When it comes to game design, although many methods and techniques exist, a popular approach is through design sprints.
Design sprints are workshops that help teams develop ideas quickly, and usually involve a combination of product management, design and engineering teams to ensure all questions can be answered while ideas are being developed. These three teams can use design sprints to communicate cross-functionally, evolve high-quality ideas and increase ownership of the design process.
Although design sprints have their benefits, the workshop model can come with some challenges too. First, it can be easy to continue developing and iterating on ideas, talking them through without making any real progress. Also, when designing features, it’s important to consider and emphasize the functionality of them to ensure the workshop is grounded in reality.
Intercept Games is one company taking full advantage of the benefits that effective design sprints have to offer. The gaming company uses this method to assist in its production of games focused on space simulation.
We spoke to Shana Markham, design director at Intercept Games, about how her team uses design sprints to gain better clarity as well as how to avoid some common mistakes. Read on to find out how design sprints could benefit your work too.
Intercept Games is a gaming company specializing in games dedicated to space exploration and simulation.
What does a design sprint look like at Intercept Games?
Sprint groups are multidisciplinary, so designers work alongside engineers and artists to accomplish features. This allows all members to easily communicate amongst themselves and allows design to envision solutions that have higher quality, better scope and clarity and higher ownership across the group.
What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve seen people make while running design sprints?
Sprints need to show demonstrable progress, and it can be easy to be lulled into thinking that discussing and iterating on a plan is progress. Then you wind up with several sprints of honing a plan without anything to show for it in-game.
When putting a feature together, think about how to deliver the key functional pieces in-game to pull your plans into reality. When a sprint has a heavy amount of planning involved, try to find a success criteria that has commitment to the plan as the goal.
It can be easy to think that discussing and iterating on a plan is progress. When a sprint has heavy planning, find a success criteria that has commitment to the plan as the goal.”
What is your favorite aspect of running a design sprint?
My favorite aspect of a design sprint is that the entire team gets to learn and grow together, because disciplines are communicating on a regular basis and learning from each other. That, combined with an iteration-heavy approach, equips the team to consider how to build larger and larger features with more confidence.
