作者：Giniu

设计文件是游戏的说明文件，是你将来可能提交给发行商的文件，发行商根据文件决定游戏是否有零售价值（游戏邦注：即以下载意外的方式发行，比如销售游戏光盘），这份文件将成为整个开发团队参照的标准。文件必须将游戏中所有大大小小都告知他人，比如计划题材、平台、功能以及这款游戏与其他游戏的不同之处。接下来，让我们开始阐述文件的相关内容。

game design document(from cubed3.com)

第1部分：概念文件

本部分能够让读者无需阅读整个方案便可对游戏有所了解。它应当包含如下内容：

介绍

在介绍中，你需要描述游戏。介绍要尽量简短，只需要几行就足够了。

范例：《Strange reality》是款角色扮演游戏，以PC（Linux/Windows系统）和Macintosh（MAC OS X系统）为平台，玩家将置身于可怕的未来世界中，动作发生地为月球殖民地，这使得游戏更为有趣。

game-concept-design(from antonw.com)

题材

在描述题材时，将读者假想为之前从未接触过该题材的人。如果游戏题材是对现有题材的提升，那么需要撰写出两者的不同之处。根据实际需要来撰写这个版块的内容，但是篇幅不要超过页面的1/3。

范例：《Strange reality》是款动作角色扮演游戏（简称动作RPG），游戏结合了经典动作角色扮演游戏和第一人称射击游戏，这种独特的结合方式让玩家享有更大的自由度，让RPG和FPS粉丝都能享受到乐趣。我们决定……

目标平台

解释该游戏的平台以及未来的延伸平台。内容无需过多。

范例：《Strange reality》将发布在操作系统为Linux和Windows的PC上，也会发布于操作系统为MAC OS X的Macintosh上，将来我们还计划制作X-BOX和Play Station 2版本。

法律背景

如果你使用的角色或者其他部分内容是已注册商标或为他人所拥有，你必须获得持有者的授权并确保所有文件阅读者都知道你已经获得授权。本部分还需要包含游戏的传播方式及其他法律事宜，篇幅长短根据实际需求来定（游戏邦注：少则几行，多则可用1个页面）。

范例：整个项目的基础想法是属于我们自己的，引擎可以使用开源工具来创建并保持开源状态。游戏某些部分（比如某些模型）为他人所有，可以在处理时取得他的准许。

游戏描述

这部分内容描述的是玩家可以在游戏中做的事情以及碰到的东西，努力做到与玩家的直接沟通，就像你在玩游戏时通过电话向他描述游戏那样。但是他无法看见游戏画面，所以避免使用“点击”或“按动按键”之类的词，换用“捡起”或“跳跃”。这是文件中篇幅最长的部分，所以我不列举具体的范例。相信凭着你对自己手中项目的了解，编写游戏描述不是件难事。

关键功能

这是第1部分内容中最为重要的部分，要点在于：哪些内容让你的游戏比其他游戏更好，分成游戏玩法、图像、音乐和音效、联网和人工智能等方面来阐述。在阐述时添加些简短的介绍，不要只写出“优良音乐”之类的话，而要写出你认为游戏中的音乐将会出众的原因所在，比如“由职业作曲师编制的管弦乐给你难以言状的听觉享受，甚至有时会让你暂停游戏来享受片刻。”这个部分的篇幅应当适当，过长意味着你定下的目标不合实际，过短会让人觉得不值得为该部分工作投入时间和金钱。

现在，简短介绍下其他的部分：

第2部分：内容脚本

通常情况下，设计文件中需要包含这个部分。如果你创建的是解谜游戏，那么就不需要内容脚本。但对于非线性化的优秀RPG游戏来说，内容脚本可能多达数百页A4纸！内容脚本应当具有可读性，对游戏中涉及的所有世界和地点进行描述。你可能需要用上不同的颜色，比如对话用蓝色，“有两个可以捡起的苹果”之类的内容用红色，这对世界编辑器中的脚本处理会有所帮助。当你要制作战役时，描述用黑色，对话和游戏玩法中的条件用粉色，这样人们就可以只阅读自己所需的内容。负责定位制作的人只需要阅读黑色的文字，无需去查看其他内容，这会节省大量的时间。本部分还要描述角色，写下他们的性格（游戏邦注：他们的想法和做法）和特征（游戏邦注：他们的外观和动作），随后还要添加角色原图（游戏邦注：指角色设计草图，使用铅笔绘制效果最佳）。也可以尝试编撰某些游戏世界描述，能够对美术人员的工作起到帮助。

