Note about concept document
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As soon as development team is requested to choose the concept document for their first video game, but which is not their own concept, it raises disputable questions about level of acceptance and obedience to the concept. What does the concept document require for developers and artists? How much does the concept limit creativity? How to apply MDA framework to the concept document? Why to follow the concept document? In brief, the concept document is an essential and multi-purpose document, used during a whole life-cycle of the project. The concept encapsulated the desired high-level details and expresses an initial concept of gameplay. It’s a short treatment, that might cover the user interface, the core mechanics, the game structure, and narrative component of the game, where appropriate. The size may vary, from one or two pages to ten. The concept document should contain title, genre, platform, target audience, premise, game summary, backstory and game world, gameplay mechanics, character description, mission and story progression, features, gameplay, technology, art and audio highlights. However, it differs from a design document, that expands the concept in more details for each aspect of MDA. Some short-term or experimental projects do not have the design document at all as they progress forward to produce different game prototypes and versions continuously according to the original concept. Again, the concept document is a short treatment that contains brief description of all the main areas of a game’s design. It also serves as a pitch, and forms the relationship between the concept author, developers, and publisher or product owner. In case of the student projects, that relationship is simulated between students and teachers. Whereas one student group elaborates a concept document and teachers approves it, another group chooses and accepts the concept document upon they make the game, hence simulated relationship author-publisher-developer is formed. Call for action to choose the concept document is de-facto a first opportunity for a student group to express their strength in collaborative decision-making and group wisdom. Different groups may apply different criteria to choose the concept, some student groups rather select those game concepts, that are feasible and easy for implementation, another groups with more ambitions would choose challenging or more innovative concepts. Still, as the concept is not exclusive, it’s not surprise that more students groups will select the same concept. From the project perspective, accepting the concept document represents the first decision point (DP1) to go forward. Moreover, the concept document is not just a necessary prerequisite for the development project. It forms the project’s goal, purpose, and scope. Whereas goal and purpose makes a game development project meaningful, the scope arranges its boundaries and limits. One may argue, that limitations from the concept document suppress the creativity of game developers. And some game design students tend to be creative and innovative when developing their games. On the other hand, the same limitations may protect game developers from a development hell or limbo. At the end, I’d like to quote Eric Wujcik for one last piece of game design wisdom: “Add only those new elements that are necessary for the game. Aim for the minimum of innovation”. The foundation of game design is in providing the right design work for the project, not in trying to dazzle with unfettered creativity. All game designers have a duty to the project that must always take precedence over their desires as players of games, and that duty is the core of the game designer’s role.  |
