Introduction to the Game Design Document

The game design document is a blueprint with which complete pandemonium can be prevented.  It is the working drawings, facts, goals, etc. of what you are creating.  Just as an architect would create drawings for example for a complex project (which includes not only the complex details, but also the complex networking to communicate the right things to the right people in writing) so too the game designer will mark down decisions made and being made. 

While it may not be necessary to create documents for a simple design or a minimal amount of team members the question remains: Am I/we sure that this is not going to get confusing later?  Which is why it is important to create game documents, even simple ones.  If not to keep things simple and recorded, but to prevent wasting time trying to remember these documents. 

Simple or complex, the important thing to remember is to have and maintain a good solid design process.