Game Design Planning Apps

TouchTiltGames

Do any of you use one? I haven't Googled it yet, but just wanted to know what App if any you guys use to plan out a game. Aside from pen and paper

JohnPapiomitis

Well thats half of what gamesalad does, lets you plan out your game visually

If im doing something in objective c ill use dapp to make a mockup but for gamesalad i just make a project and toy around in there

TouchTiltGames

lol yeah I get that part, been using it for almost a year now.

No I'm talking about apps that are catered to project flow, goals, time management etc.

Just a thought.

JohnPapiomitis

Gotcha Its always good to type out a design doc beforehand. Describing the player, enemies controls, level elements, ect. Thats usueally a good roadmap to go off of

DestructionProductions

i sketch sometimes during breaks in school. I dont really use a program

Imperium

If your game is not too complicated, FLOWCHART might be a useful tool.

rdcube

pencil and paper...and a big eraser

quantumsheep

I'm a professional Games Designer by trade.

When on a project that involves dozens of people, writing everything down to the finest detail is paramount. You have to be able to explain to people what you want, how things should work, what goes where etc etc.

The brilliant thing about working (largely) alone is that there isn't an actual need for that. I enjoy making things up as I go along. It's incredibly liberating!

However, this really isn't a good way to go about things for everyone!

QS

xyloFUN

TouchTiltGames said:
Do any of you use one? I haven't Googled it yet, but just wanted to know what App if any you guys use to plan out a game. Aside from pen and paper

Hi,
There are a few free tools available that help you manage you projects.

Here is what I do:

iMac plus two external hard drives (your best planning is useless if you don't back EVERYTHING up)

Every project gets a folder!
In there, I have
Mind map with links to all documentation and research
Folders for images, sounds and other assets

There is a website that let's you download free printable sheets that have sketches of an iPhone screen and lines to make notes. Print as many as you need.
I use sketchbook to draw flow charts and save those drawings inside the project folder.
There is also a readme that helps me if I have to come back in a few months to tweak something

Because my work involves extensive 3D work, I have additional sub directories with images for iPhone and iPad formats

Do a save as for every project and back it up twice. The project file holds all your assets in case you forgot something somewhere.

Mind map apps are very powerful and help to visualize bigger jobs.
If you sell your work, you also need to track your time and additional costs.

There is a lot more but my iPad is just about r ady t st Ike I . . . .