The Indie Expedition
Stage 1 - Planning
The absolute key to success is planning. As the old saying goes; if you fail to plan? You plan to fail.
Good planning isn’t just about working out what you need to achieve by the finish line. Good planning helps you know where to start. it helps you know which path to take and what to prioritise. We’re going to apply principles of product design to help you design your game as a product.
As a part of the process you’re going to identify and plan for your MVP (the minimum viable product). This is the absolute simplest version of your game. And we’ve got a few non negotiables in mind for the Indie Expedition that might not normally apply.
The next part of planning is expanding out all your content. And this is going to be a delicate balance. We need you to be explicit and heavy handed. You need to detail out everything. EVERYTHING. But not things that don’t matter. We itemise things when they are markedly different from their peers. So, if you were making an RPG; you would itemise the classes. Your plan needs to outline that you are making separate classes for the mage, the warrior and the warlock. And then itemise what they need. Is it 6 abilities each? 12? Do they need different types of armour/weapons? Do they have unique models? Sounds? Quests?
A clear plan of what you’re going to do means you’re in control. It means you can make decisions.
Ultimately, that’s what we need to do. To make decisions.
There are 3 core documents for this section. One for everyone to fill out on their own.
And the other two you’ll choose between.
The first is your Game Summary. Click here to create your own copy in Google docs. Or download a word doc here.
The second is a choice between a detailed Game Design Document, or a simple overview.
Have a quick look at both and settle on which one suits you.
This is all about how much time and effort you want to put in. The full GDD is my advice. Each of the sections with it’s sample text and notes will help you refine your vision and make a clear plan for your game.
In the end, the effort is for you. We spend time on planning now, to make things simpler later.
So, let’s get your first document started
Your Game Summary
Your Game Summary is the guiding light for your Indie Expedition. It’s going to be the sole source of truth you refer back to. When a decision is unclear or you need to choose between two paths, your Game Summary will make it clear and simple to proceed.
It’s a bit of a process to fill out, and might see you meandering back and forth, but it’ll go best if you start at the top and work your way down.
The Game Summary is a guide document. You’ll complete it from top to bottom, answering questions and considering information to build a complete picture of your game. You’re welcome to share it if you want to, but ultimately it’s for you.
I’ve designed it to help you fill in the blanks and get a clearer picture about your game.
Planning the game...
A few years ago I read an article that really resonated for me. I’m a planner. I love a good plan.
But a good plan needs to flex and bend and change. Because things come up. The road changes beneath your feet. And that means we need flexibility. For a product, this is your guiding principles. The specific problems you’re setting out to solve.
Our problems to solve for a game, are a little different. We’re creating art, entertainment. It’s not solving a problem in the same way. But it will need problems solved.
So, the article was from an exceptional game designer; Charlie Cleveland. Of Subnautica fame.
Charlie breaks down his process of Game Pillars and values.
Pillars are the core principles that hold up your game (like a pillar does). Everything in your game needs to build on those. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t belong. It’s that simple.
Sorting out your pillars will help you stay on track when you need it most.
You can read Charlie here: https://www.charliecleveland.com/game-pillars/
For your Game Summary you’re going to need 3 or 4 pillars. 2 is not enough to cover what you need. And 5-6 is too many. Make them short, sharp and memorable. You’re going to say them a lot.
When you put them in your Game Summary, feel free to share them in the Discord too. And if you need a little help writing them, I’m right here.
The Snowflake...
There’s a method for writing novels called the Snowflake.
Because you start with something simple and you slowly expand it out. It can help if you’re not sure how to get started, or even how to do the middle part. We all get stuck in different ways.
In fact, creativity is a skill we can learn and not just something some people are born with and others aren’t.
The Snowflake method involves describing your novel in a single sentence. You can take up to an hour to pull this together. The shorter the better. Don’t use names here for places or people. And you want to describe the big picture as well as the small one.
And so on from there.
We’re going to do the same thing for your game.
The first task is a one sentence description of your game.
Tomb Raider: A daring archaeologist ventures through ancient tombs and perilous landscapes, solving intricate puzzles and battling mythical foes in a quest for lost relics.
Mario Bros: A plucky plumber journeys through vibrant, obstacle-filled worlds, battling varying enemies to rescue a kidnapped princess from the clutches of a menacing tyrant.
God of War: A vengeful warrior embarks on a brutal journey through the realms of Greek mythology, battling gods and monsters alike in a quest for redemption and revenge.
Now yours. Don’t overthink it too much. But describe it short and sharp. And then remove something. What’s non essential in your description?
Now that you’ve got it, you can share it when people ask. You can use it along with your pillars to know where the path is.
It’s not a lot of words though. Let’s write some more.
Ok, you did great. Kind of amazing actually. You’ve summed up your game in a single sentence. It was tough. You had to cut things down, maybe it wasn’t the right time to mention them.
