Well, here are my tips for writing game design docs:

1. Stay flexible - your doc is likely to be re-written over and over again in order either due to limitations or to adhere to some gameplay function so you'll not want to be too tight on whatever it is you put in there.

2. Be Technical - Chances are you may not be the coder, but the guy doing the coding is going to need to read what you write. Knowing some programming is essential in this respect. At least familiarity with logic sequences and data flow diagrams helps.

3. Details - Break your doc into a few levels. High level views so everyone can see the overview, and then go deeper into the details so that they know what it actually is.

Just so you're not confused, I'm talking solely about game design here, and not the story/background/aesthetics design. This deals more with the game's mechanics and elements.

btw Cfu, i think u forgot to mention dragonback or something like that in the local dev list.

jason's right, though i have to mention that not all good programmers make great designers. a designer's job is completely different from what a programmer does. he works on the game's theme and mechanics.

to become a designer of calibre, you need to have heavy industry experience. that's why it's better off to start as a programmer or artist or even a sound producer so you know how things work in the game industry.

locally, this is the only way to go because most employers will only want to hire you if you can code/draw at the same time. And unless you've got a solid portfolio of successful designs that translated into successful games, it's a snowball's chance in hell they'd let you handle the game's design at all. it's kinda kiasu, but sometimes your employer might be the typical non-gamer business men and they don't see the need for a game designer at all. (and that's why their games turn out like shit har har)

then again, most local companies spend most of their time doing rebranding so there's not much of a need for a designer either. if you've got the cash, try and get yourself a place at the IAE (or was it AIE already lol) in Australia.

i don't really disagree that a document is a waste of time, but i would suggest you spend time working on mods or use custom tools to build your games such as game world editors or even the infamous RPG maker. these help build your fundamentals in understanding game logic and how to create interesting mechanics for players. that's how you can grow as a designer.

learning to turn your design into a real game is where the real challenge begins. then, making that game good enough is your final goal.

baliklar dragonraja pulak!! made me have to actually move my finger muscles to get this link: http://www.dragonbackgames.com/

but i think they're more into publishing and rebranding as well. not sure.

annnnyway... flash is far from inferior to the thre languages you mentioned.

C++ is truly the core language, and what hardcore devs out there will want... IF you want a fast and powerful game. The strength in C++ is speed. That's about it.

Java is slow as hell no matter how the Jenthusiast will try to convince you otherwise, but it's still bearable. I don't know of any top games made in Java, but most games tend to have a hybrid mix of Java and C++ in between. If you look at UnrealScript, it's really similiar to Java though the core of UT runs on C++

VB.. well, VB is not a bad choice at making games, but it lacks the flexibility Java provides and the raw power of C++. And if its in VB, youre more or less stuck with M$. I'm an M$ fanboy so I don't mind, but for those linuxlovingtreehumpers out there, they'd probably sabo your game or boycott it. On the other hand, there are tons of API and thankfully there is one for opengl too, but if you're interested in making hardcore 3d gamestuff with VB, you should check out darkbasic instead. It's like vb on speed.

Flash.. well, flash has evolved alot more than you'd like to think Jason. Agreed that it will lose out to C++ in the speed area since activescript is very high level but you can pretty much pull off almost any game with flash. Check out Dofus (google if you bastards, i'm not wasting anymore finger muscle) for a great flash based MMOG. To top it off, flash saves many hours of dev time trying to built your own graphic tools and rendering engines. In fact, it's the best choice for rapid game dev projects.

[edit]Forgot to mention that if you are really serious about getting into the local industry, currently what's hot or at least what they're mainly up to are handphone games, so you'll want to pick up J2ME for that. It's not an easy language, for a handphone game at least since you need to cramp everything up wthin a certain limit... not more than 50kb sometimes.. depending on the complexity of th game

Also,



FOV and spaces have nothing to do with games or at least, they are not required if you're not making 3d games. A game like mario would just require some tiling knowledge.

Lastly, never, ever confuse game design and programming, as is the case most people tend to do. design, is design, much like how a mapper plots out his levels, and programming, is the guy who built the tools for the mapper to map with.

This post has been edited by Cheese: Aug 10 2005, 09:50 AM

yah laa, but my point is that many youngsters and more or less the general public perception of game design = programming. like how i was conned with multimedia = it when i was younger. i've met people who think writing pseudocode is equivalent to designing the game.

Hunt, it's never too late to go into game dev, as long as you have the money;)

I think you don't have to learn everything, but you need to have abundant knowledge in everything (yes, everything) if you intend to do well as an indie. That includes things like philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, geography etc. If not, make sure your team composes of people who are expertise in these areas. Eg. Lead artist with strong art sense, Sound producer whos familiar with various cultural music blabla.

imo, what the starshatter guy did was pointless, at least in the eyes of a business person. making games is one thing, but nowadays, you have to take into account the time it takes to make a game. there are quite alot of games that failed, not because they were particularly bad, but because by the time they got shipped, it was way behind times. i think the daikatana story should be a mandatory case study subject in game dev schools. That, and duke nukem forever.

We're dealing with an industry that's highly competitive and rapid. That's why there's a need for teams, with people of utmost expertise in their fields. Nothing wrong with a game that takes 10 years to complete, actually but you've got make sure that it's up to date and the idea that you originally started out with isn't stale by the time you're done. this is where the designer's role is important. if the game dev is going to take a long time, he's got to study the market so he doesn't end up with a game that will be so overdone by the time it comes out that nobody gives a damn.. even if it's it's got a brandname or something.

hunt, no offense taken... quit worrying about that.. this is the net. you'd have to be a big idiot to feel insulted by something someone wrote about you on a public forum. yeah, guess we're in the same boat. i'm actually going to go back to studies again, this time in a more related field.

jason's right tho, no need to actually have a degree, the art/game/entertainment line is all about substance. either you have it or don't. you can't sweettalk your way into a company (unless it's run by an idiot businessman) without a decent portfolio with you. a game demo, or even game content that you've done works. you never know, studios like blizz or valve might hire you if you produce some pretty good warcraft/hl2 maps/missions.

that's how most of the people in the industry got into the AA companies last times. they made mods and got famous for it. A few people from Epic were actually hired off their games' mod community. For more inspiration, think of gooseman, the guy who graced (and cursed) the world with Counter Strike, now Staff ID 289337 at valve. (ok, just kidding about the id)

hi chris, just so you're aware, a degree in graphic design doesn't always prepare people for the game industry much less the one here, in malaysia which is still far from maturity. having these skillsets however means you can look into advancing your career in the field of game art. from there, you can advance into technical art or concept art eventually taking a lead position or becoming an art director.

note that there's a common misunderstanding between graphic design and game design. one roughly deals with the creation of art content and visual concepts while the latter, depending on which camp you encounter later on, is about the conceptual production/mechanics/story etc. of the game.

if you work with a larger team, your scope may become even more specialized as a game artist and you may find yourself handling only the visual aspects of the game. (writers and levellers will conceptualize while designers will plan mechanics)

getting into a game company isn't exactly about portfolios. it may work for the graphic design/illustration field, but most companies already understand that most of what institutions teach can't be applied directly into game development. as long as your skillsets are sufficient to their needs, they'll be looking at your personality, and attitude towards your career next. after all, better a humble graduate with no experience who's ready to learn than the 1st class game design degree snob who thinks everyone should make his game.

and for that matter, do be aware that auteurship is rare in this field, so rather than having a mindset of making 'my' game, always keep the 'what can i contribute to this' approach in your endeavours. good luck and all the best to you

This post has been edited by Cheese: Apr 2 2010, 02:08 PM