Planning Document
In Brief
The planning document is provided by Code Ninjas Home Office and is required to be filled out for project submission. When a ninja belts up to black belt this document is the first step in building their game. Before starting any other planning processes or development of their project, they must complete up to the beginning of the play-testing section in this document.
Planning Phase (Incl. Assets, UI, & Mechanics Sections)
The planning phase is where the ninja will get all of their ideas down on paper for their game. The ninja should work almost entirely independently on this section of the planning document and the contents of this section should not be heavily scrutinized.
Playtesting
The playtesting section of the planning document is split into 4 different phases of playtesting. For each phase, 3 play testers are needed for a total of 12 playtests. These playtests can begin when the ninja has a functioning prototype of their game. After completing a playtesting phase, the ninja should return to the development of their game to improve it based on the playtest feedback. This is an iterative process that should take many hours over a few weeks.
Publishing
This section is optional, but can be filled out during the Going Gold phase.