Game Design Document for Indie Developer, Mini Games

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The Short Game Design Document for Indie Developer that kept track of the design direction that you wanted and will guide to work on proper game flow.
  • Game Title
  • Game Indetity/Mantras
  • Design Pillars
  • Genre/Story/Mechanics Summary
  • Game Economy System
  • Features
  • Interface
  • Art Style
  • Music/Sound
  • Development Roadmap / Launch Criteria
  • Milestones


Short Game Design Document Template looks like as follow:

Game Title

Game Identity / Mantra

List your single sentence description of the game that you will use to guide design decisions. (Example: Stylized action platformer about a meatball fighting the dinner table.)

Design Pillars

List up to 3 words/phrases that convey the feeling or emotion you want the player to experience. (Example: Fast. Action-packed. Mayhem.)

Genre/Story/Mechanics Summary

List what the game is from a gameplay and/or story perspective. (Example: This game uses a unique swinging rope mechanic to tell a story about what it means to be a meatball...)
  • Core Game Loop
  • Core Mechanics Loop
  • Mechanics Flow
  • Gameplay Controls
  • Unique Selling Point

Game Economy System

A game economy is a virtual economy that configures all game loops in the game (currencies, time loops, XP, levels, pricing, etc.). Different game economies will structure different players’ behaviors within the same game.
  • Game Monetization
  • Game Retention

Features

List the cool features or unique elements that you want to include in your game.

Interface

List the player input method, the controls, and how the player interacts with your game.

Art Style

Include references to lots of images and games that have a similar aesthetic to what you're trying to achieve.

Music/Sound

Include links to music and sound design similar to What you're trying to achieve. You can also list the emotional responses that the sound should invoke in the player.

Development Roadmap / Launch Criteria

  • Platform: Steam/Google Play/iOS/Web
  • Audience: Age/gender/interests

Milestones

  • Milestone 1: Mechanics complete - date
  • Milestone 2: Boss fights complete - date
  • Milestone 3: Levels complete - date
  • Milestone 4: Polish complete - date
  • Launch Day: date

Excerpts from - "Game Dev Underground" & "Josehzz"

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