Elements of game design, part five: planning and concepting

The process of planning and concepting, done right, is the difference between a disaster and an accurate, well presented, successful piece. The thought of planning is always daunting, for me anyway, mainly because I’m too eager to throw myself into the first idea I like the sound of. Planning is simple; it’s basically working out a method of how you’ll tackle things before you get to them. It helps to write a brief if you don’t already have one, just some simple but precise guidelines to prevent you from straying off the path to the finish line. For example, a 3D brief will outline a problem or aim: ‘For this exercise you will be required to model and texture a box of trash similar to the one seen outside shops based on the photo reference to a fixed set of technical requirements.’ This pretty much tells you all you need to know about what your expected to achieve, from here constraints are addressed like poly budget, texture sizes etc. The same can be done within 2D, for example a character design would have set styles and aesthetics in a brief that you would need to stick to in order to make the character fit to the game. (Specification for asset example: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3115/common_methodologies_for_lead_.php 

From the brief it’s time to get stuck into research. I can’t emphasise enough how crucial gathering reference is. Why try to magic masterpieces out of your mind when there are so many visual influences out there for you already. If you’re trying to get a certain pose for a character, don’t settle for something similar off the internet, grab a friend and ask them to pose for you. Using material you've sourced makes your work unique. You also can’t ever have enough reference. If you've found or created a scene you’re happy with, photograph it from multiple angles to build a better understanding of something’s form, lighting and composition. Constantly refer to your research as you progress, mood boards are very useful for this because all your reference is in one place and easy to glance at as your working. It’s equally a good idea to put reference up on the walls where you work. From the reference you can begin to pull ideas from aspects that fit the brief, you like and think will complement each other. In my opinion, and industries, the best way to concept is through quick and simple thumbnails. This is an effective way to try out different compositions. These can also be easily adapted into more detailed storyboards. Not everything translates perfectly on to paper first time, so repeatedly producing the same thumbnail or slightly tweaking it as you go along works as an elimination process to find the best result. Look at it as an interview process, you wouldn't chose the first applicant that came through the door would you. 

 I found that using this diagram as a rough guide to designing helps to cover the main areas and if you can’t honestly say you've answered each area accurately, then do it again.