Prototype

Draw Concept Art

• Solidify the art style and list out the necessary assets, such as environments, characters, props, music, and sound effects.
• Establish a more cohesive theme and aesthetic.
• Sketch out environments, levels, characters, and game objects to get a sense of scale and art direction.
• Make Wireframes of the UI and HUD Elements.

2D Art Tools

UI Tools

Sketch Out Levels

• Sketch out the levels and game flow.
• Make diagrams and rough maps that show game flow and mark positions of game objects, obastacles, scenery, landmarks, etc.

Diagramming Tools

2D Level Design Tools

Jot Down the Narrative Plot Points.

• Describe the setting, the game world, story, premise, lore, characters.
• Describe the basics of the lore, world building, story beats, plot, narrative, and character interactions. Storyboard scenes and cinematics of key plot points.

Narrative Writing Tools

Avoid Production Pitfalls

Don't Try to Perfect your Task Backlog

• Focus your efforts on making the game.

Don't Polish Features Too Early

• Build a Good Game First. Polish a Game Second.

Fail Fast

• The sooner you fail, the sooner you can learn from your mistakes, and the sooner you can achieve Success.

Get others to Playtest your game

• They will tell you the truth about your game.

Don't Let Business Management Make Creative Decisions.

Management needs to trust the development team and let them have the room to design and craft the experience. Input from management will clash with the creative process of pre-production. Too much input and developers might leave the project.

Design, Build, Play, Iterate. Find the Fun!

Start testing and iterating as soon as possible

• Don't wait until the game is finished to start playtesting. You need to validate designs as soon as possible.

Conduct User Experience Research

• Let others playtest the game as soon as possible.
• You need external advice from people who aren’t as invested in the game to validate that it's fun.
• If a game is fun, then people keep playing it and they invite their friends to play.
• The Green Card: You can make a business around a game that keeps people’s attention.

Expect the Design to change

• Feature that looks good on paper may turn out to be a horrible gameplay experience.
• Change existing designs to improve them or implement alternative designs.
• If the design isn't fun or doesn't server a strong purpose, remove it.

Listen to Player Feedback

• Along with criticism, players will often suggest improvements or changes to existing design.
• Carefully evaluate what they say and determine if their concerns are valid. If they are, make the appropriate design changes.

Bugs and Glitches can become Features

• Bugs can sometimes introduce unexpected elements of fun.

Resources