Do you have a game idea and want to start building right away? Making a game is more than just having a good idea and the skill to code it. Before you write a single line of code, you first need to think through the gameplay, your target audience, and ultimately create a map for what you are going to build. While not everyone may find documenting a game idea exciting, being able to formalize your ideas, refine them, and work them out on paper is a critical skill every game designer and developer should know.

 

To that end, I worked with game developers around the world on how they document their game ideas, then came up with an outline for what goes into a game. In traditional game development, you are encouraged to make a game design document (GDD).

The GDD is usually a large document outlining every aspect of a game. It’s the blueprint that the rest of the team must follow when building out the game. If you are a single developer, this may be excessive for your needs. You can quickly boil down a GDD into a separate list of tasks with a few introductory paragraphs and any collateral or references, such as screenshots and links to other games or game mechanics you like.

To help you simplify your idea to something manageable, it's critical to start by getting it down on paper. No one builds a house without a blueprint, and you shouldn’t make a game without a solid plan either.

Instead of having you start with a blank page, we designed a special notebook that walks you through the entire process of creating a game from scratch. Inside, you'll find details on naming your game, identifying your target audience, highlighting your game's features, and more. There are blank pages for writing down your game's mechanics and special grid paper for designing your game. We even made it so you can quickly scan the pages with your phone when you are done and share it with others.
 

We've been giving these notebooks out at events all over the world from Nordic Game Jam to GDC, and developers love it. We want more people to have access to this great resource, so we doing a limited run of these notebooks and plan to ship them out for free while supplies last. These notebooks are perfect for events like Game Jams, game design classes, and anyone just looking to document their game ideas.

If you want to get your own Game Design Notebook, be sure to fill out this form.