Project Xenocide Design Document

[red knight]

Guys, first sorry for the time I wasnt here this week but I do not have internet when I travel to Chile.

 

I think you are doing something very cool in this thread: http://www.xcomufo.com/forums/index.php?sh...=7774&st=50

 

I just added to the SVN something that have worked very good on my work (shhhh dont tell anyone but in the end I think I will end up doing games for a living , who knows ). I have uploaded a document outline that has been very useful for us, and that adds a lot of scope to our programmers too. So I need all the time from the CTD and ART and SND and PRG into filling this document that I have added in the SVN (please dont forget to use "track changes") as the keeper (me for now) is the only one that should approve changes. Those without SVN access send the changes to their respective leaders.

 

Project Xenocide Design Document

 

Want to hear what you think about it? Do we follow this track?

 

Greetings

Red Knight

[Lars W]

hmm Chris Taylor... He did Total Annihilation right?

The document seems like something you need to give the Marketing Apartment, for me, i dont see the design track in there.

Its something that should already be written and is in some cases all over the forums and the xenocide website. And i think its a good idea to group all this together in one document.

 

But i am bit unsure how detailed those infos should be. The text in the document looks like it will only be one or two sentences for each point. Or should it be more detailed?

 

greets

Lars

[red knight]

Thats because this is more of a define whatever you will do. After that those documents becomes beasts of 500 pages when you start detailing... but you need to start somewhere; and I found that an example document is better than anything.

 

And yes, all the info is already in the forums and in the collective mind, but we need to put all that into a single place.

 

EDIT: By the way, at work we use 2 different documents: Game Concept Document (that is where you put what you want to do) and the Game Design Document (where you actually put how you are going to do the stuff).

 

Greetings

Red Knight

[kafros]

Thats because this is more of a define whatever you will do. After that those documents becomes beasts of 500 pages when you start detailing... but you need to start somewhere; and I found that an example document is better than anything.

 

And yes, all the info is already in the forums and in the collective mind, but we need to put all that into a single place.

 

EDIT: By the way, at work we use 2 different documents: Game Concept Document (that is where you put what you want to do) and the Game Design Document (where you actually put how you are going to do the stuff).

 

Greetings

Red Knight

This reminds me of a pdf called "RPG game programming with DirectX", IIRC. It proposed a similar model of working, which I think included 3 stages. The 1st one was probably the storyline . CTD worked (of course) on the backstory, and Mad provided a version which enumerates the various points/issue of the backstory.

 

It's a nice idea... but why do you think we should use it? I can find only the following reasons:

1) Could be a nice introductory text for the average, curious user who won't bother to read it

2) Could be a helpful document to store ideas. This will probably be useful once the project matures and it'll be far more difficult to track changes or remember at least the important ideas (will we ever reach that point?)

3) Could be a guide for recruits... That way, they won't have to trek through the whole forum in order to learn what we do

4) Last, it could be a good resort for programmers, to check what is to be done, what they could implement next etc... Although I think that the code itself and the BUGS are more than enough for this task.

 

Ok, so... Any member will be able to aid, but how will you track changes? In addition, if i.e. 2-3 CTD members work on a specific part of the document and provide 3 different versions of that part, what will happen?

[red knight]

This is not oriented toward storyline, is oriented toward doing the dreaded game design that we have neglected for so long in the hope that XCOM is our design doc.

 

I found it is a very nice exercise to really do thing, to try to explain them into a document. The idea is basicly to put everything that we have collected over the years. Storyline (but not the whole story), Gameplay Mechanics, what we would do, and what we wont, etc. Like the Xenocide Bible ... You can download some examples from here: http://www.ihfsoft.com/designdocuments.htm

 

What do you think about it?

 

Greetings

Red Knight

[Zombie]

Makes perfect sense to me. If everything is collected and organized into a single document that means less work in the long run. Otherwise we'd end up needlessly hashing the same stuff over and over. Of course, collecting all the infromation will take a while too but it should pay off.

 

And here I thought we already had a design document. My bad.

 

- Zombie

[[dteviot]]

EDIT: By the way, at work we use 2 different documents: Game Concept Document (that is where you put what you want to do) and the Game Design Document (where you actually put how you are going to do the stuff).

We do the same thing. Requirements document & Design document. Actually, we have a lot more. Design is sort of big picture design. We then have a bunch of stories, one for each major feature.

 

And I've been asking for this stuff since March.

[[Mad]]

Actually, no offense, but, since this will be a public document, I would rather like ot to have the story inside... We try our best to keep the backstory more or less secret, since this is something the player will find out during the game. I would like the player to play the game not only to play it, but also to find out what's this all about. What do you guys think?

 

Ps.: Back in Vienna now

[red knight]

I know... Better late than never... now to add stuff to it

 

Greetings

Red Knight