Now let’s expand it. You get a single paragraph now. Another hour. Describe your game. Add in a few more of the critical details. If you started with a longer sentence for the first tier and cut it down, please don’t use it here.
This process is flowing in a particular order. You’re not trimming text out to fit into the limit. It’s important you treat this part of the snowflake as critical. This is designing how you think. This is helping your idea come to life. Trimming text out leaves it in your head. “Ha Timps said one paragraph, so I will leave out the power gems.” And they get added straight back in. If we’re writing about Sonic the hedgehog, the first Master System title, the chaos emeralds might be in your text. We’ve got space for them later right? But they don’t matter. They don’t play a part in the game. Even at the end.
They could be parts for a robot. Golden rings. Different coloured Toads.
With just one paragraph for your game it’s still tight and locked in. We’re talking about the only things we need to know to design it. Not sell it.
Our Tomb Raider?
A daring archaeologist ventures through ancient tombs and perilous landscapes, solving intricate puzzles with a consistent set of skills, using a global grid for ease of control and battling mythical foes in a quest for lost relics across a dynamic and ever changing set of environments.
We’re calling out the major stuff here our game. The global grid, the fact Lara doesn’t unlock new skills as the game moves along. The environments change. At it’s heart, the first Tomb Raider game is a puzzle game, with the same pieces arranged in different ways. Lara’s gender or identity doesn’t matter here.
We can see how clean and tidy it can be. How easy it is to follow when we’re designing the next stages.
It’s getting good. You’re really nailing the idea. Refining it. You’re getting a clearer picture. Slowly though. No need to rush it. You’ve had ideas before. And you’re going to have them again. But it’s time to lock them in. It’s time to get clear on what you’re making so good ideas can get smiled at. And parked.
Next up? You need to define the game. This is the pivot point. This is where the idea, the prose, the fancy text hits the ground. You’re about to start designing the actual game.
It’s gonna be tough. But so valuable for you. So we need to define two things now one after the other. Your game loop. This is the answer to “Well what do you do though?”. This is the game. This is your genre. This is the experience you’re going to create for someone.
Your immediate game loop. And the longer one.
What is the thing you “do” over and over again? What are the actions the player will take. Make a note of the words we’re using here. The player is the person playing the game. Throughout the Expedition we’re going to refer to two different things and you can never ever mix them up. The player and the character.
I am a player. You are a player. And in each of these games you get to be a character. (if you play as multiple “things” in a game, they are all the character. You have one player, controlling one character, and some avatars to choose from).
And then what is the long loop? What do your immediate loops lead to? What do you do less times, bigger picture.
Our Tomb Raider?
Short loop: The player uses their movement and combat abilities to traverse a room or puzzle and find the way out to the next room.
Long loop: The player completes a series of puzzles in a themed area or region to lead to a tougher puzzle/boss fight and then onto a new environment type.
We’ve defined the short and long term loops the player goes through. Many short loops in each long loop. And overall it leads to the whole game.
Now you’re going to write a little more. A whole paragraph, 3 or 4 sentences long. Take the time to expand on your theme and the setting. Does the visual style play a big part? Do you need a few words for it or a whole sentence?
If there are things that make your game wholely unique, this is the place to call them out. Let’s pull another example.
In Tomb Raider, players embark on an atmospheric journey through ancient ruins, vast caverns, and perilous tombs in search of legendary artefacts. The game masterfully blends exploration, platforming, and combat, immersing players in a world where danger lurks around every corner and the environment itself becomes a puzzle to solve. Beneath the surface lies a unique grid-based movement system, subtly guiding precision jumps and climbs while maintaining a sense of organic freedom. Its combination of eerie solitude, adrenaline-pumping action, and cerebral challenges set the stage for an unforgettable adventure that defined the action-adventure genre.
Take your time with it. This is it. This is the big description of your game. This is the one you’re going to lock in.
Between this and your pillars, you’re drawing a line in the sand. In fact, this is the next critical point of your Indie Expedition. This is locked in. As your game progresses towards December 1st, you might remove something from this description. You might remove an entire sentence. But you’re not going to add to it.
There are no “OMG wow…” ideas from now. There can’t be. The next part of your planning is working out the systems you need for your game to support your pillars and your final snowflake.
Let’s talk about product design.
Product Design 101
Product design might sound like something out of a corporate playbook, but at its core, it’s simply about creating something with purpose and clarity. When you’re designing an indie game, thinking like a product designer means approaching your game as more than just an idea—it’s about shaping it into something real, something that players can experience and enjoy.
It’s the blueprint that guides you through the chaos of development, helping you define what your game is, what it isn’t, and what it needs to become. By applying these principles, you’ll gain the focus and direction to turn your vision into a finished product.
Define the core experience
Identify the central theme or mechanic that defines your game. Ensure it is feasible to develop solo. Prioritise what makes your game unique and build around that.
Establish clear goals
Set specific objectives for target platform, audience and scope. Define success with each of those to create concrete goals to work towards.
