In defense of the Design Document

When just quickly browsing the subject of the design document, it seems that people in general are praising the short to no design document over the long classic style (the game bibles). Some even seem to argue that the classic design document is purely a waste of time. 

I know it can be frustrating writing thorough documentation, just to have a programmer look at you quizzically, when you ask about that well documented feature, but it doesn’t mean writing the document has been a waste, does it?

I took it upon myself, having written plenty of design docs of various types, to come up with five reasons for why writing a thorough and probably very long classic design document is a good thing (whether the programmer reads it or not).

1) Remember me… 

Usually the development of a game will take months or years from its inception till it finally hits the market. The design document is where you list your features, enemies, achievements etc. so that by the end of the project you don’t forget or lose track of stuff.

The design document can be the foundation of your game, build a solid foundation and you will have to do less iterations and less changes down the line. Not that you shouldn’t iterate, but iterations are expensive and can end up demoralizing the team, so getting closer to right the first time with a good design is very valuable - I think many CEOs will agree on this.

2) MONEY!

I am used to working with clients where we would have to make them a game for a budget of X [insert currency]. To unlock the money we had to describe what we were spending their money on and why.

That is fair, not uncommon and also not unreasonable - after all they are paying you.

Writing a good solid design document might be required for a publisher, client, venture capitalist etc. to literally buy into your project. That should be more than enough reason to practice the art of writing a classic design document. 

3) Globalization 
We live in a globalized world and it is not uncommon to have partners or collaborators spread around the the world (or country). A good old school design document is an effective way of communicating the games overall vision, scope, features etc. 

It will not be enough to just send a bible to your partners in Austin, but it gives the entire team a point of reference when you have your virtual meetings and as such is a highly valuable tool. 

4) Teams are getting bigger

Game teams can be very big -  even in indie-land - and in this case the design document is an effective way of communicating the game design to large groups of people. 

On big teams the design document is the document that unifies everyone, and a way for everyone to get a grasp of where their part fits in the whole and what other people are working on. 

It also acts as a guideline if a team suddenly starts to work on stuff that hasn’t been agreed upon...

5) Transforming thought to text

I also personally find that writing the design document is an important part of the design process. If I cannot put my design down on paper, how can I then describe it accurately to my team? It doesn’t have to be words, it can also be in the form of drawings or sketches or what not.

As part of the writing process I also tend to spot oversights or see missing links in my design. 

Conclusion 
I think the examples above are good reasons for writing the big design document, and there are probably more good reasons than I listed here, so feel free to chime in with those or the opposite...

Also have in mind that a design document might not be something you write so that your team can sit down and read every page. It might be a reference for yourself and the producer team to remember your great ideas and not lose track of them in a sea of iterations, or it may be a tool to unlock sweet money etc.