Storyboarding a Video Game

For more on video game design, visit Video Game Design HQ.

Many people don't realize the intense amount of work that goes into the design and development of a video game. One of the often forgotten stages in the video game design process is the storyboarding phase.

Whether you're considering creating an iPhone app, a complicated game for the Xbox or Playstation, or a basic video game with simple code, the storyboarding process is essential. One of the main reasons the storyboarding process is so important for video game design is because it helps you think an idea all the way through.

Often times a designer can assume they have all of the game elements in their head, but when it's put onto paper they quickly realize that certain elements are missing. Here is a simple overview of what you should do when storyboarding for first video game.

Consider first the overall all game idea or concept. What the will the goal of the game be? Who the protagonist and antagonist of the game be? In general, what would you like the beginning and end of the game to look like?

After considering the high level concept for the game you should next sit down and create an outline of the story of the game. In the previous step you considered how you want the game to begin and end. In this step you take time to consider what happens in between the beginning and the end. You can think of this stage as creating the "levels" of a game. How do you want the main character to develop through the game and finally reach the end point you originally envisioned.

During this phase you should take time to sketch out what some of the scenes or levels might look like and take notes on the characters that might be developed during each scene or level. It's important to keep in mind that all games might not have drastic changes from level to level. However, even a simple iPhone app can have a story line that changes as the game advances (think of the iOS app Angry Birds as an example of this).

Check out this YouTube video as an example of the extensive Storyboarding that Pixar does in order to prepare for one of there movies. This scene wasn't even used in the movie!

The goal of storyboarding a video game is do a little extra work in the beginning in order to save a lot of wasted time later on. Think about how much easier it is to sketch out a picture vs. programming a design concept into a computer. If you make mistakes in the video game design process, you want to make sure this happens as soon as possible so time isn't wasted down the line.

For more information on video game design, check out this site.