As we have seen, when we are working on a game's design, we generate and manage a lot of information. Managing this information is vital to be efficient and avoid confusions and misunderstandings. So this information's documentation on design is fundamental. Inside the design department the documentation task is made, in which many people can collaborate, generating many kinds of documents and keeping them up-to-date when it's necessary. We must remember that there also exist other documents which might be in other department's field, such as Art and Programming, and which are generated by these departments. In this unit, we will focus on documentation on design. Documentation's relevance is very high. Basically, due to the next reasons: first of all, because they are witnesses of all the decisions taken during design phase. During creation process many propositions are generated and all these that have been approved and consensus in the end must be written down. So, documentation reflects the creative process' final will. Also, when we are generating documents, we are forced to reanalyze what we've thought of, so that the process helps to better understand the project and to have a more detailed and wide general image. Another relevant aspect is that it is used as a guideline for designer's work, artists and programmers as it determines with precision what we must do and what we mustn't do. So, they only develop what the design documentation specifies, and what isn't specified in the design, isn't made. Finally, documentation is vital to transmit information to other people, either in the design department or in others. It is definitely a working tool used during all the development process. While documenting, we must try to keep certain criteria to better use their functionality. The most important thing is that documentation uses a clear and concrete language. We must avoid ambiguous words and constructions which might lead to a misunderstanding. In the same line, they demand a high concretion level as too much generic descriptions can be counter-productive and generate confusions. We must also try documentation to be efficient, using the less resources possible to communicate as much as we can. It is good to use resources such as reference images or schemes, which usually help transmitting information in a faster and more gathered way. Documentation can be in many formats: text documents, diagrams, presentations, etc. We must choose the most suitable format depending on each concrete kind of documentation's purpose. To finish, documentation must be made with empathy, being aware that not only the one who is writing it will read it and, so, knowing how to put yourself in the possible readers' point of view, adapting the used language and thus favoring its comprehension. As we saw in the first module when we were talking on the designer's tasks, there are many document types. High concept is a definition of the game summarized in one phrase. Pitch is a more detailed description of the game, emphasizing the more commercial or marketing aspects, the interest the audience might have, differences with the rivalry, etc. It is usually written focused to a possible publisher. Game concept document and game design document already include more info on many aspects of the game. The main difference between them is their extension and the detail level. Usually, when proposing non-developed ideas many concept documents are generated for each idea. After that, all the design document is generated on the idea that is finally developed, in which all the necessary must be present, playable, technical and artistic aspects. There are other documents such as the ones specified in each level's design, the ones which detail mechanics or take part of the story, the script and the dialogs. Next, we will analyze the main parts a design document has separately. We must concrete there isn't only one way to structure a design document. Depending on the development studio and the kind of game, it can variate in format and contents distribution. This contents example can be applied either for a document concept or for a complete document design depending, obviously, on the detail level with which each section is filled. The different sections we will talk on are: game concept, amplified description, game system and mechanics, story, setting and artistic style, music and sound and specific technology. The first section is the game concept. It might seem brief, but it is very important to do it properly. It must ease identifying the game idea in a few words. To do so, they ask to mention in a few words the genre, the camera, the setting, the main character, the main mechanics and the main challenges or achievements. In the example we see in the slide, Mario 64, we identify its genre as 3D platform and we point out that its camera is in third person. This game's setting is hard to define, as it is very variated, there are levels in deserts, volcanoes, frozen zones, etc., so we synthesize it talking on magic or fantasy worlds. Next, we identify the main character, which we could describe more if we had any important characteristic, in example, if he was a soldier or a gangster. In this case, we could say he's a plumber, but probably it won't be relevant regarding gameplay. Next we talk on main mechanics and the most important objectives in the game, which indirectly explain a part of the story. In the game concept, it isn't necessary to explain it all, just the game's most identifying keys. We must take into account that there are more sections in the design document to expand descriptions and talk on more aspects.
