Game Design Document (GDD)

Hi! This page has been written by Iván Bermúdez Sagra, student of Videogame Design and Development in CITM of UPC.

Introduction

The main objective of a Game Designer is the creation and conceptual development of the video game. Things like the mechanics, the gameplay, the game experience, the story among others are the jobs of a Game Designer.

intro

A game designer must have some fundamental skills:

Define the game experience
Design the systems & mechanics
Create the game

Then there are other extra skills that can be useful such as: Puzzles, Balancing, Documentation, etc…

On this site we are going to investigate more in the documentation part, more specifically in the Game Design Document (GDD).

What is a GDD?

A Game Design Document (GDD) is a document that explains how a specific video game has been made. Is typically a detailed guide that can be used to keep track of the core themes, ideas, styles, features and mechanics of your game project.

The main purpose of a game design document is to communicate the details of your project to either yourself, or to other people, such as team members, publishers or people who will be playing your game, as part of a crowdfunding campaign or early access product.

Put simply, it’s the tool that you’ll use to manage and develop the concept of what your game is, how it’s supposed to work and how it will be built.

gdd

How to create a GDD

When you write your GDD, the most important thing is to think about what you need first. Otherwise, it can be extremely difficult to know what it should contain or how detailed it should be.

For example, what do you want:

A simple overview page that you can use to keep track of your game’s concepts?
Be able to keep track of your game’s story, lore or items?
Be able to show a developer exactly how a feature works or what a level should look like?
A marketing focussed summary that you can give to publishers or investors?

Your GDD might do one of these things or it might do all of them, but what’s important is that you understand what information your GDD is supposed to provide and who it’s going to provide it to. Knowing that will help you to decide what needs to be included.

What are the main topics that it should cover?

Introduction

The following points are briefly discussed here: title, game concept, main features, genre, purpose and target audience, gameplay, visual style, distribution range, platform, category, license, the technology, and the game pillars among other possible points.

Script (Narrative)

Write the literary script based on the type of game and its needs. The narrative part will go in this section, mainly, the complete script of the story.

You can include a technical script that helps to carry out the audiovisual content in the post-production part. As long as there is cinematic, cutscene… it should be taken into account.

Features & Mechanics

Explain the mechanics of your game, what the player can and cannot do. Apart from this, it establishes another points like: camera type, controls, levels, score, skills, battle system and other possible points.

Game states and interface

Explain where the player is at all times. Game state should be presented in a diagram showing the different types of state screens like: Title screen, save screen, pause screen, configuration screen, etc…

You also have to describe and show how the game interface is. The interface must present a stylistic relationship related to the game, the levels, the graphics, the gameplay, the art used… All the game states must have their own interface.

It is essential to accompany this section with reference images. Structure example:

Screen name: Save screen, configuration screen…
Description of the screen: What is it for.
Game states: All states that need interface.

Levels

Here all the contents of the levels and the objectives that the player must achieve within them are explained. We must take into account:

Level title
Encounter: The player enters the level. Describe in detail what will happen.
Objectives: What needs to be done to finish the level. Describes what happens when the character achieves his goal.
Characters
Enemies
Items: Special objects with which you can interact.
Music and sound FX

levels

Game progress

Through a flowchart it shows how the game evolves and the different levels. If the game cannot be represented with a diagram, you have to find the best way to describe the progress visually.

flow

Characters

The following point describes the characters that appear in the game and their characteristics. The same must be repeated for the enemies, bosses and antagonists. Use the information you consider relevant.

Character’s name
Description: Physical, if human, animal, fantastic… include “concepts”.
Character motivation
Encounter: When and how it appears in the game.
Skills: List and describe.
Weapons: List and describe.
Items: List and describe.

You can also explain non-playable characters.

Items

List all the special objects that appear in the game and how the characters interact with them. Also indicate if there are items that hinder the purpose of the main character, such as traps that subtract life.

Achievements

List all the achievements that the player can obtain and explain them. See if there are achievements that can be converted into prizes, points or items.

Music and sound FX

We must specify the music and sound FX that will be used in the game and where they will be used.

Art and concepts

In the next point, all the artistic references that have been taken into account for the creation of the game must be included. All the final concept designs for backgrounds, characters and items, and color palettes will also be included.

Team members

Indicate with a short description which professions make up the team and what their roles have been in the production of the video game.

Production details

Project memory. Write how the video game production process has been.

Start date
Finish date
Budgets
Diagrams: Gantt (Production times) and Pert (Teamwork standardization).

