Unity: How to Write an MVP Game Design Document
The Challenge: Present a master blueprint for the dev team to build games to client specifications and beyond.
The GDD: Below is a standard framework for a game design document to present a minimum viable product, or MVP. This particular GDD only covers client requirements as the project is under a tight deadline. A full GDD would include a robust explanation of gameplay and various screens (wireframes/prototyping).
TITLE OF GAME
INTRO
Introduce a basic overview of your game: “Scramble Game” is a multi-level, multi-character platformer. Players take control of a character to collect letters across different landscapes and solve the word from the letters for points.
CONCEPT
Explain the gameplay and objectives players will encounter in your game: Gamers will run, jump and grab letters scattered across various levels > stages. Each letter gathered helps clue the player in to unscrambling the word to advance to the next stage.
Players can take however long to find letters (letters fly up to the top of the screen; user can move the letters around a la Scrabble to help solve the word). Once all letters are collected, the scramble and timer will be triggered for the player to guess the unscrambled word.
Players have XX seconds to solve the word. Hint button will expose the correct position of a letter(s). Hints will subtract point(s) from the maximum number of points that can potentially be earned.
Only correct answers will allow the player to move on. Three wrong answers will end the game and players must start at the same level by which they missed by default, but will have the ability to go to more advanced or more beginner if they want.
Difficulty will increase as players advance through stages and levels with longer words and less time.
Level 1 Example:
The character might be a lynx and it hops from island to island until all of the letters get released. The user guides and times the hops with a mouse, finger or arrow keys. If the lynx falls in the water, it jumps back out and lands on an island. No penalty. The timer starts once all of the letters are chosen.
Clock set at 30 seconds with four-letter words. Once the person has worked through all of the words at level one, they proceed to level two.
Level 2 Example:
Player character changes to an eagle. This time the bird needs to jump and hit an object (tree, star) in order to knock a letter loose.
Each level is a different character and gets progressively harder.
Considerations:
Timer is same length with more letters to words to increase difficulty. How many words are needed. Reward points based on difficulty.
Features
Sum up your game’s highlights under a bulleted list in this section:
- Gameplay offers various movements and rich environments
- Advance through multiple stages of difficulty
- Gain expert knowledge of Ojibwe vocabulary
Target Platform
List all the platforms your game will run on here: Web
Genre
List any genres your game falls under: Learning, Puzzle
Target Audience
List your target audience here: Youth, Adults
Reference Games
List any similar games and inspirations here: Scrabble
