Hi there! I'm new here. :) I want to write a computer game but don't know the format. Could someone please direct me to a site that explains in full how to write a game. I don't mean programming and the like I mean how to write and formulate it you know a document that the production company has after there idea sessions and the document they use to refer to whilst making the game. Thx to anyone who replies! :)

If I understand your question correctly, you wish to know how to write a game design document?

As far as I know, there isn't a pre-defined style that everyone follows. However if you're stuck, there's some templates and articles here at GameDev.net in the game design articles that you might be interested in. I'd have a look at the templates for some ideas. Also, the design document for Monolith's Claw is a good example; that's an actual design document from a commercial game.

Best of luck!

what kind of game do you want to make?

Instead of going into a full blown design document, which can be very very long, I would suggest trying to find somewhere which explains the different types of design documents and which stage in the development process they belong in.

I have been unable to find anywhere which explains this online - but I suggest you purchase a book entitled 'Game Architecture and Design' by Andrew Rollings and Dave Morris. It would be my number one choice in reading material for anyone interested in game design.

I’ll try and give a brief explanation to what each document is and does… although I’m no expert and I would suggest purchasing the above book.

Generally there will be two or three design documents throughout the whole development cycle (depending on the developer and the project). I have found that the process used is very similar to the film industry; with a proposal, treatment and then full blown design document being used instead of the film industries proposal, treatment and shooting script.

The proposal will basically be the general outline of what the game is, in a single paragraph. I've found that this stage of the design document will usually be skipped and designers will start straight off with a treatment. The treatment could be re-phrased as a concept design document, as that is what would best describe it. What this design document enables you to do is describe all the main features, core gameplay mechanics and general story outline (if it has one) of your proposed game. Once you’ve done this, you can start to flesh it out and develop it into the actual design document.

I think the main advantage of starting off with a treatment design document is that it doesn’t make you try and think about everything all at once, and enables you to focus your thoughts on specific areas. Design documents are very complex, and it can be very daunting trying to jot down everything all at once.

Start small and then flesh out the ideas when you think of them. :)

Lesson number one

#include <windows.h>int WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance,HINSTANCE hPrevInstance,LPSTR lpCmdLine,int nCmdShow)

I will post lesson number two next week.


Just kidding. I belive the difficult part will be making a company make and publish your game.