From One Sheet to Pitch Deck and Beyond: Building Game Pitches That Land Deals

A Practical Guide for Game Developers to Create Effective Pitch Materials, Align Teams, and Secure Publisher or Investor Support

Game development is hard enough. But turning a brilliant idea into a viable pitch that excites publishers, investors, and collaborators? That’s an entirely different beast. For indie game developers and studio heads navigating the business side of game production, creating compelling pitch materials is not just a nicety; it’s survival. And it all starts with a single page.

This article explores how to move from a concise one-sheet to a comprehensive pitch deck and how that journey sets the foundation for your game design document, production schedule, and ultimately, your success. Whether you’re building your first pitch or refining your fifth, these principles and steps will help you level up your pitching process.

Why Every Game Pitch Starts with a One-Sheet

A one-sheet (also called a one-pager) is the foundation of your pitch ecosystem. It’s not just a summary, it’s a distillation of your vision into something so tight and so clear that anyone can grasp the essence of your game in 30 seconds or less.

That clarity isn’t just helpful for external communication. It becomes the North Star for internal decision-making, team alignment, and scope control. A strong one-sheet helps you:

• Clarify your vision

• Align your team

• Capture attention from investors or publishers

• Build confidence in your project’s direction

What Goes Into a Great One-Sheet?

At its core, a one-sheet includes five essential ingredients:

1. Game Title: Obvious, but essential. This is your brand name. Make it memorable.

2. Elevator Pitch: A quick, vivid, 1–2 sentence hook.

3. Overview: A more detailed paragraph explaining the premise, tone, gameplay, and core narrative.

4. Key Features or Selling Points: Bullet-pointed highlights of your game’s innovations or most appealing elements.

5. Optional Visuals: Concept art, a logo, or in-game shots if you have them; these help the pitch stick in people’s minds.

Let’s unpack each of these and build up your materials from there.

Crafting the Elevator Pitch: Clarity Meets Creativity

Your elevator pitch is the nucleus of every other pitch element. It’s the single most important line you’ll write because it’s the one people are most likely to repeat.

Think of it like this: if someone meets you at GDC or Gamescom and asks, “What’s your game about?” this is your answer.

A Template That Works

A reliable formula looks something like:

“Game Name is a genre that combines Popular Title A and Popular Title B, with the unique twist of insert twist here in a descriptive setting.”

This gives your audience immediate familiarity while pointing to what makes your project distinct. For example:

Shadow City Mysteries is a clockwork noir narrative adventure game that is Blade Runner by way of Lovecraft Country set in Frank Miller’s Sin City with a New Game+ twist.

When done well, an elevator pitch ignites curiosity. It creates context and gives people a compelling reason to ask, “Tell me more.”

Defining Features and Selling Points: Your Game’s Value Proposition

Once you’ve hooked your audience, they’ll want to know what makes your game worth investing in time, money, or both.

Use bullet points to showcase:

• Unique gameplay mechanics

• Player experience highlights

• Narrative or visual style

• Expandability or transmedia potential

• Anything that makes your game stand out

Example: Shadow City Mysteries

• Narrative Adventure with Investigative Gameplay
  Explore the mystery as a detective, interrogating suspects, scanning crime scenes, and uncovering hidden connections.

• Six Unique Origins
  Choose from High Society, Underworld, Union Worker, Entertainer, Church, or Cult backgrounds, each shaping your investigation style.

• New Story+ With a Twist
  Each replay reveals new layers of the story, culminating in a conspiracy and supernatural thriller arc.

• A New IP with Expansion Potential
  Build a franchise from the ground up with cross-platform storytelling potential in TTRPGs, comics, and games.

Bullet points should be succinct and readable at a glance. If you’re using a deck or document, avoid walls of text. Visual separation matters.

The Overview: Context, Genre, and Emotional Hook

Your overview is a short paragraph that expands on your pitch. Think of it like the blurb on the back of a novel. It should answer three things:

1. What is the story or core experience?

2. What is the gameplay loop?

3. Why will players care?

Example Overview

Shadow City Mysteries is a narrative adventure where players take on the role of a washed-up detective in a city riddled with secrets. As they investigate crimes, unravel conspiracies, and uncover supernatural forces, each playthrough deepens the mystery. With a branching structure, dynamic skill systems, and a stylized noir aesthetic, Shadow City Mysteries offers a replayable, emotionally driven experience unlike anything else on the market.

Be vivid. Appeal to emotions. Show what players will feel, not just what they will do.

