Game design doc terminology.

Automated review of a GDD by AI specialists reading through expert lenses — balance, QA, narrative — before any human reviewer opens the file.

A named pointer at a version of a document, not a copy of the content. Branches let designers propose changes without disturbing the canonical doc.

A design document scoped to one game feature — defining its purpose, mechanics, edge cases, and success criteria. Narrower than a GDD, one system at a time.

The authoritative specification for a game — systems, mechanics, narrative, and art direction — binding design decisions into a coherent product reference.

A pre-structured scaffold for a GDD with sections for vision, pillars, mechanics, narrative, and risk — so teams start with shape instead of a blank page.

A GDD updated continuously throughout production to reflect the current game state, not a point-in-time spec that goes stale after the first sprint.

The canonical reference for a game world's history, factions, and rules — keeps narrative consistent across teams writing dialogue, quests, and lore.

A formal proposal to merge changes from one branch into the canonical document, collecting AI and human review before anything lands on the main branch.

A single-page pitch for a game concept — core loop, audience, platform, and key differentiator — used to align stakeholders before full design work begins.

A changelog entry for a game update — balance tweaks, bug fixes, and new content — written for players and grounded in the version-controlled design docs.

A document stating three to five design principles every decision must satisfy — constraints that keep a team aligned when specifics are disputed.

A retrospective written after a game ships, capturing what worked, what failed, and what to change — grounded in the decisions made during production.

A design document for one game system — economy, combat, or crafting — specifying the rules an engineer needs to implement it without daily designer input.

Tracking every revision to a GDD so the team can compare versions, restore a previous state, and trace each change back to who made it and why.