Project Management

Video Game Design Pro provides users with the necessary tools and functionality for increased project management capabilities, so that your team can increase their efficiency by streamlining the production pipeline and greatly mitigating developmental risks.

 

• Keep track of changes made during the lifecycle of your documents.
• This tool keeps documents up-to-date and organic as a reference material.   

 

• Customizable Task List and accompanying calendar let team members easily know what needs to be done versus what is already complete.

• Members and managers can use these tools to track milestones and deliverables. 

 

• A free web portal available to registered users of VGDP 2006.  Upload your completed designs to allow viewing or editing by friends, family, co-workers, or investors from anywhere with an active internet connection.

• It's simple, you just enter two passwords, one to view, another to edit, then you can pass them out at your own discretion.

• We are offering our members free GameDesignShare.com Cards, to learn more about this offering please Click Here.

 

• Export your documents quickly and easily to the ubiquitous Portable Document Format, so that they can retain their formatting and visual appeal.

• This is not a standard feature in most word processors. 

 

• Realize the benefits of Video Game Design Pro without having to sacrifice your current design documentation development methods.

• The Import/Export .rtf function allows you to import documents previously worked on, or export documents to most standard word processors. 

 

Communication

Good game designs are useless unless they are well-communicated with those working on a project.  Communication and collaboration are the most often cited elements of the video game design process that need to be improved, and Video Game Design Pro has the features that can help you.  

 

• Collaborate Online With any user who has Video Game Design Pro installed on their computer and an active internet connection.

• Share ideas, chat, and edit documents in real-time.

• It simultaneously functions as an instant messenger, and primary users can grant access to others who can either view, or help work on documents. 

• Quickly and easily add timelines to your designs, one of the most often used visual representations within game design documentation.

• Standard word processors do not possess this function. 

 

• Add simple storyboards to your documents and select frames to edit.

• Why waste hundreds of dollars on incompatible tools when VGDP allows you to accomplish all of your design and pre-production needs right from within the program? 

 

• Visually convey the flow of screens, stories, or player movements with the flowchart diagramming tool. 

 

• Allow your programmers and technical leads to map out their header files and other algorithmic flows with the UML Diagramming tool. 

• Use tables and graphs to visually represent important data or functionality. 

• Good game design documents usually end up building a healthy vocabulary of game-specific terms and phrases, when these aren't defined, it represents a major problem for the team.

• Simply highlight and click to add game-specific terms and definitions to your document's glossary, and every occurrence will be hyperlinked to its definition in real-time. 

 

• Much like a commenting or tagging feature,  once design notes are inserted, they can be immediately viewed when their link is selected.  They are then automatically stored in the Design Notes section of your document.

• Design Notes are the explanations of design decisions.  They can help to clarify confusing and ambiguous design concepts.

 

• This program comes with standard word processing functionality such as a Spell Checker, Highlighter, Thesaurus, and Word Count, as well as text formatting and page layout options, among others. 

 

Data Retrieval

"Design documents are not read like novels.  No one starts at the beginning and comes out at the end.  Primarily, design documents are reference materials, and if team members cannot easily retrieve the data they are seeking, they are liable to give up" (Richard Rouse III, Author of Game Design: Theory and Practice).  Video Game Design Pro features an array of options to allow users to quickly and easily find the information that they are seeking, so the development cycle can be shortened and developmental errors can be mitigated.

 

• Entries are generated, edited, and re-named automatically based upon manipulation of the annotated content sections.

• Rather than succumb to the tedious and time-consuming task of establishing a Table of Contents based upon heading and sub-heading types, VGDP does it for you by section.

• From the Table of Contents window displayed on your work pane, you can quickly access any portion of your documentation with a simple click. 

• Designers can index words and phrases with a simple highlight and click.

• This saves untold amounts of time that would have been spent either developing such a system, or not having one at all, and leaving team members to comb through these documents for specific pieces of information. 