Putting It All Together: The One Sheet Blueprint

Now that we’ve broken down the parts, here’s a checklist to build your one sheet:

• Logo or Game Title

• Elevator Pitch

• Short Game Overview

• 3–6 Bullet Point Features

• Optional: Visuals or Screenshots

• Contact Info or Studio Branding (footer)

Export your one sheet as a PDF or image. Keep it short (one page), but make every word count.

Evolving Your One Sheet into a Pitch Deck

Once your one-pager is polished and ready, you can expand it into a full pitch deck. Many components will stay the same—but now you have the space to elaborate.

Here’s how your one-sheet components map to a longer deck:

Building the Deck, Slide-by-Slide

1. Title Slide: Game name, studio name/logo, and tagline.

2. Vision Slide: Elevator pitch and high-level vision.

3. Overview Slide: A short version of the game overview.

4. Gameplay Slide(s): Core mechanics, gameplay loop, and progression systems.

5. Feature Slides: One slide per major feature or mechanic, with visuals and talking points.

6. Visual Style Slide: Moodboard, key art, sample UI.

7. Team Slide: Brief bios and credits of core team members.

8. Business Slide (if needed): Monetization, marketing, or platform plans.

Each slide should tell a story progressively leading your viewer from “interesting” to “I want in.”

Turning a Pitch Deck into a Game Design Document (GDD)

Once you’ve secured interest or funding, or even before, you’ll need to flesh out your concept into a full game design document. This is where you translate vision into implementation.

A pitch deck is a storytelling tool. A GDD is a blueprint for building. But the good news is your pitch deck already contains much of what you’ll need.

Here’s how the pitch deck maps into the structure of a full GDD:

Key Elements of a Game Design Document

A solid GDD should include:

• High-Level Overview: What kind of game are you making? Who is it for?

• Core Gameplay Loop: What do players do repeatedly and why?

• Progression Systems: How does the game grow in complexity?

• UI and UX Guidelines: What does the player see, and how do they interact with the world?

• Story and Setting: What is the narrative arc? Who are the characters?

• Levels and Content Structure: How are levels or missions laid out?

• Art and Audio Guidelines: What are your stylistic anchors?

• Technical Requirements: Engine, platforms, tools, integrations.

• Production Plan: Timeline, budget, hiring needs, outsourcing requirements.

The GDD is a living document. It will evolve with your project, but starting it early keeps your team aligned and your scope realistic.

Your Roadmap Forward: From Idea to Execution

Here’s a simplified flow from concept to execution:

1. One Sheet: Summarizes your vision.

2. Pitch Deck: Expands your vision into an engaging story for stakeholders.

3. Game Design Document: Details how the vision will be executed.

4. Production Plan: Defines timeline, resources, team, and budget.

5. Vertical Slice or Prototype: Proves the concept through actual gameplay.

6. Milestone Builds: Iteratively develop and refine your product.

7. Launch and Postmortem: Ship your game, then reflect, learn, and repeat.

Each step builds upon the last. Each step provides more depth, clarity, and alignment for your team and partners.

Actionable Steps to Build Strong Pitch Materials

Let’s break this down into clear, repeatable actions:

Step 1: Build Your One Sheet

• Start with a Google Doc or PDF.

• Write your game’s title and 1–2 sentence pitch.

• Add a short overview paragraph.

• Bullet out your 3–6 key features.

• If available, add one visual (concept art, screenshot, or logo).

• Save it as a PDF with your game’s name clearly in the filename.

Step 2: Draft Your Pitch Deck

• Create a 10–15 slide presentation.

• Map each element of your one-sheet into a slide format.

• Add art direction and visual examples to support your storytelling.

• Include a slide introducing your team (or your background if solo).

• Practice presenting it out loud in under 10 minutes.

Step 3: Build a Living GDD

• Use Notion, Google Docs, or a tool like HacknPlan or Craft Docs.

• Turn every feature into a breakdown: how it works, why it matters.

• Document your core loop and progression systems in clear language.

• Add placeholders for levels, UI, story arcs, and technical decisions.

Step 4: Start a Basic Production Plan

• Use a spreadsheet or tool like Trello, ClickUp, or Airtable.

• Map the next 3–6 months by high-level tasks: prototyping, concept art, narrative beats, etc.

• Identify bottlenecks early. If you need collaborators or funding, highlight those dependencies.

Step 5: Build and Test a Vertical Slice

• Pick one core feature and one area of the game to implement.

• Keep the scope tight; this is proof of concept, not a full level.

• Use this vertical slice to test mechanics, mood, UI, and pipelines.

• Gather feedback, then iterate.

Each of these steps helps reduce ambiguity, align collaborators, and demonstrate value to potential partners or funders.

