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0/8 OK, let's carry on talking about clean game design principles. But this time, about clean game design documentation principles. They are important because most of the time documentation is read not written. #gamedesign #gamedev #gamedevelopment https://twitter.com/tricky_fat_cat/status/1328976181157376002
1/8 These principles are about creating decent game design documentation. However, they can't work without one simple rule "Documentation is for the team, not exclusively for game designers". I define 6 principles:
1. DSP;
2. SRP;
3. OCP;
4. KISS;
5. DRY;
6. PCP;
1. DSP;
2. SRP;
3. OCP;
4. KISS;
5. DRY;
6. PCP;
2/8 DSP (Documentation Segregation Principle). It's better to have several small documents than a huge one. The bigger document becomes, the harder it to maintain and easier to make a mistake. Additionally, it's impossible to work together in one document without any problems.
3/8 SRP (Single Responsibility Principle). Each document must describe only one thing. Describing several different things in one document can lead to misunderstandings and losing focus by readers.
4/8 OCP (Open-Closed Principle). Everyone from the team should discuss documents, but only one can make changes in it. Feedback is vital as well as listening to a team. However, uncontrolled changes can lead to chaos.
5/8 KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Use simple language in your documents. Game development is about working with a humongous volume of information, and it's vital to make it easy to digest and read by a team.
6/8 DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself). If you need to describe something in different documents, create a standalone document for it. Not only do you save time but also you'll avoid a lot of problem with synchronisation and miscommunication in the future.
7/8 PCP (Practice Consistency Principle). Stick to the one style of writing and formatting for your documents on a project. To achieve this, you must write a game design documentation guideline.
8/8 And that's it. Of course, these principles aren't strict rules, but a set of recommendations. And most importantly, everything is good in moderation. Use these principles wisely.
