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.

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).

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.

Section	What to include	Helpful lesson
1. Cover and contents	Title, team names, version number and date, contents list.	–
2. Overview	Logline, format, genre, platform, audience, one key image.	Lesson 1
3. Synopsis and pitch	Full synopsis; your elevator pitch.	Lesson 1
4. Story	Story arc, narrative or episode outlines, sample script, branching map for games.	Lesson 2
5. Storyboards	Key scenes with shot sizes, angles and camera notes.	Lesson 3
6. Characters	Profiles, designs, colour palettes, props and abilities.	Lesson 4
7. Turnarounds and model sheets	Five-view turnarounds, expressions and notes.	Lesson 5
8. World and environments	Environment briefs, layered backgrounds, maps.	Lesson 6
9. Concept art and style guide	Mood 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. Sound	Music style, sound effects and voice list.	Module 1 sound editing
12. Production plan	Software, file formats, roles, schedule and milestones.	Module 1 game design process
13. Credits and licences	Every 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.