Josh Bycer uses a stealth-game detection system to show the difference between high- and low-level design. “Darkness makes you harder to spot” communicates the player experience; detection distances, meter thresholds, and fill rates make it possible to build and balance.
- High level: describe the intended behavior clearly enough to align a team.
- Low level: specify the values and rules that determine what actually happens.
- Timing matters: keep early prototypes flexible, then make the details explicit as implementation and tuning demand them.
The practical test for a design document: can it explain the idea without burying readers in numbers, and give implementers a path to concrete rules? Bycer’s example numbers are illustrative, not a ready-made stealth formula.