 

• Video Game Design Pro’s Goto function allows you to be taken to more than 20 different types of elements within your design instantly.

• Go to pages, images, scripted text, tables, graphs, timelines, storyboards, flowcharts, uml diagrams, sections, and other information instantly with a click. 

 

• What is annotated content management?  Think of it as a rolodex or a database of your game's design.  Your design documentation is separated into sections which you can edit, delete, or duplicate with ease.

• For example, you may have a section for enemies, items, your cover page, script, and story.  Each of these sections operates as a folder of "pages" within your design documentation.

• You can further distinguish these sections with levels of hierarchy.  For example, your items section may have a sub-section entitled "weapons", which may then in turn have a sub-section entitled "swords".  This type of design depth and organization is what makes annotated content management, and VGDP-designed games, such a success. 

 

• Have sheets upon sheets of .xls content related to your game's design?  Well Video Game Design Pro allows you to import your Excel datasheets directly into the program. 

 

Design Efficiency

The specificity of Video Game Design Pro as a solution for game designers gives it a unique advantage over its competitors.  This is because VGDP provides video game design tools and functionality that can help create more thorough and compelling game designs.

 

• These wizards help to quickly guide you through the process of inputting information, data, and images on everything from vehicles and items, to characters and controllers.

• Using these wizards makes the design process easier, quicker, and more thorough, by ensuring that no important information will be left out of your designs.

• All wizard input information can still be edited later on, and inexperienced developers can learn the process of game design from the inside out by using these tools. 

 

• The scripted dialogue toolbar provides your in-house game writers with a quick method of inputting dialogue for your in-game text and cut-scenes into the proper Hollywood screenwriting format. 

• The instructions express exactly what type of information should be input into the particular sections of the document and how.  They also recommend which of Video Game Design Pro's tools you can use in order to make the design process easier. 

• Examples are provided to inform users about the type of information to be included in documents to ensure thorough designs. 

• The examples complement the instructions.  Use your "Previous" and "Next" buttons to quickly surf between different game genres of design documentation. 

• Resources that contain a wealth of information concerning all aspects of game design and development located right within your software.

• A comprehensive list of websites, schools, organizations, conferences, and companies.

• Utilize this information to remain up-to-date and informed about new developments within the gaming industry, pitch game concepts and ideas to others, look for a game design school to enter, break into the industry, or simply learn more about the craft. 

 

• Add, remove, or adjust the size of program windows.  The highly intuitive and non-abrasive layout of menus and commands greatly reduce the learning curve of the software.

• A highly customizable interface lets you quickly and easily adjust the program's components to your liking, and all elements of the interface contribute to an elegant user experience. 

 

Quality Assurance

Whether it's the well-being of your end-result, or our current solution, The Corpament and Video Game Design Pro provide the features and functionality you need to mitigate defects during either your design process or program user experience.

 

• Video Game Design Pro offers a comprehensive and intuitive bug wizard that allows designers, testers, and anyone working on a project to quickly and thoroughly input and track information regarding a perceived gameplay bug. 

 

• The Future Features tool and section allow users to enter a feature to be implemented later on within a project, and assign a priority, and details to the proposed feature. 

• This ensures that a project can be effectively managed against feature creep, and the importance of implementing these features can be gauged against the project’s overall schedule and budget. 

• Users have access to a comprehensive help guide located within their program which describes each feature and how it functions in step-by-step informative detail. 

• Registered users of the Video Game Design Pro program have access to regular product updates accessible directly from their program's Tools menu.

• These updates consists of minor bug fixes and feature/functionality enhancements.  Users are encouraged to check for updates at lease once a month. 

• Registered users are also entitled to receive free 24/7 technical support accessible via a toll-free telephone line, or through email.

• To be taken to the support section of our website to learn more, please Click Here. 

• The Corpament offers a number of Video Game Design Pro software and related services which seek to augment your product experience and offer unique solutions to your needs.

• To be taken to the solutions section of our website to learn more, please Click Here.