I have noticed over time that a fair chunk of the visitors who come to this site do s looking for information on pitch documents for games, since my site shows up rather high in search results for that. Since I do host a few pitch documents on the site, and I was thought how to pitch game ideas by the heads of N-Space and Backbone Studios, I figure I might as well live up to my end of the bargain and pas that information along. In this post I will share what I know about writing pitch documents, and in a coming article, I will discuss how you should present your ideas in the real world.
What is a Pitch Document
A pitch document is a small, one-page document that outlines the very basic ideas of your game. It is not a design document and you should not have too much detailed information in it. Instead, it should outline the platform(s) it will be on, the audience you are targeting, the very basic gameplay, and your game’s hook.
This document is, effectively, used to sell your game idea to a developer/publisher, so that you will have the funds and resources available to create the game, and to convince them that the game is a good idea. So yes, I am sharing the secrets of how to get the all important moneys to make your game.
From here, I will cover the various sections of this document.
The Overview
The first part of your document, other than the title, is going to be the overview. Now, this won’t really be a summary of the rest of the writing, but will instead contain a few important pieces of information.
First off, the overview should start with the name of your game, such as: “Armageddon Assault is a…”, “Armageddon Assault gives players…”, etc…
The overview should contain what platform the game is on, the audience you are targeting, the genre of your game, and likely the hook. Not necessarily in that order. It should also do all of this in a fairly short paragraph.
Main Body
Once you have the overview written, it is time to get into the real meat of the document. Once again, there is no real order that you must go through, but there are a few topics that you need to cover.
You need to go over the very basics of the gameplay, basically describing what it is that the player does in the game. You will also want to discuss the hook of the game briefly here as well – that is, that major aspect of the game that you expect to really sell it.
Along with these, you should also explain the basic controls – not in detail, just what sort of input it will have. For example, if it is a cell phone game, it “uses the keypad…”, or if you designed a Wii game, you would want to describe how you would use the motion sensitive controller.
Finally, if you are working with an existing IP, then explain how the game ties into/appeals to that IP.
Depending on the type of game, you might want to include any other sections that are important, such as the general look and feel of the game aesthetically.
In Closing
The final, In Closing, section is also not going to be a summary of what you said above, much like the overview was not a summary as well, regardless of what conventional logic may dictate. Rather, it is a place to sell yourself. What is special about your development team/studio/company? Why should you be trusted to create this game? Why are you worth investing in? You need to ensure that you sound good in this section.
General Tips
So, now you know the format of the pitch document and you know what should be in these sections. However, there are a few important things to keep in mind – most of which apply to most forms of technical writing and other forms of writing such as this.
First off, never use passive voice. You need to be as active as possible. You are selling this after all.
Remove redundancy and cut out any bloated text. Be as concise as possible. You have limited space and need to make use of it, and you need to be as quick and easy to read as possible. Really, you will be surprised how many “the”s you can get rid of.
Remember, the people reading this will likely be on the business side of the industry, not so much the development side.
Have an editor. In fact, have numerous editors. This is of utmost importance.
Conclusion
This should cover the basics on the overall structure and content of the pitch document. With the examples I have on the site, hopefully you will be well on your way to drafting your own.
Best of luck.
