A core part of technical design is communicating complex systems clearly across disciplines. Documentation is not a default part of every project but when a system is complex enough or a team large enough, a well structured document can save more time than it takes to write and can prevent miscommunication down the line.
The format depends on what needs to be communicated and to who. For example, a flowchart works for a broad game loop, a UML works for a specific system's logic, and a design document fits when scope and intent need to be established up front and referred back to throughout.
Since 'Through the Waves' was an art heavy walking sim in which I worked predominently on design, the communication was fairly minimal. Instead this flowchart was made to help explain the game loop to our clients.
'The Bank Heist' was a small project where myself and three others came up with a variable plot and broke it down into it's primary and possible paths.
'Shadow Over Innsmouth' is a short game with three possible paths for the player to follow, each leading the player through different locations on the map and endings.
As part of a module on UI, I did an analysis of typical game menus and laid out what one might look like.
For 'Right 2 Roam', I created a flowchart to give the team a good understanding of the game's loop and to allow myself and the other programmer to efficiently split the workloads.
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I also created a UML to better visualise a step-by-step breakdown of the cinematic firstperson scenes and the procedural generation behind the them.
One of the first big design documents I worked on was for my 'Dishonored DLC', it gives a fairly indepth look at the concept, the scope and the specifics of each area and faction.
For 'Pepper's Quest', I created both a design document and a technical document in order to help keep the team on the same page. As there was no director for the team, these provided adequet reference when keeping on track.
Dishonored DLC intro
Through The Waves
loop flochart
The Bank Heist
level flowchart
Shadow Over Innsmouth level flowchart
Settings menu
Right 2 Roam flowchart
Right 2 Roam UML