Design Protocol

My dayjob's monopolized my brain lately, so I've been thinking a lot about what makes designs work, aesthetically and within the narrative of a game. There's no set sequence, of course, but I think it helps to work from the top of this list down rather than from the bottom of this list up. And it applies to just about anything you'd need to concept.

Some of this is nabbed from Paul Rivoche's excellent design tutorials in Draw! magazine (first given to me by an AD at Raven Software).

CONTEXT
Where does it fit in the narrative? [gameplay inclusive]

LOCATION
Where is it physically based?

FUNCTION
What purpose(s) does it serve? [gameplay inclusive]

SYMBOLS
What visual cues are essential for people to recognize that function?

MASSES
How much real estate does this occupy? What is its broad physical makeup?

HIERARCHY/FLOW
How are the masses grouped? Importance and spatial arrangement are tied to function. [gameplay inclusive]

MATERIALS
Details, Patterns, Textures

MOOD
Lighting, Atmosphere

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Example : The iconic Mos Eisley Cantina from Star Wars Episode IV

CONTEXT
"Tatooine is Luke Skywalker's home planet, where our story begins. It's hot, hostile and generally depressing there. The Mos Eisley Cantina, no exception to the rule, is where Luke narrowly avoids a brawl and coordinates his escape from Tatooine with some pivotal characters."

LOCATION
"It's in the thick of Mos Eisley Space Port, a bustling urban hub of Tatooine."

FUNCTION
"It's a bar. Customers come in for food, drinks and entertainment."

SYMBOLS
"There's a physical bar, barstools, booths, a stage with a band and lots of strange aliens milling around with drinks."

MASSES
"It's got roughly the area of a '50s diner. One story with a low ceiling. Entrance. Main Floor. U-shaped bar. Stage inset into wall. Semicircular booths that seat two people with squat, cylindrical tables. A few small, boxy windows."

HIERARCHY/FLOW
"Entrance leads to main floor. Main floor leads to bar (key area of interest). Bar leads to stage. Booths around stage."

MATERIALS
"Chipped adobe walls and arches with corrosion near base. Smooth stone slab floor, scuffed with sandy footprints. Space age drink containers behind bar. Metal flue above bar."

MOOD
"Dusky, dank. Diffused up-light from bar and tables and directional light from small windows. In contrast to the oppressive atmosphere, we have some rather festive, improvisational space jazz ambience."