Toolkit

HOW TO PITCH, BUILD, AND DOCUMENT YOUR GAME

Digital support for game design students and educators

HvA Game Project Playbook

A method of producing a game which let students practice with key aspects of game design and development.

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Playbooks
Digital Prototype Checklist

When making a digital prototype it’s convenient to have some minimal features built in, which can help with testing and demonstrations. Note: these are suggestions on how you could develop a digital prototype. Feel free to add, ignore or remix the suggested features.

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Key Deliverables
Game Concept Document

A game concept document is a collection of ideas you and your team have for a game. It could contain impressions, loose thoughts, inspirations and sketches that describes parts of the game.

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Key Deliverables
Game Design Document

The game design document is an important tool in producing a game. It contains the current state of the design of the game

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Key Deliverables
Paper Prototype (boardgame) Checklist

When designing for a board game or any table top experience you want to make sure you cover the basics to ensure a smooth demonstration or playtest.

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Key Deliverables
Pitch document

A pitch is a simple yet alluring description of your game, highlighting its core ideas and unique selling points. It should convince people of the value of your idea, which will help you build momentum and secure resources for your project. In the industry, a pitch is used to sell your game idea to producers […]

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Key Deliverables
Pitch Presentation

A presentation to highlight and pitch the main elements of your game towards external audiences.

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Key Deliverables
Breaking the Game

testing

Understand what your game actually allows its players.

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Tools
Bring your Theme to Life

WHY USE THIS? When making a game, it’s important that the world your players explore matches the theme you want to convey. This ensures that your game’s story and gameplay fit together seamlessly, creating a more immersive and engaging experience. GETTING STARTED Step 1: Find real-world examples that represent your theme. Look for visuals […]

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Concept Frenzy

concepting

Gather a gazillion ideas in as little time as possible.

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Core Mechanics Diagram

A core mechanic diagram is a tool to visually communicate the main actions that the player will do in your game.

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Create your Manifesto

What rules can we give ourselves to support the ongoing design processes? Making a manifesto, which is like a list of rules, helps us remember what we’re trying to achieve and stay on track. This is really important when we’re making serious games, especially because we want to teach or make people aware of important […]

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Finding Experts

WHY SHOULD YOU DO THIS? Creating a serious game is exciting, but it’s even better when you have experts on your side. They can help you make your game about important topics more accurate and powerful. HOW TO GET STARTED? Step 1: Choose your theme. For example, if your game is about space exploration, your […]

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Tools
Following the Game

testing

Understand what your game actually asks of its players.

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Game Design Moodboard

A game design moodboard is a visual tool to generate ideas and discuss them with others.

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Guerrilla testing

Guerrilla testing is a way to quickly get feedback on your product and to find out if players are using it as you had imagined.

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Learning Card

testing

The Learning Card is the companion to the Test Card, where you will document your findings after a test session with users.

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Learning through Association

WHY USE THIS? Learning becomes more effective when we can connect new information with familiar concepts. Creating associations between different elements in your game helps players remember and understand the content more easily. While traditional learning relies heavily on text-to-text translations, video games offer diverse avenues for association and engagement. GETTING STARTED: Step 1: […]

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Playtest questionnaire

A playtest questionnaire is a set of questions that you will ask players after they have tested your game.

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Satellite Mechanics

concepting

Satellite Mechanics expand the gameplay by cleverly modifying its core-mechanic.

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Steal Like an Artist

WHY USE THIS? Chances are you are not the first to design a serious game around a certain theme. How did others do? What worked well? What needs to be approached differently? Look at your peers and steal like an artist. GETTING STARTED Step 1. Define your theme: What is your game about? Given it […]

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Test Card

testing

The Test Card is a simple template that will help you prepare a test session with users.

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ABOUT

Game Design Toolkit is an ongoing, growing project by Karel Millenaar, Nicky Heijmen, and Coline Pannier. Aiming to support game design students and educators, this toolkit provides descriptors and how-to’s to strengthen various phases of development.

HOW TO PITCH, BUILD, AND DOCUMENT YOUR GAME

HvA Game Project Playbook

Digital Prototype Checklist

Game Concept Document

Game Design Document

Paper Prototype (boardgame) Checklist

Pitch document

Pitch Presentation

Breaking the Game

Bring your Theme to Life

Concept Frenzy

Core Mechanics Diagram

Create your Manifesto

Finding Experts

Following the Game

Game Design Moodboard

Guerrilla testing

Learning Card

Learning through Association

Playtest questionnaire

Satellite Mechanics

Steal Like an Artist

Test Card

ABOUT