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Pre-Production
Design (with an emphasis on project management)
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The following
document steps through the pre-production process. The steps
are roughly in the correct/ intuitive order, although some
will overlap. If you manage to address each one, you should
be able to generate a cohesive design document that will serve
to provide an exhaustive reference for both technical design
and creative direction throughout the production process.
It will demonstrate your knowledge of the target demographic
and will communicate your enthusiasm to the client.
Define
client goals
Work
with the client to help her define her over-arching goals
for the product. What does the product do? How must it
interact with the user? How important is the stated budget
(i.e. Do they have room to add functionality later on,
or is the budget set in stone)? How important is the final
deadline date? Try to focus the goals and priorities in
to a sort of thesis statement.
These
goals will help you prioritize throughout the project.
When your client requests functional changes that will
add a week to the project schedule, you can check that
against the goals previously defined for the project.
Which takes precedence-- the functionality or the deadline
date?
Define
development team goals
Be
realistic. Admit that you have an agenda. What's your
current fascination? Is it experimenting with a specific
interaction, working in a particular art style, or telling
a story in an especial way? Talk to your colleagues. What
makes them get out of bed in the morning? What do they
need in order to invest themselves in this project?
Share
these passions with the client. She will love you for
it. And if she's passionate about the project, you will
probably succeed in infecting her with your excitement.
If she doesn't care about the project, you can probably
do whatever you want anyhow.
Define
your demographic
The
client will generally have a target demographic in mind.
However, it's always worthwhile to consider multiple secondary
demographics. Consider: age, culture, gender, politics,
income level, education, precedent. The product may be
designed for 5 and 6 year old girls, but to whom else
must it appeal? Think about the classic Disney cartoons
or Richard Scarry books. The humor is layered and sophisticated
enough to appeal to a number of age groups within a specific
culture.
Research
your demographic
Do
your homework. Read. Interview your users. Develop a firm
understanding of their pre-existing conceptual models.
Don't
forget that all your research is circular. It is relevant,
but derived from the existing marketplace.
Determine
a gestural solution
Consider
all of the above issues in determining a broad solution.
However, don't let any of them lead that effort.
Consider the difference between products designed by researchers
to strategically exploit a market niche, and those designed
by artists and aestheticians. The goals of the latter
are focused on the product. The creators are not constrained
by a glut of sticky assumptions about What the Market
Says the User Wants. Instead, they can revel deliciously
in the process of making. This attitude allows for the
possibility of invention.
One
of the most important aspects of determining a gestural
solution is defining the conceptual metaphors to describe
functionality, structure, process, and interaction.
Determine
a design direction
This
means defining the way that you'd like to see your solution
executed. In defining a design direction you should consider
the opportunities presented in the following aspects of
the project, within their recombinant contexts:
-Functionality
(cognitive and interactive pertinence, node structure...)
-Art
style (color choices, flat fills or gradients, bit
depth, production time, load time, delta compression…)
-Available
compression CODECs (Smacker, Quicktime, Cinepac...)
-Palettes
(a single 8-bit, multiple 8-bit, 16-bit, true color)
- Audio
compression
-
Disk space or server space
-Content
(amount and source, information management, organization,
delivery mode)
- Budget
- Schedule
An
example of the above consideration is: assessing the implications
of a particular art style on compression, palettes, bit
depth, production time, load time, budget, etc.
Research
your design direction
Find
both written and graphic materials to provide references
during production and to aid in communicating your ideas
to both client and team members. Cite examples.
Refine
your solution with respect to schedule and budget and technical
limitations
This
means taking a second pass at the solution with an even
more rigorous consideration of all of the variables addressed
when determining a design direction. Now assess these
variables as limitations.
Work with
the client to prioritize functionality and assets in light
of stated goals
Work with
client to re-asses her goals
Do
they still make sense? Are they likely to change? Are
they specific enough?
Obtain
sign-off on those goals-- from here on, refer to those stated
goals with tiresome indefatigability
You're
client will be either tolerantly amused or apoplectic;
regardless, it will save everyone a lot of headaches.
Design
document
The
design document should contain the following:
-
Client's goals for the product
- Descriptions
of the user experience
- Representative
scenarios, fleshed out with detailed verbal descriptions,
walk-throughs, flowcharts
- Content-
what it consists of and who generates it, who functions
as quality control
- Definitions
of informational structures and game play hierarchies
- Asset
list (evolving)
- Technical
descriptions of implementation
- List
of deliverables and corresponding dates for both client
and developer
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