Postmortem is the name I have given to a set of methods that encourages reflection about a game's design (and development) after the game has been completed. The methods are usually templates and/or guidelines for reflecting upon the game design and development process. A postmortem is a valuable way to document lessons learned, and while it does not influence the game design it is based on it can offer the chance to influence future designs.
Use:
Postmortems are meant to gather reflections, and therefore typically ask:
- What went wrong?
- What went right?
- What can we learn from the experience?
Making a postmortem template allows you to create well structured report without all the effort of starting from scratch. While finding a good set of guidelines to creating a postmortem can make the information in the postmortem that much sharper.
Making a postmortem accessible for future projects may require different approaches to formulating the report. For example, in place of a written report, a list of lessons learned may be more accessible as reference material for future designs.
Literature:
Game Architecture and Design: Learn the Best Practices for Game Design and Programming
