Preproduction / High Concept
The first stage of production Is an intern pitch of Ideas, so I designed a primary version of the GDD as a High Concept statement to present as idea with the rest of collaborators, I divided It in main points:
Synopsis: Short description about the game, theme and why I believe in the project.
Genre: For example puzzle/adventure and then coalition of genres (the idea hooked to examples of similar games).
Platforms: How many platforms
Target Audience: What group of consumers will own the game.
References: Sources of inspiration for Gameplay, Story, Aesthetics and Sounds
Storyline and character:
Gameplay: What is the game about, how is it played?
Story and Narrative Design
I worked hand-in-hand with a writer to bring Toledo's story to life (Game Jam Version) in the game’s content.
At the first stage I designed and created important pieces of the story in bullet points. this is reviewed in order to have the best coherence with those main points on mind:
Story Synopsis: The story must be told in no more than one page of text
Theme: A short sentence that describes the main point, the message the writer is trying to convey through the story, the reason you are telling this.
Character Motivations: What is each character looking for.
Story designed in Seven Pillars structure:
Ordinary World: To present the world, each character, etc.
Inciting Incident: There’s a problem in this normal world that needs to be solved.
First Act Turning Point: Suddenly the path of life of the hero changes in order to fix that problem:
Midpoint: There's a big change in the character development, maybe the hero becomes brave
Second Act Turning Point: The path to the final conflict.
Climax: Where the value of the story tested to its highest degree, a final battle.
Resolution: When the viewer learns what happens to the characters and the world after the conflict
After that I pass the task to the writer for a more polished script then we iterate. I learned from him to keep organized every important change with colors so that we can go back more easily.
