What is a GDD?

A game design document helps game developers organize, outline and manage their ideas for a project in one central document for all team members to follow. The document provides a development team with a roadmap of features and requirements to complete the final project. The document will typically contain backstory, concept art, color pallets, character profiles, level designs, sound effects, music and control maps. Even though there may be dozens or in some cases hundreds of developers working on a single project, the project must maintain its continuity. Team members from all the different areas of expertise must reference the document every time decisions are made to ensure that the original vision is maintained.

Importance of a GDD

A game design document helps a development team assess the feasibility of a project before committing their resources. Teams can more accurately estimate the time required for each of its team members to meet the design goals set forth in the document. It allows each member of the team to know exactly what they are making and provides an excellent reference to keep everyone on the same page, on schedule, and on track.