DE4106: How to present a design model

Over the past few weeks, as I have begun to put my research into practice, I have realised that one of the major challenges I will face is how to present the design model so that it is easy for other game designers to follow. The model has to be functional yet concise. There is undoubtedly a lot of information I need to convey to whoever is using the model, and coming from a visual design background I'm convinced that the model itself needs to be graphical in nature. Some possible methods I could utilise to present the model are as follows:

• Flow Chart
• Mind map
• Presentation (Powerpoint slides)
• Article / User-guide

Each has their own merits, and perhaps I will have narrow down my choice based off some personal critical analysis:

Flow chart / Mind Map

Pros

• Good for displaying information in a logical order.

• Good for displaying complex processes.

Cons

• Can become difficult to read and follow if it contains a lot of information / processes that are interdependent on each other.

• Can take up a lot of space on a canvas / display.

• Each process / input / output can only contain a few words - difficult to display a lot of detailed information for each 'node' within the chart.

• No facility for accompanying image for each stage / section / node of the chart. 

• More room for viewer misinterpretation.

 'The Shooter Simulator' Flow Chart (Magnus, 2012)

 Game Design Mind Map (Kumar, 2013)

Presentation (Powerpoint slides)

Pros

• A good way of displaying a lot of information both text based and graphically.

• Ability to spread out concepts over multiple slides so that they are easier for the viewer to 'digest'.

• Scope for additional narration.

• Can contain other media such as audio and video.

• Less room for viewer misinterpretation.

Cons

• No single image / diagram for designers to follow.

• Comment: I am uncertain whether this is really a negative point considering the amount of information I need to convey. However in terms of a providing a overview of the model, this is a shortcoming of the presentation format that I need to consider.

• Slides that are too text-heavy can be difficult for the viewer to digest- especially if narration is present at the same time. Text-heavy slides also do not leave a great deal of space for supporting images.

• On the other hand, slides that are text-sparse require additional narration to convey the detail of the concept(s). Images can help here but do not greatly alleviate the issue.

• Unlike a single image or diagram, presentations require additional software in order to be displayed.

Professional Presentation (Inspector Insight, 2010)

Article / Book / User Guide

Pros

• Can contain a lot of information that is easily categorised / chaptered.
• Can contain a good deal of text and images for illustration purposes.
• Can be obtained, read and followed in-depth and in sequence.

Cons

• No single image / diagram for designers to follow.

• Cannot contain additional media such as audio and video

• Generally takes longer to read through in its entirety

• Comment: Some designers will want a reference model that they can review very quickly whilst they are in the process of designing. A model presented as an article, book or user guide will mean the designer has to actively break away from their practice in order to study it.

 Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design (Rogers, 2010)