#AltDev Design links

Just a couple of links to share today as I try to clean out my bookmarks a bit. They’re #AltDevBlog posts about the practical parts of actually being a game designer, and not just a programmer who kind of designs or a designer who just throws things together. They also have a number of great comments by industry folk; Mike Birkhead in particular has some great comments, so at least read his if you choose to ignore the rest of the comments.

Respecting Design tackles the issue of everyone thinking they know how to design a game. You don’t know how to design a game just because you’ve played a few games. “No one in their right mind opens up the code depot, alters files at random, and then, when rightfully questioned on their sanity, say in defense, "Hey, everyone’s code is valid man”. So why is it ok for game design?“ Reading this made me realize that, yeah, I don’t know shit about being a game designer. I can read all the blog posts I want, but that doesn’t mean I know anything useful. Not that I thought I was a game designer, mind you, just that I thought I was learning about it. It would probably be more accurate to say that I was learning around it, if that makes any sense. Circling the perimeter without ever entering it.

Design Docs Debate is less of a debate and more a collection of interesting links in the comment thread and a few good comments - specifically, Slone’s and Mike Birkhead’s. It sounds to me like the original poster is in a program where they got really anal about the requirements - but then I remember hating essay outlines in tenth grade, too. From the sounds of things, it seems like a good design document is pretty similar to a good outline (for an essay, or a short story, or even a novel) - you can go without to a certain degree, if you’re ok ending up with a lesser result because of it. Being able to create a good one is one of the things you just end up doing when you want to produce better results, because if you sit down without a plan, your final product will be nothing like what you envisioned.

Random thought - ever notice how the "blog post” has supplanted the essay? Two hundred years ago you could be an “essayist,” someone who writes essays. Now you’re just a blogger, and your wonderful essays are just “posts” like any other. I’m going to use the term essay, so there. Lead by example, right?