Tag: game design document

The Production Bible for Game Design and Animation (With a Reusable Template)

Aven BrisailLeave a comment

A production bible is the master reference document for an animation or game. It gathers everything about the project, including the story, characters, world, art style and rules, in one place so the whole team makes consistent decisions. In television animation it is often called a series bible or show bible; a shorter version used to sell an idea is a pitch bible. In games, the same job is done by the game design document (GDD), sometimes called a game bible.

Why a production bible matters

  • Consistency – every writer, artist and programmer works from the same facts, designs and rules.
  • Faster onboarding – new team members can catch up quickly.
  • A record of decisions – it explains why things are the way they are.
  • Pitching – it shows funders and publishers that the project is well planned.
  • A living document – it is updated as the project changes, so give each version a number and a date.

What goes in a production bible

Most bibles, for animation or games, include:

  • Title page and logline, plus a one-page overview.
  • Synopsis and, for series, episode ideas.
  • Tone and style – what it should feel like, with reference images.
  • Characters – profiles, designs, turnarounds, expressions and relationships.
  • World and environments – locations, maps, environment concepts and rules of the world.
  • Story – the story arc, outlines, sample script pages and storyboards.
  • Art style guide – colour palettes, shape language, line style and do’s and don’ts.
  • Sound and music – voice, music style and sound effects.
  • Production details – software, file formats, resolution and frame rate, team roles and schedule.
Four painted versions of a young woman with red hair wearing different outfits and holding a staff
Figure 1 – Costume concepts for the heroine of the open movie Sintel. Pages like this go in the character section of a production bible.

Extra sections for a game (GDD)

  • Game overview – genre, platform and target audience (see Game Genres, Goals and Platforms).
  • Gameplay and core loop – what the player does over and over, plus goals, rules and win and lose conditions (see Elements of Gameplay and Game Theory).
  • Controls – which keys, buttons or touches do what.
  • Mechanics and abilities – how movement, abilities, items and scoring work.
  • Levels – outlines of at least the first three levels (see Level Design: Your First Three Levels).
  • User interface – menus, the HUD (heads-up display) and feedback such as sounds and animations.
  • Technical plan and milestones – the engine or tool (for example Scratch, Godot or Unity) and a schedule of prototypes and playtests (see The Game Design Process: RAD vs Waterfall).
Grid of small painted storyboard frames showing a girl, a dog and a dramatic sky
Figure 2 – Colour storyboard frames from the open movie Spring. A bible usually includes sample storyboards or a colour script.
Painted top-down view of a small wooden room with a bed and furniture
Figure 3 – An environment concept for Sintel, seen from above. Location designs like this belong in the world section.

A reusable production bible template

Use this outline for your own project or school-based assessment. Each section links to the lesson in this module that helps you complete it.

SectionWhat to includeHelpful lesson
1. Cover and contentsTitle, team names, version number and date, contents list.–
2. OverviewLogline, format, genre, platform, audience, one key image.Lesson 1
3. Synopsis and pitchFull synopsis; your elevator pitch.Lesson 1
4. StoryStory arc, narrative or episode outlines, sample script, branching map for games.Lesson 2
5. StoryboardsKey scenes with shot sizes, angles and camera notes.Lesson 3
6. CharactersProfiles, designs, colour palettes, props and abilities.Lesson 4
7. Turnarounds and model sheetsFive-view turnarounds, expressions and notes.Lesson 5
8. World and environmentsEnvironment briefs, layered backgrounds, maps.Lesson 6
9. Concept art and style guideMood boards, keyframes, colour script, style do’s and don’ts.Lesson 7
10. Gameplay (games only)Core loop, rules, controls, mechanics, first three levels, UI.Module 2 level design
11. SoundMusic style, sound effects and voice list.Module 1 sound editing
12. Production planSoftware, file formats, roles, schedule and milestones.Module 1 game design process
13. Credits and licencesEvery source, font, sound and image you did not make, with its licence.Module 1 ethics and copyright

Tips for a great bible

  • Make it visual – short text, lots of labelled images.
  • Put the most important information first; busy readers may only read the first page.
  • Keep one master copy in a shared folder with clear file names, such as MangroveRescue_Bible_v03.pdf.
  • Follow your teacher’s and CXC’s current SBA guidelines for required content and format.