第3部分：系统

如果你创建的是某些比解谜游戏更为复杂的游戏类型，你还应当撰写出系统机制，写下游戏的必要规则。RPG游戏之间的不同之处就在于游戏系统的独特性。

第4部分：游戏玩法元素

本部分描述的内容是玩家在游戏能做什么以及如何做出动作，可以使用“按键”和“弹出另一个窗口”之类的术语，也可以在阐述时使用“射击”、“奔跑”和“跳跃”等词。你可以先编撰控制方式，然后撇开按键来描述动作，这会使得更新更加容易。比如，可以先写“按Shift可以让角色奔跑，但是角色很快便会感到疲劳”，接下来你只需要写成“假如你撞到其他人，他会摔倒而且觉得你很没礼貌”即可。本部分中还需要描述用户界面以及玩家能够看到的所有东西。

第5部分：财务

如果你正在制作游戏，而且拥有一定可以投入其中的资金，你就需要将投入资金的地方写下来，这对于项目的组织有所帮助。如果你向发行商申请资金，他们希望能够知道你是否已经在游戏中有所投入，你如何使用已经投入的资金以及你所购买的东西。应当记住的是，不要欺骗发行商，你的谎言很快就会被揭穿，因为发行商对这个部分尤其谨慎。

第6部分：原图

concept art(from redbubble.com)

草图有助于美术设计师构想他们需要制作的东西，包括场景、角色、敌人和过场动画。如果你能够坐在美术人员旁边，阐述你的想法，与他们讨论你心中的愿景，帮助其构建草图，那就更好了。

游戏邦注：本文发稿于2009年2月20日，所涉时间、事件和数据均以此为准。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Creating A Game – Milestone 0 – Design Phase – or: “Writing a Design Document”

Giniu

Almost everyone that play games, usually also wants to make one, they say “I’ll make a game – better than anything else! But… what now?” and usually there it ends… To create game alone, you must have large knowledge about programing and graphics, so doing something “better than anything else” would be very hard if you are mortal. So what can you do? You have few options:

first – resign – I don’t recommend it – it’s your dream!

second – keep going alone – You have to cut your dreams – also I don’t recommend it…

third – make a team, where every person knows something that would be needed – It is in my opinion best thing you can do…

Times when one person was able to create whole game has gone, and you must agree with that, games are now created by teams of about 50 people…

So you know what you have to obtain – gather a team… but imagine, that you are one of persons that would be in that team and someone came to you and said: “I want to make a game. Would you work with me?”. Your first question would be: “What game?”… If that person starts to mumble, you know that this wont work and simply saying: “another time”. So – to gather team you must have strict knowledge about what you want to do… OK… let’s say you know what you want to be done by that person, went to another person, said the same thing, and one more time, and one more time… ohhhh my, it’s so boring, you remember your words letter after letter, word after word, line after line – you was saying it hundred times. But let’s say you now have team and you started work. No one knows that you want this horse you was talking about young and brown… they know they have to make a horse – modeler made horse – an old one and comics style – and man responsible for textures made real-looking silver horse… well that isn’t what you wanted, right? But let’s say that you made a game – besides it looks funny and strange, because many artistic souls were doing what they consider right (read.: what they want, not what you want), and you decided to publish it… You came to publisher and said: “I want to sell you that game”, giving them ready CD… oh no… they don’t have time to play whole game… – first question? – “What game?”… so you know what you have to do – write some kind of documentation, and that is what I would discuss there, first part of “Creating a Game” tutorial, would be about…

Writing Design Document

or: “Let the game begin!”

Design Document is a documentation of your game, you would give it to publisher, that he would decide if game will see daylight (would be published other way than downloading from your own site… probably on CD), this would also be bible for whole development team, first of all it has to tell someone all small and large things about your game, like planed genre, platform, features and why this game is other than others. Lets begin:

One of most important is part 1:

Part 1 – Concept papers

This part would help readers have some idea about game without reading whole scenario. It should contain:

Introduction

In introduction you have to write description of game, keep it as short as possible, just few lines would be enough.