Break into manageable pieces
List the features of your game and break them into “must have” “nice to have” and “future possibilities”. This keeps you focused and prevents feature creep.
Design with constraints
Accept and identify limitations on time, resources and skill. Plan your mechanics, scope, art, and narrative to be achievable. Be comfortable with “I can’t do that”.
Product design advice
Lets optimize for player experience rather than what we think will make more money. – Jele, Bossa Studios
To design is to communicate clearly by whatever means you can control or master – Milton Glaser.
Questions about whether design is necessary or affordable are quite beside the point: design is inevitable. The alternative to good design is bad design, not no design at all – Douglas Martin
It should be the experience, that is touching. What I strive for is to make the person playing the game the director. – Shigeru Miyamoto
Designing your product
Core Exper.
Defining and sticking to your core purpose
At the heart of your game is the experience you want players to have. What’s the one thing you want them to feel, do, or remember when they play? Are they solving tricky puzzles? Experiencing an emotional narrative? Pulling off wild stunts in a high-speed race? This core experience is your game’s soul, and it should guide every decision you make. If you’re unsure, stop and ask yourself: “What’s the point of this?” Be ruthless about staying focused. The more clearly you define the core experience, the less likely you are to wander off into feature creep or design fluff.
- Ask yourself what single moment or feeling you want players to remember about your game.
- Focus on one or two mechanics that best deliver the experience you’re aiming for—then build around them.
- Cut anything that doesn’t directly support the core experience; if it’s not helping, it’s hurting.
Clear Goals
Establishing clear goals to guide the path
It’s impossible to hit a target you can’t see. That’s where clear, measurable goals come in. These aren’t just about finishing the game (though that’s a good one); they’re about knowing what “done” looks like for each stage of development. Think in terms of milestones: building a functional prototype, completing the core mechanics, or nailing down the visual style. Without goals, you’re basically throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. And we both know spaghetti doesn’t make a great game. Clear goals help you work smarter, not harder, and give you something to celebrate as you check them off.
- Make your goals simple and clear. Launching on Steam and Itch? Name them both.
- Break your project into milestones and make sure each one is realistic and achievable.
- Define what “done” looks like for each feature or stage of development, so you know when to stop.
- Regularly review your goals to keep them aligned with your timeline and resources.
Managable
Define Manageable pieces
A game is a huge, complicated beast, but it doesn’t have to overwhelm you. Break it down into smaller, bite-sized tasks that you can tackle one at a time. Start with broad categories—art, mechanics, levels—and then zoom in. For example, “build levels” becomes “create the tutorial level,” “design the first boss battle,” and so on. This isn’t just about keeping your to-do list tidy; it’s about making progress feel achievable. There’s nothing more satisfying than ticking off a small win, especially when the whole project feels like a mountain.
- Start by listing the big chunks of your game (mechanics, art, levels) and divide them into smaller tasks.
- Use a tool like Trello or Notion to keep track of what’s done, what’s in progress, and what’s next.
- Tackle the riskiest or most uncertain tasks first to avoid surprises later.
Constraints
Design with strict constraints in mind
Constraints aren’t your enemy; they’re your secret weapon. Limited time, budget, or skills can actually help you focus on what matters most. When you embrace constraints, you stop trying to do everything and start doing the right things. Got a tight deadline? Prioritize the core gameplay. Working solo? Stick to mechanics you can realistically build. The truth is, creativity thrives under pressure—it’s like solving a puzzle within a puzzle. Instead of asking, “What can I add?” ask, “What’s essential?” The best designs often come from the smartest limitations.
- Identify your biggest constraints (time, budget, skills) early and let them guide your decisions.
- Use placeholder assets or simple mechanics to keep momentum without overcommitting.
- Focus on making the best version of what you can realistically achieve, not a watered-down version of an impossible vision.
Game Design Document
So you’ve done the broad thinking, you’ve made some lists, you’ve finished your game summary. All in all it might have taken you an hour. It hopefully took you 4 to 6. It’s ok to take time. We’re investing in the future.
Your Game Summary is the core document to look back on. It’s light and simple, it answers the major questions you’ve got. And it works as a bible. Your final summary from the snowflake and your Game Pillars are everything you need to know for every moment that comes up for your game.
And then you need a document to execute your plan. You’ve got two choices a simple list document, or a game design document. Pick one, depending on your needs.
Game Lists
If your game sits at a smaller scope or is less complex, you could simply get by with a series of lists. This is where you map out basic things like systems and how they connect, APIs and methods/managers needed, lists of assets to check off. It’s quicker to do, but less comprehensive. If you go for the lists instead, you’ll need to treat your core summary and pillars as gospel. Don’t deviate from them.
Game Design Document
Your game design document will be the master bible for your game. This will allow you to map out how things look, feel, systems and how they interact. Details about your UI, layout and save data all belongs in here. This is the place to ask and answer the tough questions, the messy ones, the complex ones. It all belongs in this document for you to lean on and refer back to.