Designing a Game - Planning, Design Documents, etc

[wrldwzrd89]

I am working on an as-yet un-named game. Having just started the project very recently I am wondering if it is better to have one monolithic design document or many smaller ones. Also, should I write down my master plan I have in my head, or just express it through the design documents I've already created?

I am a lonewolf developer, if that makes any difference - so I won't be going through a publisher but instead releasing the game directly to my web site.

I am NOT looking for people to help me develop the game, as I understand that this forum is not a place to seek such help.

 

[0098386]

Start off with the aim, procedure, etc. It's good to be very thorough. Something that if you lose your way whilst deep in the development stage that you can flick back and get a clear image of the original idea.
Seperate it into chapters-

Introduction (the aim, everything you plan on doing)
Details (individual design points; characters, areas)
Marketting (maybe not too important, but here you'd write down plans to get the game known - viral marketting, posters etc)
Evaluation (not really needed but it gives you the chance to look back at how you've progressed as a designer)

And hi btw I was in the same situation as you for a good few years, doing the coding, art, music etc. Used to release freeware games to get my name spread around until I had enough 'capital' (as it were) to sign up with a publisher.

If you don't mind me asking what are you working on?

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Start off with the aim, procedure, etc. It's good to be very thorough. Something that if you lose your way whilst deep in the development stage that you can flick back and get a clear image of the original idea.
Seperate it into chapters-

Introduction (the aim, everything you plan on doing)
Details (individual design points; characters, areas)
Marketting (maybe not too important, but here you'd write down plans to get the game known - viral marketting, posters etc)
Evaluation (not really needed but it gives you the chance to look back at how you've progressed as a designer)

And hi btw I was in the same situation as you for a good few years, doing the coding, art, music etc. Used to release freeware games to get my name spread around until I had enough 'capital' (as it were) to sign up with a publisher.

If you don't mind me asking what are you working on?

Thank you for the advice - that is what I was looking for. I am working on a role-playing game (RPG) - inspired by several other games I've played. I'm using a library called Simple DirectMedia Layer to make the game easier to develop, and to make it cross-platform to as much of an extent as possible. Alas, I don't have a way of developing the Linux version. I can, however, create a Windows version once I get the Mac OS X version working.

 

[Cabbit]

If it can be developed to run on OSX then there is no real technical reason that it wont work on Linux.
OpenGL is OpenGL and unix and linux are very compatible by design so there is no need to skip a Linux version when your even making a Windows version which is so far from Unix and Linux in how it works i don't understand why you can pull of the difficult port and not the easy port from Unix to Linux.

 

[mongrol]

You're asking in the wrong place. Go to http://www.gamedev.net and read everything.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

If it can be developed to run on OSX then there is no real technical reason that it wont work on Linux.
OpenGL is OpenGL and unix and linux are very compatible by design so there is no need to skip a Linux version when your even making a Windows version which is so far from Unix and Linux in how it works i don't understand why you can pull of the difficult port and not the easy port from Unix to Linux.

I understand that, but... I don't have access to a Linux environment to develop and test the Linux version on right now.

You're asking in the wrong place. Go to http://www.gamedev.net and read everything.

Thank you. I didn't know that site existed. I will look there.