This is part 4 of the Game Design Methodology series. You can find the series overview at Game Design Methodology.
In the video I discuss how the vision for a game is one of the most basic requirements needed to make a game. If you don’t have a vision what are you even trying to build?
The video in this article discusses how the vision is a summary of the experience you are targeting. We discuss what information designers are usually provided to work with and how the vision fits under that.
We will talk about the most common approach for defining what a game is and the shortcomings of that approach.
A different approach
Speaking on the approach I use. We explore how to take the initial sparks of inspiration for the game and figure out what is compelling to us with them.
On smaller titles this approach may be enough to give the target we need to create the title.
Creating a vision
With larger titles, we will need to be able to convey the vision to others. We need to purify the idea to be able to communicate it.
We show how to dump all of the ideas out. Look them over and create a single sentence for the vision.
Expanding the vision
With the vision of the title down to a single sentence we can start to expand that sentence back out with greater detail. We start with mere definitions and move to creating the tenets for the game.
With the vision expanded to this point we can use it as a vision design doc. Similar to an art style guide for the game. This is useful for more than just pitch docs and shining light on the experience. We can use it as a litmus test of what should or should not go into the game.
With these techniques we can go from rough ideas to a specific direction for a title that can be conveyed.
The Vision