Communication Lab 3
Concept Workshop

Today's discussion is to help you complete the concept document, which is due this week. Unlike the initial proposal, this is a much more formal document that goes into greater depth about your game idea. By now you should have feedback on your initial proposal, and can take our comments into consideration when expanding on your idea.

We realize that some of you may be very unsure of your idea. It is not uncommon for groups to not have a solid idea by the first submission of the concept document. That is why you immediately get a revision on this document next week. But you should try as hard as possible to get a final idea for this document. If you are struggling with your game idea, please call over a staff member to help you.

There is nothing to turn in for this lab. Just work on the concept document.

Using the Lab Time Effectively

Even though you may still be struggling with your game idea, you should spend class time on this document. We recommend that you spend your effort on the three most important parts of the document.

High Concept Statement

This is a short statement of the core vision of the game. It is a distillation of the thematic focus that defined earlier in the previous communication lab. As a great example of a high concept statement, consider this example from Forgotten Sky (Spring 2008):

Eons after a forgotten catastrophe drove mankind to take refuge deep within the earth, a young man has the audacity to dream of the sky. With nothing but a thin, swaying rope preventing an untimely end, guide Caelum through the ruins of past shelters as he ascends to the surface.

Gameplay Sketch

To compliment the High Concept statment, you must include at least one sketch of the primary player mode. Include caption work (a label, a title, and short caption to explain what we are seeing). The you should include a regular single, short paragraph explaining this sketch. Remember to follow our guidelines for figures.

Features

To outline the special features, create a bulleted list of the key features of the game. These features should include the primary player actions, and the challenges that the player may face. This list should be short and focused. Write it as a bulleted list with no more than six bullets. Make sure that you follow the guidelines for bulleted lists.