Extras

This section includes everything that has been used as a reference for the creation of the game such as:

Sketches, explanations
Drafts
Ideas
Conceptual maps

Game Pillars

When starting to design a game, the first step to take is to establish some parameters that delimit and guide the design and production process. These parameters are known as Game Pillars. A Game Pillar is a set of features that will get particular attention during the game’s development.

The ideal is to define as game pillars a list of 3 to 5 key concepts (for example: story, exploration, etc…).

pillars

Why are they necessary?

Having a few key concepts keep the game consistent. They help the team to understand how the project will unfold and make it easier and more accurate for them to understand how it should be done. These themes and aspects are useful for creating a cohesive project and limiting it.

Does this mechanic/idea serve or fit into the pillars of our game? If the answer is ‘No’ then it may be better to remove this mechanic.

Game Pillars = USP?

People may think that Game Pillars is basically the same thing as Unique Selling Points (USP), but it doesn’t encompass exactly the same things. A USP is the essence of what makes your product or service better than the competition, and a pillar is a set of features that will be given special attention during game development. All your USPs will be pillars. However, a pillar is not necessarily an USP.

Game Pillars Examples

Let’s see some examples of video game Game Pillars:

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Exploration: Player are encouraged to explore, by being able to go to any area they wish whenever they wish.
Traversal: BotW offers many modes of transportation. From climbing, swimming, running, paragliding to shield surfing. Moving through this world becomes a fantastic experience through the diversity and fun of movement in the world.
Scavenging: Players are constantly needing to go through the world and search for items. From weapons which break after a few battles, to the food players must use to regain health or help them traverse through all kind of environmental hazards.
Options: This game is praised all around for a number of options that are given to the player. From multiple ways to solve puzzles to the combat scenarios or how the player makes their way around the world. Anything the player can think of in terms of trying, the most likely will be able to do it. Compared to most games, there is no one way to solve the issues which is laid in front of the player.
Combat: This could be considered as one of the minor pillars of this game. Still, it’s a mainstay since that’s how you interact with most creatures and different types of enemies.

botw

The Last of Us

Crafting: Ammo is scarce, so to distract or cause a higher amount of damage to one’s foes it is better to use items populating the world. This works in unison with the environmental story telling of how this is not many resources left in this world.
Story: The Last of Us is a linear game which is heavily narrative lead, they want everything to tie in with the story as mentioned with crafting. The game focuses on the story of the two main characters rather than the player’s own story.
AI partners: The game is all about building a relationship between the player’s character with the AI partner Ellie and other partners you meet throughout your journey.
Stealth: Combat is used in this game, but players are encouraged to play more stealthily. Because if you were to run and gun then the game would make your life extremely difficult.

tlou

Paradox Interactive

Also, there are some studios that have their own’s Game Pillars for all their videogames, for example Paradox Interactive.

Agency: Paradox games give players the freedom to live out their fantasies, create their own stories and express themselves and their creativity. From customization options, game rules and modding to emergent stories and rewriting history, Paradox titles are not linear, plot driven experiences.
Living Worlds: Paradox games feature dynamic, reactive worlds where other forces seem to be pursuing their own goals beyond the control of players. No two games will be the same and players will experience new stories every time they play.
Inviting: Paradox games have compelling themes with a clear promise. Players are enticed to make the effort of learning our games. (Which are approachable enough to keep players engaged, onboarding them in their worlds and gameplay systems in a smooth and rewarding way.)
Cerebral: Paradox games challenge the player’s mind before their reflexes. Incredible depth rewards the player’s curiosity and intelligence. Our games are hard to master; there is always more to discover. Moreover, players can “nerd out” on the themes and subject matters even when not playing.
Endless Experiences: One does not simply “finish” a Paradox game. Either you keep coming back for another playthrough or there is no end state at all. Paradox games provide engagement for a long time.

paradox-interactive

GDD Examples

In my Github repository I have included two examples of GDD that I found on the internet. You can find them in Game_Design_Document_GDD/docs/gdd_examples/. Take a look if you want:

Adaptation of the GDD to be used in our Project II subject

I prepared a GDD document template to be able to use in our project subject: Template

Conclusion

Having a good GDD document is one of the most important things when creating a game. Not only to be able to have everything organized with your team, but also to be able to show something understandable, visual, practical and that can capture the interest of partners or investors.

Relevant Links

Guides to learn how to make a GDD Document:

Information about Game Pillars:

GDD & Game Pillars examples: