I guess what I am asking is: What methods do you fellows take when starting a new project? Is there a "science" for designing a game?
Design in General
Author
I've been programming for a long time, but have never read or been taught about design. I do know that it's very important though. I've had to rework or work around my projects' infrastructures before, because I didn't design them at all. Once while during a storm, I designed a 3D engine and though it's now obsolete, it worked great the first time.
I don't think there's a science for designing games, altho there are some very specific tools and methodologies that you can use to design the *code* and other technical aspects. But at its core, designing a game is like writing a book or a screenplay - you just sorta do it.
Personally, I start designing a game by trying to summarize the core idea in 100 words or less. I've found that this gives me a pretty good "vision" that I can later refer back to in order to make sure that I'm staying on track... and, it also gives me a good start on writing the game's treatment.
Once I've got the vision, I just start with some random part of the design doc... my rationale being "it doesn't matter where you start, but it's all got to get done eventually." 
Mason McCuskey
Spin Studios www.spin-studios.com
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