A feature brief is a small document that describes a module or submodule at a high-level. It purpose is to define the shape of the feature in order to give the other Disciplines an idea of what it will take to implement, polish and maintain the design. Another way of thinking of it is that this is presenting the outline of the Cone of Uncertainty to them. It is not meant to answer all questions, but more to find what questions they might have ad make sure everyone in on the same page.
Each team and designer have their own style for feature briefs. Some are more free-from while others are more strict. As with most things in Deliberate Game Design, it is important to adopt the tools to the team and task ahand. What follows is my own style:
Feature Name
The name of the feature — make sure it’s not something that could be easily mistaken for other parts of the game. I once worked on a rhythm rpg that used Songs as a collectible powerup. It caused endless confusion with the audio team when trying to communicate with them
Goals
List down the purpose of this module — how does it support the core of the game or the project plan.
Assumptions
List out the assumptions you have for this feature; they can be of technical nature (i.e. can this be implemented?), design nature (i.e. will players engage with this type of mechanics?), business nature (i.e. We will have funding to add this to the game), etc…
It’s important to list them out to define the Cone of Uncertainty and determine how we will begin working on the feature (striving to move from core to secondary and from risk to safe).
Overview
A small tldr summary of the feature, used to frame the more detals presented below
Sections
For ease of reading I like dividing the brief into different descriptice sections. There’s no real formula for this part, just make sure that its clear and easy for non-designers to understand.
Scope Breakdown
This is a small table that list our all the aspects of the feature described in the brief and tags their level of Scope — MVP, quarter scope, half scope, etc… Some times in order to keep a design consistent, parts of the feature will need to change; if this is the case, list them as separate rows and tag them apporpriatley. Make sure that every aspect mentioned in the brief above is listed in the breakdown and viceversa.
| MVP | Quarter Scope | Half Scope | Full Scope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aspect A | X | X | X | X |
| Aspect B | X | X | X | |
| Aspect C | X | X | X | |
| Aspect D | X | X | ||
| Aspect E | X |
This version of a feature brief was created by myself, Rafael Vazquez; but lots of designers have different methods. One that I really like comes from designer Stone Librande.
Let’s imagine we’re working on an arcade racing game in the style of Wipeout. Not only do players control the vehicle, but there are also multiple extra factors that affect your speed. We’ve been tasked to design a brief for Turbo Pads; i.e. pads that when you go over them give you a large speed boost. If we were doing a feature brief, it could look something like this:
Turbo Pads – Feature Brief
Goals
One of the pillars of our game is to have a high skill ceiling, so players that get good at the game can feel they can continuously improve. However, this has to be tempered with high risk, so that they don’t completely overwhelm new or low-skilled players. Our goal with Turbo Pads is to create an element with high risk-reward ratio, but that players can easily opt-in or out of.
Assumptions
- That the level layout is varied enough to have both tricky and safe spots
- That the time penalty for crashing offsets the increased speed of the turbo
- That the average manuverability and speed of the ship allows players to react to turbo pads as they show on the track.
Overview
Turbo Pads are a section of the track that gives players a temporary speed boost when they run over them. They are represented by giant arrows on the floor with VFX that draws players attention to them. A single pad should never be wider than a fourth of the track, though multiple can be placed side by side. They need to be carefully placed on the track in order to make sure they are obtainable by skilled players, but skippable by new/low-skilled players.
Use Images and diagrams as much as you can.
Stat changes
Basic
Going through a pad temproarily changes a few stats for the player. The most important one is the speed.
- Speed — ○% of regular speed
There is also a couple of stats that are specific to the pads:
- Duration — ○s
- Pad Effect Ramp Up Time — ○s
- Pad Effect Ramp Up Slope — ○^2 + ●
- Pad Effect Ramp Down Time — ○s
- Pad Effect Ramp Down Slope — ○^2 + ●
Additionally it should also change the same Camera parameters as going into Turbo Mode [link to Turbo Mode feature brief]
Extra
If there’s extra scope, we can also add changes to a few extra stats to be able to modify the new maneuverability.
- Turn rate — ○º /s
- Break strength — ○
Notice how I use ○ and ● for parameters… it’s easier to read than X,Y,Z. For other examples on how to write parameters, check out Masahiro Sakurai’s video series
Cooldown
When a Turbo Pad is activated all it should explode into VFX for all players to see. Then it shall go into a cooldown after which it can’t be used. The pad should look gray and spent. The pad will slowly refill until it’s ready to be used again (showcased by the active VFX).
Chaining
If a player reaches a new turbo pad before the effect of the previous one, then the effect will be extended, but with the stat changes increased by ○%. This can be achieved multiple times up to a cap of ○% increase.
Scope Breakdown
| MVP | Quarter Scope | Half Scope | Full Scope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic look | X | X | X | X |
| Stat Changes (basic) | X | X | X | |
| VFX | X | X | X | |
| Stat Changes (extra) | X | X | X | |
| Cooldown | X | X | ||
| Chaining | X |
- MDA Framework
One of the most widespread ways to analyze a game holistically. - One Pager
A critical part of pitching a game idea to the wider team. - SWOT Analysis
An easy framework for analyzing the competition. - Bartle’s Player Types
One of the oldest & most widely used player categorizations - Personas
A technique to humanize the intended players of the game - X-Statement
The first step in development after having the game idea.