ABSTRACT
Every game is proposed many times before it reaches production. One way that a game can begin is for an employee at a development company to have an idea and pitch it to other members on the same team. Together, they work out a common vision and present that to the design team or management. That proposal then is refined and researched into an early draft of a design document, which is then proposed to a publisher. This chapter describes the format of the initial proposals, from an individual to a team and from a team to management. The same format remains in the design document as the opening pages when it is sent to a publisher, providing a concise overview of the much longer document. An alternative model is that a publisher brings an idea (typically a licensed title) to a developer. There the project is essentially pre-approved. However, the specific design must still be taken back to the publisher for approval.
