media and language more theoretically, a number of game studies books are also available, including Ken McAllister’s Game Work: Language, Power, and Computer Game Culture.

10/14/2006

10/21/2006

Software Start-Ups

Tim Ryan’s 1999 Gamasutra articles on the anatomy of a design document (Part 1 http://www.gamasutra.com/features/19991019/ryan_pfv.htm and Part 2 http://www.gamasutra.com/features/19991217/ryan_pfv.htm) explain the core components needed in a game design document.  Any large project needs documentation and a planned method of organization for that documentation. This is true for those writing book proposals for academic books or textbooks, those writing business plans for new companies, and those working on existing projects.

 

 

For game design, the larger design documentation aids the development and in marketing particular games because the design documentation allows everyone who reads it to have a consistent vision of the larger project. Currently, a number of other projects aid in different aspects of project creation and organization. Alienbrain http://www.alienbrain.com/ aids in asset management, various Content Management Systems aid in general organization like Joomla, and sites like A List Apart offer explanations of how to write business plans http://alistapart.com/articles/business1/. Other helpful products include Blogs, Wikis, Google Docs and Spreadsheets, and other collaborative tools. Most of these tools are very open-ended, which is useful because the products can then be customized for a variety of projects. Unlike these, Video Game Design Pro is already customized and does not appear to have any direct competitors that are also customized and available on the market for use in game design or for use in other technology projects. [As an aside, please contact me if there are other similar projects so that I can research them.]