Design Components and Processes - Fundamentals of Game Design - page 57

HIGH CONCEPT DOCUMENT
The high concept document is not a document from which to build the game. Just as
the purpose of a résumé is to get you a job interview, the purpose of a high concept
document is to get you a hearing from someone, a producer or publishing executive.
It puts your key ideas down on paper in a bite-size chunk that he can read in a few
minutes. Like a résumé, it should be short—not more than two to four pages long.
It's also worthwhile to write high concept documents for yourself, to record ideas
that you might want to work on in the future.
GAME TREATMENT DOCUMENT
A game treatment document presents the game in a broad outline to someone who's
already interested in it and wants to hear more about it. Like a high concept docu-
ment, it's primarily a sales tool. The treatment is designed both to satisfy initial
curiosity and to stimulate real enthusiasm for the game. When you give a presenta-
tion about your game to a potential publisher, you should hand him the game
treatment at the end so he has something to take away and look at, something that
floats around his office and reminds him of your game. Your goal at this point is to
get funding, either to create a more thorough design or a prototype or (preferably!)
to develop the entire game.
The game treatment is still a simple document—almost a brochure that sums up
the basic ideas in the game. A good way of picturing what to write in a treatment
is to imagine that you are making a website to help sell your game; then throw in
some business and development details for good measure.
CHARACTER DESIGN DOCUMENT
A character design document is specifically intended to record the design of one char-
acter who appears in your game, most often an avatar. Its primary purpose is to
show the character's appearance and above all her moveset —a list of animations
that documents how she moves, both voluntarily and involuntarily. It should
include plenty of concept art of the character in different poses and with different
facial expressions. In addition, it should include background information about the
character that helps inform future decisions: her history, values, likes and dislikes,
strengths and weaknesses, and so on. Chapter 6 discusses character design in detail.
WORLD DESIGN DOCUMENT
The world design document is the basis for building all the art and audio that portray
your game world. It's not a precise list of everything in the game but, rather, back-
ground information about the kinds of things the world contains. If you have a
large landscape or cityscape, for example, the world design document should include
a map. You need not supply every detail, just a general overview. The level design-
ers and artists use this information to create the actual content. Be sure also to note