It sometimes happens that we want to create a computer game that will be remembered by players and all of humanity forever. But we hit a bit of an impasse at the beginning. We have no idea what kind of game we want to create, and when we think about it, our minds go blank. And how can we make a game if we don’t know what kind?
Unfortunately, this post won’t do all the work for you, but it will tell you what and how to get inspired. Let’s start with the fact that the idea consists of two parts. Project management and ideas outline of a game.
Project documentation
The idea and purpose of creating design documentation is to present the vision of the game and present its attractiveness.
Typically, design documentation consists of elements such as:
- Game concept, which contains data on the type of game, target audience and game world;
- Vision document, which indicates the proposed technologies, game mechanics, initial assumptions about the plot and the nature of the game;
- Art design document, which contains guidelines for graphic designers;
- Project timeline document, which specifies important dates in the game production process;
- Testing document, which identifies game elements that are vulnerable to errors;
- Technical documents that describe the rules and ways of implementing game elements.
If we plan the above script and documents well, we will be able to use it in the production of other games in the future.
When designing an engine, we also need to take into account graphics, sound, music or animation formats. In this case, it is worth using standard data formats – such as a PDF, namely, there are the following reasons to use the PDF format:
- The file maintains exactly the same appearance regardless of the platform used.
- PDF files look like paper documents.
- The PDF format cannot be modified by the user.
This myth comes from the fact that the default program for opening PDF files is a recommended browser that does not typically have editing options.
The impression arises that the PDF format is not editable, the truth is that it can be edited and locked from editing with a dedicated PDF editor such as the Adobe Acrobat alternative – SwifDoo PDF.
Documentation practice in creating a game
Creating a game differs from creating utility applications in several aspects. Looking at it from a simple point of view, both the game and the application have their logic described in code, the representation of which appears on the user’s screen.
Computer games are works that combine many elements of aesthetics. In addition to the obvious ones, such as the code, soundtrack or graphic design, there are also mechanics, level designs and character animations.
The game concept is reflected in documentation in the form of game design and gameplay, which often takes the form of design documentation. These are documents developed most often for the needs of the game manufacturer or publisher, and ideas are found in the game script.
How can you create a game for PC?
If you already have an idea for a game, just follow the instructions below:
Scenario
The first step in creating a game is to focus on its plot and scenario. You should start by determining the type of game, e.g. whether it will be three-dimensional/two-dimensional.
We need to determine the main assumptions of the game related to the way the location is displayed, the basic assumptions of the user interface and interaction with the game world.
Basic rules of the game
Once we have determined the technical issues regarding the game’s premise, let’s focus on defining the rules that govern the game world. It’s mainly about defining the characters’ behavior and psyche, writing down the content of conversations and meticulously refining all the details. This includes, among others: about the story, side plots, the goal of the game, the characters’ relationship with the world and the atmosphere of the game. This stage is extremely important because if we commit to it, half of the success is already behind us.
Computer game concept
The creation of a computer game begins with defining the general outline of the gameplay concept, the definition of conflict, the type of game, the rules applicable to the game, and the means of achieving the assumed game goals.
Moreover, at this stage, issues such as the game philosophy, in particular in terms of determining the target market segment that the producers intend to reach with a given computer game, as well as defining the business model.
Game creation in practice
Apart from the plot and idea outlines above, algorithms and game engine are another important issues.
Summary
The post only provides answers on how to plan a computer game from the very early stage. It should be considered that a computer game is an unnamed work, the necessary element of which is a computer program, saved on any data carrier, used for entertainment purposes and, to a lesser extent, for educational and utility purposes.
Depending on the circumstances, the complexity of the computer game production process and the number of people involved in the production process make the project documentation practices to the creative contributions of individual people a complicated and complex issue, but to proceed a specific file format such as PDF, a dedicated PDF editor like SwifDoo PDF in our case is of a great assistance.