Some Notes

I finally got around to looking over my notes from our last couple meetings... I thought I would try to make them readable and toss them up on the blog...

Nate Notes

Nate outlined a few things for us to do when designing a game.

First he said we need to define the bullet points on the back of the box.

What he means by this is to define the key factors of the game that will stand out. What are the hooks, or the game defining aspects.

Define the genre, the style, and 2-3 game mechanics that make it stand out.

He suggested that when creating a design doc it becomes the sole responsibility of one person. This means that the one person can be asked about any aspect of the game to help others be clear about the goals, or style for the overall project.

The design doc should allow the reader to clearly visualize the important aspects of the game.

Some things he suggested specifically for us:

• Define the reason for racing.
• Decide on single or multiplayer
• We will need to invest time in particle effects to sell the idea of speed
• Think of ways to boost the appeal of the environment, push it a bit farther to make it interesting  
• Define the threats
• Balance the fun parts, ensure that the game stays fresh by balancing enemy interaction and environment interaction  
• Define the “hook” for the game.

Some level design considerations he mentioned:

• List what will be drawn on screen
• How are we leading the player from scene to scene  
• What gets loaded into memory
  
  

Kim Notes

Kim really stressed that we keep the scope of the project in mind, especially with the time frame that we have. Pre-production usually takes 3-5 months.

He then covered a lot of information on design docs, and style docs.

First create a one page doc that covers all of the basic ideas for the game. Similar to what Nate suggested in listing the bullet points.

Then create a 5-10 page doc expanding on all of those features.

The art doc, or style guide can be as detailed as you want it or need it to be. He suggests that we:

• Define Goals
• Initially explore games that might have a similar style.
• Look outside of games at “period styles”, especially if the game takes place in a historical period defined by certain styles.
• Try some style and color pallets to provide choices.
• Story board out the gameplay
• Outline specific graphical features for people to follow.
• Mock up the front end.
• White box the levels
• Define the major elements for each level.