Okay, so. You’ve got your framework built, your mechanics laid out, and a narrative woven into your game. There’s the start of a story, a hook for your players to care about. A reason for them to go on. Your first draft is done, so now it’s time to do the dreaded thing: Edit.
Editing isn’t all bad, but it is a crucial step toward finishing your work. As I am not a grammarian (yes, that’s an actual thing), I have some suggestions to help with your editing process:
If you, like me, prefer to write your drafts out by hand: Type your draft into a word processing document. This will allow the program to automatically assist with spelling challenges and some grammatical issues.
If you are so inclined, you can also make use of a tool like Grammarly for this part.
Review your work for clarity and conciseness. In places where you can, using fewer words to say the same thing helps your readers stay focused and engaged. Clarity also means using everyday words that your player understands. There’s no reason to make your language overly flowery when it comes to the rules and mechanical instructions of your game: Straightforward language is best.
Have someone you trust review your draft. Not necessarily for spelling and grammatical issues, but for readability. Allow them to leave comments in your document, and check your ego at the door: A lot of comments or questions isn’t a bad thing. They’re simply areas for improvement, and this is why I suggesting having someone you trust do this step. They will be honest with you, because they want you to succeed.
As a general rule, I expect at least three rounds of revisions for each game: The initial grammar review, a clarity review, followed by at least one peer review and the incorporation (or discarding) of their suggestions.
All editing and revisions take time, but it really is a crucial part of the process for creating a game on your own. What I see as the most challenging aspect is coming up next week, though: Playtesting!
If you enjoyed this post, you can find others like it in the Game Design tag. Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom and sign up for our newsletter - A biweekly roundup of our posts, games we’re playing, and a sneak peek at what’s coming up. Thanks for checking us out!