Example

The contents page of the Mangrove Rescue bible (version 0.3): 1 Overview (logline and key image of the boat at sunset); 2 Synopsis; 3 Story arc and three-level outline; 4 Storyboard of the opening cutscene; 5 Characters (the young paddler, a scarlet ibis guide and a grumpy crab); 6 Turnarounds; 7 Environments (swamp channels, ibis roost, fishing village); 8 Style guide (round shapes, warm sunset palette); 9 Gameplay (paddle, rescue, avoid litter; touch controls); 10 Sound; 11 Schedule; 12 Credits and licences.

Watch this Extra Credits video for practical advice on writing design documents that a team will actually use:

Exercise

  1. List at least eight sections of a production bible and say what each one is for.
  2. Compare an animation series bible with a game design document. Which sections are the same, and which are only needed for games?
  3. Start a production bible for your own project using the template above. Add your synopsis, story arc, storyboard, character designs, turnarounds, environments and concept art from Lessons 1–7.
  4. Swap bibles with another group. Using the template as a checklist, note anything missing or unclear.
  5. Save it as version 1.0 and keep a change log each time you update it.

This is the last post in Unit 1, Module 3: Story and Character Development. Back to all lessons: Animation and Game Design Notes

Syllabus link: This post is relevant to the CAPE® Animation and Game Design Syllabus, Unit 1: Fundamentals of Animation and Game Design, Module 3: Story and Character Development – Specific Objective 12 (“create a Production Bible for game design and animation”).

Attributions to media used in this post:

Character Sintel-clothes-1b.png – David Revoy / Blender Foundation – CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Spring-concept art-storyboard.png – Blender Foundation (Spring open movie; uploaded by David Revoy) – CC BY 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Environments-09-sintel-bedroom.png – David Revoy / Blender Foundation – CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.

How to Write a Synopsis and an Elevator Pitch for a Game or Animation

Aven BrisailLeave a comment

Before anyone agrees to fund, build or even read your project, they want to know one thing: what is it about? A synopsis is a short written summary of the whole story of an animation or game, from beginning to end, including the ending. An elevator pitch is a spoken summary short enough to deliver in a lift ride (about 30 to 60 seconds) that makes the listener want to hear more. Both grow from a logline: a single sentence that captures the heart of your idea.

In Story Development and Scriptwriting we turned an idea into a premise. In this post you will turn a premise into a synopsis and a pitch you can use with teachers, teammates, funders and publishers.

Logline, elevator pitch, synopsis and treatment: what is the difference?

ToolTypical lengthWhat it is for
Logline1 sentence (about 25–40 words)The hook. Who the main character is, what they want and what stands in the way.
Elevator pitch30–60 seconds spoken (about 75–150 words)Getting a busy person interested enough to ask for more.
SynopsisHalf a page to one page (about 150–500 words for a short project)Showing the complete story, including the ending, so readers can judge whether it works.
TreatmentSeveral pagesA detailed, scene-by-scene prose version of the story, written before the script.

What goes into a synopsis

  • Title, format and genre – for example “a five-minute 3D comedy short” or “a 2D puzzle-platformer for mobile”.
  • The protagonist and their goal – who we follow and what they want.
  • The setting – where and when the story happens.
  • The conflict – the problem, obstacle or antagonist that makes the goal hard to reach.
  • The key turning points – the big events that change the direction of the story.
  • The ending – a synopsis is not a teaser. Say how the story is resolved.
  • Tone and theme – is it funny, spooky or heartwarming, and what is it really about?

Animation synopsis vs game synopsis

An animation synopsis describes one fixed sequence of events. A game synopsis must also explain the player’s role and how the story is experienced through play: what the player does most of the time (the core gameplay), how the story unfolds across levels or chapters, and whether choices lead to different endings. Game synopses often add the genre, platform and target audience (see Types of Video Games: Game Genres, Game Goals and Game Platforms).

