Fundamentals of Game Design, Second Edition

Chapter 3. Game Concepts

Designing a video game begins with an idea. This chapter discusses how to turn that idea into a game concept, a more fleshed-out version of the idea that can be used as the basis for further discussion and development. Creating a game concept is what you do in the concept stage of game design. Your goal at this point should be to write the high concept document that Chapter 2, “Design Components and Processes,” discussed. To do this, you don’t have to have all the details worked out yet, but you do need to understand clearly what your game is about, and you must be able to answer certain essential questions about the game itself, the player’s role in it, and the target audience. Here, we look at how to make those decisions. ...