Example: Game “Strange reality” is an role playing game designed to work on PC (Linux/Windows) and Macintosh (MAC OS X), it would take player to world of scary streets in near future, action is placed in the moon colony, what makes it even more interesting.

Genre

Make description of genre in way that would describe it to person that haven’t earlier contact with that type of games, if it improves existing genres, write what makes it different. Make this section what it needs to be, but not more than 1/3 of site.

Example: “Strange reality” is action role playing game (action RPG), we joined classic action role playing game with first person shooter, this unique connection gives you large amount of freedom and makes both – RPG and FPS – fans happy. We decided to… (and so on)

Target platform

Write on what platforms you want to get this title, and maybe there would be some additional platforms when you will finish? Don’t write more than few lines.

Example: “Strange reality” would be released on PC with operating systems Linux and Windows, also on Macintosh with operating system MAC OS X, in future we plan also X-BOX and Play Station 2 version.

Legal background

If you are using a hero or something that is registered trademark or just is owned by someone else, you must get permission from its author and make sure that all person that would read your document would know you got a permission. Also write how your game would be distributed (or how you want to be distributed) and all other legal things… use as much space as you need (from few lines to one site).

Example: Whole project is based upon our own ideas, engine would be created using Open Source tools and would stay Open Source, although there would be also commercial campaigns. Author of some piece of game (for example some models) is only one owner of it, and can do with it whatever he wants (implies only for commercial campaigns).

Game description

This is place for description what player would do in game, what would meet him, try talk (write) straight to player – as if you were playing game and describing it to him by phone. But he can’t see it, avoid using things like “click” or “press button” but use rather “pick up” or “jump”. This is longest part, so I would leave it without example, that should be few sites long, I believe that you know what are you doing, so this wont be hard for you.

Key features

This is one of most important thing in first part – write in points: what makes your game better than others… divide them to one about game play, graphics, music and sound, networking, maybe also artificial intelligence? Try add very short description, don’t write just: “great music” but write why you consider that music in your game would be great: “music composed by professional composer recorded with orchestra gives unmeasured pleasure of listening, sometimes you can almost forgot to play!”. This list should be “just as it should be” – too long means you aim to the moon, to short means this isn’t worth spending time and money.

And now short about other parts:

Part 2 – Scenario

This is usually needed if you want to create game that contains some play, if you are creating puzzle game, you don’t need scenario, but good, non-linear RPG scenario can take even few hundreds of pages in A4 or Letter paper! Just consider that it have to be readable and have all world and location descriptions, you probably would want to use colors – write dialogs in blue, in red things like “there are two apples you can pick up” – this will help scripting in world editor, when you would be making campaign, for description use black, and for conditions in dialogs and game play use pink… this will allow people to read only that what they want… while making locations, one person would read black text and don’t care about other – this is large save of time. Also include description of character – write down their character (what they think, how they behave) and characteristic (how they looks like and how they act), later include concept arts for them (sketches – would be best if you would use pencil…). Try also write some separate world description that would be used as main guideline for artists.

Part 3 – System

Again, if you are creating something more complex than puzzle game, you should include system mechanics, write down whole rules that are obligatory in game – this is what makes RPG game unique – very good system… example can be AD&D. Just write everything you can come in mind.

Part 4 – Game Play elements

This is play to describe what player can do and how… use terminology like buttons, another window pops-up, but also shot, run, jump… you can write controls once and then use key bindings to describe action – this makes updates easier… at the beginning write – “you can run while pressing shift, but you very fast you are getting tired”, then you can use just “if you run into someone, he would fall and he would consider you mannerless”. Also describe user interface, and everything that player would see.
Part 5 – Financial

If you are making game and have some money to spend on it, write down at what you want spend your money, it will help you organize your project, and this is place for this, since if you request money from publisher, he likes to know if you already spend some, how you did that and what you bought. And remember – don’t cheat – it would come out shortly – publishers are analyzing this part very carefully!

Part 6 – Concept arts

Well that are sketches that would help artists imagine what they are supposed to do, include as many as you can with locations, characters, enemies, situations from cut-scenes and movies. Better if you would sit with drawing artist and tell him what you see and discuss with him your vision while he will sketch in his notebook… (Source: Astahost)