The success of any project that involves game development outsourcing depends on the communication and understanding between you and the developers. That’s why you should create a game concept, a simple and clear vision of your idea, which can play the role of the basic guideline for the development team. You can also present it to investors, publishers, and marketers to provide them with more clarity about your project.
Learn more about the game concept and its importance for game dev studios from our material.
How to Write a Concept for a Game?
You can think of the game concept as a clear instruction that will inform all involved parties about your idea. Make it detailed enough to avoid confusion and provide materials useful for every department involved. However, the form is up to you: add lists, illustrations, sketches, anything that can clarify your vision of the project.
Here are the main points any game concept should include:
The Core Idea of Game Development Outsourcing
You are already excited about the game you imagine, so you should share this mood with the developers. Start your game concept with a brief description of your idea. Think of the universe you are creating, the genre, game goals, and achievements. You shouldn’t focus on details at this point, but write down the style, key features, and benefits of your game over competitors.
Try to understand what will make people play your game. Maybe it has some new features that no one has ever tried? Or is it a fresh revision of an old classic? In any case, write it all down to emphasize the hooks of your game.
Mechanics
Here you should put yourself in the player’s shows and think about how you will move through the game. Also, determine the winning and losing conditions, and try to make it simple to learn but hard to master.
You may start with some basic principles or refer to the popular games you know. But if you already have some ideas on the mechanics, make them clear for the game development company so they won’t have to reinvent the wheel.
Story
Regardless of whether you are creating a complex strategy or a simple idle game, the story plays a critical role in its development. You shouldn’t include the full storyline into your game concept, but major plot twists are essential. Describe your characters, their goals, and how they can advance. Write briefly about the universe and the history behind the actions, and describe the mood your game should create.
Target Audience
It is crucial for game development companies to know your future players. The choice of a target audience can influence the art style, complexity of the storyline, and even mechanics of the game. Adults can handle complex gameplay and enjoy complicated tasks, but children require simpler mechanics and can be scared by too realistic monsters.
Monetization Of Game Development Outsourcing
You might think it’s too early to think about selling the game at this stage, but the concept should also include the monetization scheme. Whether you want to distribute it by the subscription model or offer a completely free game, inform your team about it. Monetization can affect the storyline, mechanics, marketing strategy, etc., so make sure all your departments share the same goals.
Platform
Last but not least, include the platforms you want to focus on. If you plan to launch the game on different platforms, developers might need to create a cross-platform solution. Share your plans in the game concept to be sure it will work great on the desired devices and systems.
How Do Game Development Outsourcing Companies Work with the Game Concept?
The experts from Melior Games, a game development team from Ukraine, have gathered some insights on the role of a concept. First of all, the instruction makes it clear what you expect them to create. It helps the game dev studio get involved early on so they can spot weak places and things that are hard to accomplish. What is more, experienced developers can suggest you some ideas that can enhance the gameplay.
Also, based on the game concept, the developers can create a first prototype you can test and see how your idea works in practice.
Conclusion
Without a clear game concept, even experienced game development companies might struggle. So, write down your core idea, the main storyline, add some suggestions on mechanics and monetization. And when you have a clear game concept, share it with professionals so they can make own suggestions. We at Melior Games have nine-year experience of game development outsourcing so we can sculpt your idea into a successful project.
