Create Game Design Document (GDD) for Game Designers

In the game design industry, the Game Design Document (GDD) is a crucial task that every game developer must master. It’s one of the skills that assesses the ability and level of a true Game Designer. In fact, there are many ways to compile a GDD. This depends on the level, project scale, and the participating team. The following article will show the simplest approach for game development beginners.

1. Game Pitch – The Premise of the Game Design Document

Before starting to write a GDD, you need to start a document called a Game Pitch Document. This is a brief document that helps you explain why you want to develop this game. The Game Pitch needs to answer questions like: what does the basic gameplay look like? What is the target market and why would players want to play your game?

A good Game Pitch needs to be presented concisely, clearly, and attractively. The presentation time should not exceed 5 minutes. If this step is unsuccessful, you will have to start over. In fact, a successful Game Pitch is not only attractive in terms of content but also needs to be creative in its presentation. Use visuals and market data to make your idea more convincing.

2. What is a Game Design Document?

A Game Design Document is a set of documents that describe all the designs in your game. It stores concepts, definitions, and descriptions of characters, attributes, levels, ensuring that all members of the development team have the same overview of the product. The ultimate goal of the GDD is to unify design and production planning. This document not only supports programmers in the product development process but is also an important source of documentation in meetings between team members. This will help everyone easily update the status and progress of the work.

3. Basic Structure of a Game Design Document

In fact, there is no fixed template for the structure of a GDD. It will depend on factors such as game genre and development team.

Formation Stage In this stage, the GDD needs to satisfy the following questions:

• What is the basic gameplay?
• What is the core loop of the game?
• What are the Game Elements and Game Mechanics?
• What is the story of the game (if any)?
• What will the Art Style be like (character design, environment, interface)?
• Game Flow overview (can use a flowchart).
• Monetization – the game’s monetization model. These sections should be supplemented with as much detail as possible in the first version of the GDD. Don’t hesitate to express your ideas and creativity, as this will help reveal the identity of the game and attract members of the development team.

Development Stage When entering the development stage, you need to add the following documents to the GDD:

• Level Design: Will represent all levels of the game, including detailed descriptions of each level and specific goals.
• Sound Design: Describes the background music and sound style, helping players get the right emotions for each context in the game.
• Tutorial: Describes the scenarios to guide players, helping them easily get acquainted with the rules and mechanics of the game.
• Trigger: Document describing scenarios to guide players according to your intentions. These scenarios help increase interaction and draw players further into the game’s story.

For beginners, you can practice by choosing your favorite games to write GDDs for them. Choose smaller games to practice step by step. This method has helped me progress quickly, and I hope it will also be suitable for you.

At SAVA META, writing a Game Design Document (GDD) is considered an essential task in the game development plan of our staff. We are committed to creating a strong GDD before starting any game project to clearly define the content orientation, tasks, and progress of each member of the team. Currently, SAVA META is expanding its team and looking for new talents to join a creative and professional working environment. If you want to participate in promising projects and are passionate about realizing your game ideas, join SAVA META.

SAVA META is a pioneer in the field of casual mobile games and Metaverse platform consulting solutions, especially we are developing strongly with virtual reality (VR) technology. At SAVA, we not only bring unique entertainment values to the gaming community through creative projects but are also committed to enhancing the power of the entertainment and VR game industry. SAVA META is constantly looking for new ways to create connections and enrich players’ experiences, while creating a workspace where all ideas are respected and developed.

Refer to the current recruitment positions at: https://savameta.com/c-careers