GD - Visualization of Game Design Document [LESSON]

Visualization of Game Design Document

Introduction

Think about popular mobile games or apps you use on your phone. Before these apps are developed, designers often create storyboards to map out the user interface, interactions, and overall user experience. This process helps them see how the app will work before investing time and resources into coding and programming.

Knowledge Point

Storyboard

Storyboarding plays a crucial role in the world of game design, providing a strategic visual roadmap for developers to follow. By depicting key scenes, characters, and actions, it allows designers to see the game come to life before even a single line of code is written. Not only does storyboarding help in the planning and organization of the game design document, but it also aids in fostering creativity and identifying potential challenges early on. Through visualization, game designers can communicate their ideas effectively, ensuring a cohesive and engaging gaming experience for players.

GDD Storyboard | Learning Activity

Now that we have discovered what a storyboard is and its importance, let's see how to create one.

Take a look at Create GDD Storyboard Learning Object below. 

Creating Quality User Experience

Game design documents (GDD) and the storyboard are two important tools when designing a game, but it is even more important to consider the actual end user’s overall experience. What is the point of creating a game if you don’t create a positive and enjoyable experience for users?

Take a look at a few strategies that could improve game design user experience (UX):

💻 Keep it simple: Design the game to be easy to learn, simplify the controls and interface as much as possible, and avoid overwhelming the player with too much information at once.

💻 Test and iterate: Continuously test the game with players and make improvements based on their feedback. This will help to identify any issues or frustrations that players may encounter and allow you to address them.

💻 Provide feedback: Provide clear and immediate feedback to the players so that they know what they are doing right. This could include sound effects, visual cues, or text prompts.

💻 Use tutorials and instructions: Provide tutorials or instructions at the beginning of the game to teach the player how to advance. This will help to avoid confusion and frustration later on.

💻 Balance challenge and reward: Ensure that the game is challenging enough to be engaging, but not so difficult that it becomes frustrating. Provide rewards and incentives for progress to keep the player motivated.

💻 Pay attention to aesthetics: The visual and audio elements of the game can greatly impact the user. Use engaging graphics, animations, and sound effects to make the game more immersive and enjoyable.

Reflection

Storyboarding is essential in game design as it provides a visual plan for developers. It helps in organizing ideas, fostering creativity, and addressing challenges early on. To create a storyboard, designers identify key moments, break the game into levels, sketch out scenes, add descriptions, seek feedback for revisions, and finalize the product. User experience is crucial in game design, focusing on simplicity, testing with users for improvements, providing feedback, offering tutorials, balancing challenge and reward, and enhancing aesthetics. Designers of popular mobile apps use storyboards to map out user interfaces and interactions before coding. Prioritizing user experience ensures a positive and enjoyable gaming experience for players, emphasizing the importance of creating games that users will appreciate.

[CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Links to an external site.] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION - INTENDED ONLY FOR USE WITHIN LESSON.