Game Design Documents - A Comprehensive Guide

This is a video many of you have been requesting for some time. I explain what a Game Design Document is, when to use it, and why. I then go over several examples in detail, outlining major elements and the reasoning behind them, to show you what professional docs look like, including the GDD for one of our own titles - The Alchemask.

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Additional Resources:

Develop.Games: https://develop.games/
GDD Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_design_document
GDDs of other games: https://gamescrye.com/resources/game-design-documents/
Anatomy of a Game Design Document: https://tinyurl.com/Anatomy-of-a-GDD

One-Page Template: https://tinyurl.com/One-Page-GDD
Full GDD Template: https://tinyurl.com/Full-GDD-Template
Alt Blank GDD Template: https://tinyurl.com/Blank-GDD
Pozefsky Template GDD: https://tinyurl.com/Pozefsky-GDD
Mass Flux GDD: https://tinyurl.com/Mass-Flux-GDD
Double Coconut GDD: https://tinyurl.com/Double-Coconut-GDD

Notion: https://www.notion.so/templates/design-doc-template
Confluence: https://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence/templates/design-system

References:

Healthy Gamer + PirateSoftware: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr4LjzbFd1o
How to Sell More Games on Steam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht6xx9en-ZU
BTP Pass the Game Challenge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rs84t5t8W8
Design Doc Elements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS9CYuUOmU4
Adam Millard Elements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzSzJqAAyxg
Sequelitis: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu5a9-aw8CA_xRgSUtUjcEem6d_cJk9Mx
Boss Keys: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc38fcMFcV_ul4D6OChdWhsNsYY3NA5B2
Designing for Disability: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc38fcMFcV_vvWOhMDriBlVocTZ8mKQzR

00:00:00 Intro
00:00:53 Overview
00:01:48 Why Should I Listen to You?
00:02:50 What is a GDD?
00:05:39 When to use a GDD
00:08:47 Why Bother?
00:12:50 A Quick Note About Storage
00:14:34 Production Should Freeze the Document
00:16:39 First Recap
00:17:27 Intermission
00:18:26 Our Project
00:19:33 Packaging, Hook
00:21:35 Outline
00:23:34 General Pitch
00:24:59 Inspirations
00:26:37 Player Experience
00:27:37 Platform
00:27:50 Software
00:28:34 Genre
00:29:54 Target Audience
00:34:17 Concept
00:34:24 Core Loop
00:35:59 Themes
00:38:21 Primary Mechanics
00:40:45 Secondary Mechanics
00:41:26 Tertiary Mechanics
00:42:47 Combat, Puzzles, Quests
00:44:07 A Note on Mock-Ups
00:45:45 Story
00:48:48 Art
00:49:22 Design
00:52:17 Visual Effects
00:53:16 Lighting
00:54:26 Audio
00:55:54 Sound Effects
00:56:41 Voice Acting, Cinematics
00:57:51 Game Experience
00:58:00 UI
01:01:49 Controls
01:03:32 Menus
01:06:00 Diegetic Elements
01:07:36 Integration
01:09:02 Bringing It All Together
01:13:09 Conclusion
01:14:15 What's Next?
01:15:02 Outro