Game Design Document Outline - Version 0.1 - draft

Sep 1, 2026

Upload by Jacob

Game Design Document (GDD) outline describing a comprehensive blueprint for building a computer or video game. It emphasizes that every required detail must be captured in the document and organized to avoid information overload, while allowing some content to live in supporting materials such as an Art Bible or Test Plan. The template covers title and versioning, design history, and structured sections for overview, gameplay mechanics, story and characters, levels, interface, AI, technical needs, art, secondary software, management planning, and appendices.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatDOC

Pages5

Reading Time2 min

AccessFree to download

Title Page

Design History

Section I - Game Overview

Game Concept

Feature Set

Genre

Target Audience

Game Flow Summary

Look and Feel

Project Scope

Section II - Gameplay and Mechanics

Gameplay

Game Progression

Mission/challenge Structure

Puzzle Structure

Objectives

Play Flow

Mechanics

Physics

Movement

Objects

Actions

Combat

Economy

Screen Flow

Game Options

Replaying and Saving

Cheats and Easter Eggs

Section III - Story, Setting and Character

Story and Narrative

Back story

Plot Elements

Cut Scenes

Game World

Characters

Section IV - Levels

Level #1

Level #2

Training Level

Section V - Interface

Visual System

HUD

Menus

Rendering System

Camera

Lighting Models

Control System

Audio

Help System

Section VI - Artificial Intelligence

Opponent AI

Enemy AI

Non-combat Characters

Friendly Characters

Support AI

Player and Collision Detection

Pathfinding

Section VII - Technical

Target Hardware

Development hardware and software

Development procedures and standards

Game Engine

Network

Scripting Language

Section VIII - Game Art

Concept Art

Style Guides

Characters

Environments

Equipment

Cut scenes

Section IX - Secondary Software

Editor

Installer

Update software

Section X - Management

Detailed Schedule

Budget

Risk Analysis

Localization Plan

Test Plan

Appendices

Game Design Document Outline Version 0.1(draft) October 10, 2005 By Mark Baldwin Baldwin Consulting http://baldwinconsulting.org The Game Design Document (GDD) it the blueprint from which a computer or video game is to be built. As such, every single detail necessary to build the game must be addressed in the document (or support documents). If it’s not in the document, then it probably won’t be in the game. Below you will find an outline for a generic Game Design Document. The problem is that no generic GDD will be able to address all the various genres for which a game may be created. For example, consider the games PacMan, SimCity and Doom. All three games required detailed design documents, but if you think about it, those documents would be entirely different! As such, when using the outline below you will find sections that will be totally meaningless to your game. But also, there will be sections that your GDD requires to describe the game. Just because it’s not in my outline, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t belong. The GDD is a reference document. Members of the development team will constantly be using the document to find specific information for their specific needs. Consider the size such a document may grow to in order to document every piece of the game. We don’t want the GDD to cause information overload and then become a prop under somebody’s wobbly desk. As such it is important that you organize and format the document to make it easy to use. Also note that some of these sections might not appear in the GDD itself but instead would appear in supplemental documents such as an Art Bible or Test Plan. This helps make the overall document more manageable and readable. One last comment, a game design document is meant to be a living document. Just as when the artist changes the design of his painting every time he takes his brush to the canvas, a computer or video game evolves as code and art are created. The GDD then is the communication tool from which all the members of the team can follow that evolution. Title Page Game Name – Perhaps also add a subtitle or high concept sentence. Copyright Information Version Number, author, date Table of Contents – Make sure this includes all the subsections to make finding material. If practical, hyper linking the document will help here. Design History – This is a change listing quickly describing each major version and changes. Section I - Game Overview Game Concept Feature Set Genre Target Audience Game Flow Summary – How does the player move through the game. Both through framing interface and the game itself. Look and Feel – What is the basic look and feel of the game? What is the visual style? Project Scope – A summary of the scope of the game. Number of locations Number of levels Number of NPC’s Number of weapons Etc. Section II - Gameplay and Mechanics Gameplay Game Progression Mission/challenge Structure Puzzle Structure Objectives – What are the objectives of the game? Play Flow – How does the game flow for the game player Mechanics – What are the rules to the game, both implicit and explicit. This is the model of the universe that the game works under. Think of it as a simulation of a world, how do all the pieces interact? This actually can be a very large section. Physics – How does the physical universe work? Movement General Movement Other Movement Objects Picking Up Objects Moving Objects Actions Switches and Buttons Picking Up, Carrying and Dropping Talking Reading Combat – If there is combat or even conflict, how is this specifically modeled? Economy – What is the economy of the game? How does it work? Screen Flow Screen Flow Chart – A graphical description of how each screen is related to every other Screen Descriptions – What is the purpose of each screen? Main Menu Screen Options Screen Etc. Game Options – What are the options and how do they affect game play and mechanics? Replaying and Saving Cheats and Easter Eggs Section

FAQs

Is the GDD expected to be static or updated over time?

It is a living document. As code and art evolve, the GDD should be updated so the whole team can follow the game’s ongoing development changes.

Sep 1, 2026

Upload by Jacob