go to the main menu page


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module storyboard

Design