Concentric Design

Use these resources to dive further into Concentric Design, learn about the Cerny-John Method and review sample concept documents:

• This is the original article by Michael John and Mark Cerny. It’s written for industry professionals, and describes the process for a large team, but the principles are clear. “Our guess is that 80 percent of mistakes in game development are the direct result of things done – or not done – in preproduction.”
• Here is Extra Credits discussing the “minimum viable product,” covering many of the principles of concentric design. “What is the minimum that we can build and test before deciding if what we have is ... worth expanding upon?”
• Matthew Palaje offers a free template for a very short concept document – intended specifically for game jam games – and explains how to use it. “...so you can dive into prototyping with a plan.”
• A history of game design documents with actual documents for everything from Donkey Kong to Half-Life 2. “From visualizations to project planning, from code to creativity, these paper and digital works are an art in and of themselves.”

In this assignment you will prepare a concept document for your game. This is a short document capturing the essence of your game idea. You’ll then answer some questions that are designed to help you see whether you can actually finish it during this course. This is a peer evaluation assignment, which means that you'll first submit your own concept and scope check document file and you should then provide feedback to another person's submission. Here are the steps:

1. Download the template and the sample concept documents.

2. Watch the two-minute video here http://bit.ly/GameJamConceptDoc.

3. Fill in the Concept and Scope Check template with information about your game concept. Ask yourself the following questions:

• When I think about someone playing my game, most of what they're doing is thinking about what to do next. Examples: match-three, sokoban, hashi, KAMI 2, Threes!, I Love Hue, Reigns, Blueprint Word, Bowmasters, Hitman Go
• Playing my game consists entirely, or almost entirely, of making narrative choices. Examples: The Walking Dead, 80 Days, Rewrite, Dream Daddy, Butterfly Soup, Hatoful Boyfriend, perhaps Firewatch
• My game requires quick reflexes and coordination. Examples: Angry Birds, Beat Sneak Bandit, Color Road, Duet, Super Hexagon, Jetpack Joyride, Kingdom Rush, Tiny Wings
• My game doesn't really fit any of the above. Examples: Cut the Rope, Puzzle Juice, Circadia, Rodeo Stampede, FTL, Swap Sword, You Must Build a Boat

4. Take a screenshot of your document (Concept and Scope Check together) and upload it as your submission to this assignment (see the "Submit Assignment" block below - this will also add the document to the Gallery).

5. After you submit, we highly recommend reviewing and giving feedback, via comments in the Gallery, to at least 2 fellow course participants. As you review a fellow learners document, briefly answer the questions below to help you provide feedback to them:

• What's interesting? - Imagine you are playing the game that your classmate is proposing. What is the most interesting thing about it? It doesn’t have to be a unique feature – it could be something that reminds you of another game you like.
• Look at the numbers - Imagine the game described in the concept. Whether the designer describes them or not, think about the kinds of things you’d encounter in the game – kinds of enemy, types of power-up, jumping sequences, levels, and so on. - Does the scope check say how many there will be of each thing? - Does it note whether the number could be scaled down? - Do you see any numbers you think could be smaller without destroying the game experience?
• Asset strategy - Check that the scope check describes a strategy for finding/making assets. - Was your classmate able to find or make decent quality sample assets?
• Code challenges - Based on your own experience making games (whatever level that may be), think about implementing the core features of gameplay, e.g. dragging a card to a deck, making one-way or moving platforms, creating spells and enemies with elemental alignments. - Imagine you had to write the code. Which feature seems like it would be hardest for you to make? - Is there a way that your classmate could simplify that feature (or even cut it altogether!) and still end up with an interesting game?
• Help out - Think about how you might help your classmate. Is there a resource you can send them, e.g. a GDC Vault talk or a tutorial, that would be helpful? Is there a coding trick or an art technique that you can share? Type them in here.
• Is it doable? - Imagine you're a publisher. You're deciding whether to invest money in this game, so you need to evaluate this game's scope vs the schedule. How would you rate it? 1 is "unlikely to finish in time" and 10 is "confident they'll finish".

In the next project you’ll learn about the most important tool in the game designer’s toolbelt: the prototype.

We’ll cover the many ways you can prototype a game, and then you’ll design and make your own. This is where you go from thinking about your game to actually making it!

Before you go consider watching these two bonus videos where out experts discuss why it's important to know your audience and when to fight for a feature even if it's threatening scope creep.