How to write a synopsis, step by step

  1. Write your logline first. If you cannot say it in one sentence, the idea is not clear yet.
  2. List the big story beats: the beginning (the normal world and the problem), the middle (attempts, setbacks and a turning point) and the end (the climax and resolution).
  3. Turn the beats into paragraphs written in the present tense and the third person (“Maya finds a map…”, not “I found a map…”).
  4. Name only the most important characters and cut the sub-plots.
  5. Show cause and effect: each event should lead to the next.
  6. Read it aloud, cut unnecessary words and ask someone who does not know the story whether it makes sense.
Poster for the animated short film Big Buck Bunny showing a large white rabbit and three rodents
Figure 1 – The poster for Big Buck Bunny (2008), a free, open-licensed short film made by the Blender Foundation. Its synopsis is used as an example below.

The elevator pitch

A pitch is a performance, not a document. A simple formula for a game or animation pitch is:

  1. Hook – an opening line that sparks curiosity.
  2. Who and what – the main character (or the player’s role) and their goal.
  3. Obstacle – what stands in the way and why it matters.
  4. What makes it special – the unique twist, art style, mechanic or cultural setting.
  5. The ask – what you want from the listener: feedback, a meeting, funding or a place in a competition.

Keep it conversational, practise it until you do not need notes, and adapt it to your audience. A teacher, a publisher and a funding agency care about different things. For more on e-portfolios, proposals and funding, see How to Pitch and Fund an Animation or Game Project.

Example

Logline (animation): A gentle giant rabbit, bullied by three mischievous rodents, sets aside his peaceful nature to teach them a lesson they will never forget.

Synopsis (animation): Big Buck Bunny is a ten-minute 3D comedy short. On a sunny morning, Big Buck Bunny, a huge and kind-hearted rabbit, steps out of his burrow to enjoy the forest and admire the butterflies. Three bullies, Frank the flying squirrel and his sidekicks Rinky and Gimera, amuse themselves by pelting forest creatures with fruit, nuts and rocks. When they knock two butterflies out of the sky and then attack Bunny himself, the rabbit decides enough is enough. He builds a series of clever traps and deals with Rinky and Gimera one at a time. Frank, unaware, glides towards Bunny and sets off the final trap. In the end, a satisfied Bunny watches a butterfly fly past towing Frank on a string like a kite. The film is about standing up to bullies, told through slapstick comedy with no dialogue.

Big white cartoon rabbit standing in a sunny forest
Figure 2 – Big Buck Bunny in the forest. A good synopsis tells the reader who the story is about, what goes wrong and how it ends.

Elevator pitch (game): “Every year, thousands of baby leatherback turtles hatch on Grande Riviere beach in Trinidad, and only a tiny fraction survive to become adults. Hatchling Dash is a colourful mobile arcade game for ages six and up where you guide one tiny turtle from its nest to the ocean, dodging crabs, seabirds and plastic litter, then swim through three reef levels to reach the feeding grounds. Each level teaches a real fact about turtle conservation, and players can unlock a clean-up mode where they remove litter to help future hatchlings. We are looking for feedback on our first playable level. Can I show you?”

Watch this short TED video to learn how to build a pitch around your audience:

Exercise

  1. Write a logline for a film, cartoon or game you know well. Check that it names the main character, the goal and the obstacle.
  2. Create a synopsis (150–300 words) for an original animation based on a culturally relevant theme from your community, such as a festival, a folk tale or an environmental issue.
  3. Rewrite your idea as a game synopsis. Add the player’s role, the core gameplay, the number of levels or chapters and how the story ends.
  4. Turn one of your synopses into a 45-second elevator pitch using the five-step formula. Record yourself on a phone and time it.
  5. Swap pitches with a partner. Give each other one strength and one improvement, then revise.

Next: Story Arcs Explained: Five-Point, Eight-Point and Three-Act Structures for Games and Animation

Syllabus link: This post is relevant to the CAPE® Animation and Game Design Syllabus, Unit 1: Fundamentals of Animation and Game Design, Module 3: Story and Character Development – Specific Objective 1 (“create a synopsis for a game or animation”).

Attributions to media used in this post:

Big buck bunny poster big.jpg – Blender Foundation (peach.blender.org) – CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Big Buck Bunny – forest.jpg – Blender Foundation / Project Peach – CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.