Game Concepts - Fundamentals of Game Design - page 69

■ A proposed primary gameplay mode, including camera model, interaction
model, and general types of challenges the player(s) will experience in that mode.

■ The genre of the game or, if you think it is a hybrid, which features it will
incorporate from the different genres to which it belongs. If it is an entirely new
kind of game, include an explanation of why its gameplay doesn't fit into any
existing genre.

■

A description of the target audience for the game.

■ The name of the machine on which the game will run and details of any special
equipment the game will require (for example, a camera or dance mat).

■

The licenses that the game will exploit, if any.

■ The competition modes that the game will support: single-, dual-, or multi-
player; competitive or cooperative.

■ A general summary of how the game will progress from beginning to end,
including a few ideas for levels or missions and a synopsis of the storyline, if the
game has one.

A short description of the game world.

■

You should put all these items into a high concept document. This chapter dis -
cusses how to think about these issues, except for a few that are self-explanatory or
are covered in earlier chapters. You can see a sample high concept document on the
companion website.

In a commercial environment, a publisher wants to see several additional details:
the game's potential competition, the unique selling points (often abbreviated USPs)
that make your game stand out in the marketplace, and possible marketing strate-
gies and related merchandising opportunities.

As you can see, a game concept is much more than an idea. It is an idea that you
have thought about and begun to develop. A game concept contains enough detail
that you can begin discussing how it will feel to play the game and what further
design work you need to create the game.

The Player's Role
To understand your ow n game and to explain it to others, you must k now what the
player will do, and in a sense, what the player will be in the game world—what her
role is. These are the first questions you face in creating your game concept.

What Is the Player Going to Do?
It's sometimes tempting to start thinking about a game in terms of its setting or its
characters. For example, “Wouldn't it be fun to play a game set in ancient Rome?”