2400 words report
Design & Test Document weighting 40% of module marks. .
Design documents are a central part of creating any game. These documents
provide detailed information on the mechanics of the game, how puzzles work and
their possible solutions, scoring systems, art style as well as other information. A
design document acts as a blueprint from which the game is created. It also acts
as a central knowledge base from which all team members can access information
on how the game is designed.
You are required to submit a completed design document for your game. Example
design documents will be discussed in class and your design document should be
based on these examples and the principles covered in the lectures.
For the purpose of assessment, the design document must also explain the
purpose of each element of the game design and justify these design choices in
relation to the theoretical aspects of the module,
For example. It is not enough to say:
“The game will get more difficult over time”
Instead, you should explain exactly ‘how’ it will become more difficult and explain
‘why’ this design choice has been made. Always consider the HOW and WHY. For
example, the above statement should be expressed as::
“The game will use a linear increase in difficulty. The time reduction for each new
level will reduce by 10 seconds for each new level. (This explains the HOW) An
alternative would be to use a geometric reduction in time, where the amount of
reduction in time itself increases with each new level, for example level 2 reduces
my 10 seconds, level 3 reduces by 15 seconds (5 second difference), level 4
reduces by 25 seconds (10 second difference) etc. The choice of a linear increase
in difficulty is intended to reduce the possible frustration of a player, by providing
small manageable increments to the difficult, rather than larger and larger leaps
which may result in an unacceptable level of frustration being reached much
sooner. (This explains the WHY)
Without such information it is impossible for the tutor to know if you understand
‘why’ you are making these design choices. This also provides you with an
opportunity to demonstrate that you are applying your own self-directed study,
which will be essential for higher marks.
Providing such detailed explanations, will also be good practice in testing,
explaining and justifying your own work. Valuable skills for your first job interview !
There are strict design constraints for this game which you must adhere to. These
constraints must also be adhered to within the design document. If the design
document breaks these design constraints, this will reflect negatively in the final grade for this
component. The constraints for the 3D Adventure game are:
1. No fighting \ guns \ weapons
2. The player cannot be killed
3. The player must use skills of logic and deduction to win the game
4. Puzzles should be a central part of the player experience
These design constraints are based on the definition of adventure games by Nielsen
at al (2008), p 43, see the list of books in section 8.
Test Document
Test documents detail which tests have been carried out on the game, their results
and any corresponding action required after the test. As part of this assignment
component, you are required to submit a test document with your game. This
document will detail 15 tests you have carried out and document their findings. The
test document will be a table attached to the end of the design document and will
NOT count towards the word count of this assignment, examples will be discussed in
class.