If one day a design document was written so that a computer program would understand it (like a multiple choice design document) so that the program makes an entire game based on giving the design document? Lets say the program has its own library of sprites and music generator or maybe it’s a good program to make a prototype and you edit sound and sprits. Can that be possible? Will programmers or designers like it? Well I don’t think programmers would like it but designers would.

By the time computers are smart enough to do that they will have taken over the world.

Sounds like you''re basically trying to blur the lines between a "design document" and a "software program". A binary computer program is essentially a very explicit design document that the computer can understand, written in a very powerful language.

There is software where you can script simple games and just plug in art, sound, etc. Like the Scrolling Game Development Kit. Here, you could consider your game script as a very sophisticated and detailed design document that your computer can understand.

Actually a friend of mine is studying AI here at the university, and he was trying to make a program that would make another program that did the same job...Basically reproducing programs.
But it isn''t as simple as copy code and paste. It was more like, the program would analyze what it did, and then write code based on that.
So the resulting code would be possibly different from the original source. And so on. And so on.

So to answer your question: When my friend is finished figuring that out, another 20 years. B-) Ok maybe never.

I am not talking about AI, but a more sophisticated way of designing and game making. It all depends on the programmer and no AI.
Take for instance school in how they have computers test which is the right and wrong answers in a multiple choice question. It’s like answering a DMV, or questionnaire forum. If a design document was laid out in a way to be multiple choice and all u do is inset the information to the program to read it and implement it then it will make the game.

For example something like space invaders look
---------------
1) Screen movement (scroll up, down, left, right, still)
still
2) How many background layers will you have?
enter # 4
3) Select a environment in each layer in order in what it has
Each one has a tree list to select from (organic, non-organic, color- red blue, etc)
1. black
a 100%

2. stars
a 50-100 random(stars)
b 1-5 pixel size random
c scroll down
1 1 speed

3. stars
a 10-20 random(stars)
b 6-8 pixel size random
c scroll down
1 2-3 speed
------------------

Something like that, just to give you a feel but not exactly like that, so don''t say something about the example. If you don’t get it still use your imagination. The program can show pictures or to show you an example of what you mean and you can access option depending on the selection you chose.

The design doc should resemble a little like a programming language to make it work. So basically there has to be a template document for you to fill out questions. If the thing needs little things then you edit it later but you basically have the general game and everything else is touch ups.

Its all just a suggestion

the problem is that there would be a finite number of games if there was a multipul choice system.

Then of course, unless your AI was supah 1337 (if it were not multipul choice, you would an AI of some sort), there would still be a finite number of games.


Not to mention this would put heaps of programers out of a job...

Do not meddle in the affairs of moderators, for they are subtle and quick to anger. ANDREW RUSSELL STUDIOS
Cool Links :: [ GD | TG | MS | NeHe | PA | SA | M&S | TA | LiT | H*R ]
Got Clue? :: [ Start Here! | Google | MSDN | GameDev.net Reference | OGL v D3D | File Formats | Go FAQ yourself ]

Desiging a multiple-choice-driven-spec limits by design the kind of program the generator can create.

Especially, only a subset of all existing and future game logic can be devised through this mechanism.

======begin lol=========
Right now there ***is*** a computer program that can understand a design document and make an entire game (but not limited to games) : it''s name is "human brain" and it run on "human body" hardware, with "developper" extension (though having extension like "OpenGL", "DirectX", "SDL", etc... is appreciated)
======end lol===========

Some years ago I bought a game creator called "the game factory" (AKA Click and play 2 or something like that) and I think it looks like what you are talking about :

The game consists of "scene" whith some attribute (picture, movie, interactive,etc)
Inside a scene, you create a bunch of rules depending on the context, you put your actors (sprite, etc...) and classify them and give them a rule based behaviour (especially for the character you control : is it a platform character, a vehicule, etc)

Then you end up to make the game at the same time you wrote the design.

----
David Sporn AKA Sporniket

quote: Original post by Warsong
If one day a design document was written so that a computer program would understand it

That''s called source code, and you can, today, feed into a compiler.

[ Start Here ! | How To Ask Smart Questions | Recommended C++ Books | Free C++ IDE. ]
[ Header Files | File Format Docs | LNK2001 | C++ STL Doc | STLPort | Boost C++ Lib ]

Warsong, you might want to try Multimedia Fusion. It is the newest version of The Games Factory, and is quite flexible. Only problem with it is that your limited to 2D and since it is not a compiled language it is a little slow, but I think it is similar to what you are describing.

Yeah I know about game factory and everything they come out with sucks in my view.

Well The thing is that design documents are so loose that you cant make a game out of it since a lot of question are still needed to understand the game, and that their should or could be some things to be explained up the an extent. he software should not have AI but to be able to understand what the person says up to a degree and the rest should be done by programmers. Everything up to an extent.

Design documents should be good enough to just give away and someone else can make the game without asking the designer a word. Yeah programming is one thing but no many get it so it should be that everyone does from programmers, artists, marketers, grandmother, etc.

Take care