How Publishers, Investors, and Collaborators Evaluate Pitches

Understanding what your audience is looking for can improve your pitch materials dramatically. Here’s what different stakeholders typically want to see:

Publishers:

• A compelling hook and genre fit

• Market potential and target audience

• Proof that the game is fun (through a prototype or vertical slice)

• Timeline and production reality

• Team reliability

Investors:

• Clear vision and differentiation

• Business model (premium, F2P, hybrid)

• Studio experience and execution history

• Risk mitigation (backup plans, production buffers)

Collaborators:

• Clarity of the project direction

• Documentation and expectations

• Communication tools and project management structure

• Projected timeline and scope

Tailoring your pitch slightly for different audiences shows awareness and respect. It also increases your chances of building trust and getting the “yes” you need.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Game Pitches

1. Too Much Detail Too Soon: Save the minutiae for the GDD. Your deck should sell the fantasy and feasibility.

2. No Clear Hook: If you can’t explain what makes your game unique in one sentence, refine it until you can.

3. Overpromising: Scope is the graveyard of great games. Be honest about your timeline and budget.

4. Lack of Art or Visuals: Even simple concept art helps. Don’t pitch a game without a moodboard or key image.

5. Ignoring Your Audience: Customize your materials for who’s reading them. Investors want ROI. Publishers want genre fit and deliverability. Peers want clarity.

Keep Going: Iteration and Feedback Loops

Your one sheet and pitch deck are not static. They should evolve as your project does.

• After every pitch, revisit your deck and refine it based on feedback.

• Keep a folder of alternate slides and visuals so you can tailor decks to specific meetings.

• Document pitch feedback and questions. They show where you’re unclear or overexplaining.

Final Thoughts: Make the Pitch Part of the Process

Pitching isn’t a one-off activity. It’s part of the creative lifecycle. It helps you refine your ideas, align your team, and secure the support you need to bring your game to life.

If you treat your pitch as a living tool not a hurdle—you’ll find it brings unexpected clarity to your game’s identity, timeline, and purpose. Whether you’re sending a one-sheet cold to a publisher, walking into a VC meeting with a polished deck, or kicking off your first internal meeting, great pitch materials are your leverage, your confidence, and your compass.

Thank you for reading this article to the end. I hope it has been informative and helpful. If you’d like to learn more about the topics we covered, I invite you to check out my podcast and my YouTube channel, where I delve into these subjects in more depth.

Additionally, I would love to stay in touch and keep you updated on all the latest developments and insights in the world of leadership. That’s why I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter. Not only will you receive regular updates, but as a thank you for joining, I will also send you my free eBook, “5 Heroic Leadership Skills.” This eBook is packed with practical tips and strategies that will help you take your leadership skills to the next level.

So don’t wait! Sign up for my newsletter today and start your journey towards becoming a more effective and inspiring leader. I can’t wait to hear from you.

🎮✨ Join the Press Start Leadership Discord! 🌟💬

Ready to level up your leadership game? 🚀 Join our exclusive Discord channel where we dive into leadership, mindfulness, and all things awesome in the video game industry! 🎯✨ Connect with fellow enthusiasts, share insights, and join our Accountability Club to stay on track and crush your goals together! 💪🔥

Click here to join the adventure: Press Start Leadership Discord

🎮✨Work With Me!🌟🎮

If you’re on the quest to elevate your team’s leadership, production, or game design capabilities, I’m here to assist! Leveraging extensive experience and a strategic approach, I offer personalized audits, bespoke workshops, and leadership retreat facilitation to drive your team toward excellence. My commitment is to provide efficient, reliable, and proven support, ensuring you have the tools and insights needed to thrive. Ready to unlock your team’s full potential and achieve unparalleled success? Don’t hesitate—Press Start on your journey to transformation today! Feel free to reach out directly to discuss how we can tailor a solution to meet your unique needs and goals. Let’s connect and take your team’s performance to the next level!

🔗 www.pressstartleadership.com

📧 contact@pressstartleadership.com

🎮✨ Discover the Mysteries of Play On Words Studios! 🌟🚀

I’m excited to share the incredible projects Play On Words Studios, my indie studio, has been working on! 🎨🕹️ Dive into our creative world and see the games we’re crafting just for you.

• Check out our Studio: Play On Words Studios
• Wishlist Shadow City Mysteries: Case Files – Rise of the Rat King: Wishlist Now!
• Wishlist Shadow City Mysteries: A Clockwork Noir on Steam: Wishlist Now!
• Pre-Order for our TTRPG Book: Pre-Order Here!
• Join Our Discord: Play On Words Studios Discord

Join us on this amazing journey and be a part of something truly special! 🌠🎉