Having started with the basics, you can proceed to the players’ more complex
actions, trying to logically structure the document so that each subsequent action
builds on the previous one as much as possible. You want your different game mechan-
ics to flow one into the next so the reader can see the structure of the game building.
And, of course, you want to avoid referring to mechanisms you have not yet defined or
detailed.
Certainly the topics you will cover will vary widely depending on what type of
game you are creating. If your game involves combat, you will need to go over that in
detail, explaining how the players use different weapons and what the possible effects
of those weapons are on the game-world. If the player’s surrogate is able to pick up and
manipulate objects, you will want to explain fully how they are picked up, how they are
accessed, how inventory management works, and so forth.
The Game Mechanics section is also a proper place to lay out what sort of puzzles
players might encounter in the game-world. Indeed, if your game is a puzzle game, this
will take up a large portion of the mechanics section. You will want to describe how puz-
zles function and how players are able to manipulate them, and give direction as to how
the puzzles will be created, without actually listing specific puzzles. As with the
descriptions of specific weapons, save lists of puzzles for the content sections later in
the document. For instance, say you were describing puzzles in the originalPrince of
Persia. You would want to explain that puzzles can involve hitting pressure plates, hid-
den knock-away ceilings, falling floor segments, gates that can be raised and lowered by
the pressure plates, spikes that spring out from the floors and walls, special potions,
certain types of magical effects, and whatever other components the game-world
allows. You will not actually list any specific configurations of these components that
will be found in the levels. Save that for the level-specific sections later in the docu-
ment, or for the level designers to figure out on their own. Here you should list the
palette of objects and behaviors from which the puzzles can be created.
If the game in question involves players switching into different modes in order
to accomplish different tasks, each of these modes should be described in detail.
For instance, in the originalDrakan: Order of the Flame,players maneuver the
364 Chapter 19: The Design Document
Describing the variety of
puzzle components
found in a game such
asPrince of Persiais
appropriate in the
Game Mechanics
section.