How to Brief a Game Development Project

A useful game development brief explains the decision the project needs to support, who will play and the constraints the build must meet. It can be short. Clear unknowns are more useful than a long feature list that assumes every decision has already been made.

This guide works for a commercial game, a branded browser activity, an educational game or an AR learning experience. Download the plain-text brief template and adapt it to your project.

1. State the purpose and audience

Describe the organisation, the audience and the reason for the project. A publisher testing a mechanic, a brand launching a product and a council explaining a topic need different outcomes.

Write what a participant will actually do. “A short browser game where players sort household items and get feedback” gives a team more to work with than “an innovative engagement platform”. Add the expected session length, reading level and any access requirements already known.

For an educational project, identify who supplies and approves the factual content. If you are still choosing the format, read serious games versus gamification.

2. Describe the first playable version

Name the core action, the rules and what ends a session. Separate requirements for the first build from features that could come later.

A prototype might contain one mechanic and placeholder artwork. A campaign launch might need a finished visual style, a completion message and a link into the wider campaign. A multiplayer release needs decisions about accounts, session behaviour and backend operation.

XGameDev explored three concepts with Knobby before developing Guac-n-Roll. That is one way to resolve the main interaction before committing to final production. Our prototyping service describes how to scope that first milestone.

3. Explain how people reach it

Specify the entry route: website, QR code, classroom LMS, app store, event device or an existing application. List the required platforms and any representative devices or browsers.

For a browser embed, share the hosting or portal restrictions. For a playable ad, supply the network's current packaging requirements. For AR, describe the physical setting, device assumptions and network availability. Step Out Academy illustrates how QR entry, tours, mobile AR and connected content become part of one product.

4. List content, assets and integrations

Record what already exists and who owns it: designs, source code, artwork, models, audio, questions, brand guidelines or translations. Flag assets that still need production or permission to use.

List external systems and what they must exchange with the game. Examples include an LMS receiving completion and score, a leaderboard storing results or an API supplying tour content. Identify who can provide documentation and a test environment.

Avoid treating “analytics”, “multiplayer” or “LMS integration” as single complete requirements. Each needs rules, failure handling and acceptance checks.

5. Share the budget and the real deadline

A budget range helps a developer propose a feasible first version. If the budget is undecided, say what decision an estimate will inform. Name any fixed event or campaign date and leave room for review, testing and release preparation.

The main cost drivers often include:

• The number and complexity of interactions, levels and screens.
• Original artwork, animation, audio and localisation.
• Accounts, multiplayer, APIs and reporting connections.
• Supported devices, accessibility requirements and testing coverage.
• Content approval, review rounds, deployment and ongoing operation.

These inputs support a project-specific estimate. A generic price or fixed duration would hide the assumptions that matter. Ask what is included, what is excluded and which unknowns require discovery work first.

6. Define acceptance and handover

Describe how the client will decide a milestone is ready. For a learning module, that may include correct scoring, completion recorded in the target LMS and recovery after an interrupted session. For a campaign game, it may include named devices, an agreed loading budget and the required end-of-game action.

Agree source access, build instructions, third-party licences, hosting and store-account ownership. Identify the support period and who handles content changes after delivery. Prototype code, licensed assets and production systems may have different handover conditions; make those explicit in the scope.

A short brief is enough to start

The downloadable template keeps these decisions in one place. It is fine to write “not decided” where you need advice.

Choose the closest route for the conversation: game development, branded games, serious and educational games or augmented reality. Send the outline through our contact page. Jacques or Melanie will reply within one business day to discuss the next step.