The pre-production & concept development section is the area that the assessors typically have concerns about when it comes to marking the final projects. In general, a studio project will expect a lot more in this area than students tend to provide in their portfolio.

Based on the assessment criteria, I've written out a full guide to improving your scores in this important first section.

You don't have to cover everything here, but if you manage to then you're operating at a higher level than the majority of students that apply for games industry jobs. 

PROTIP
You can come back to add detail to any section later on. Ideas don't always work in the same linear way that documentation demands.

Written intro

Explain what you're creating and why you've chosen to create it. What appeals to you about creating that scene.
Talk about the style, theme and setting you want to use. Include the four core assets that are in the scene.
Write some detail on any direct inspiration or influence that led to your decisions.

Influences

This is your visual intro - use it to illustrate your decision making process in the written intro
Short annotations/captions on images explaining relevance / why this is an influence on you
It doesn't necessarily have to be direct link to final concept, but should be broadly linkable to the overall theme/style

e.g. You have a fascination in feudal & Edo period Japan & have written that you want to create an environment that explores this setting.
your visual influences might be entirely based on your personal favourite interpretations, such as :

• A memorable traditional woodcut print
• Photos of the models from your trip to the Edo-Tokyo museum
• A sketch of a Jidaigeki set design
• Anime stills of a particular scene from Princess Mononoke
• Screens of your favourite environment feature in Shadow Tactics

*Written intro & visual influences don't have to be separate sections*

Mood board(s)

This is where you begin refining your influences into a visual guide. Bring in as much as you can to show the styles, feelings, visual cues, themes, colours etc. you want to associate with when creating your artwork. Use the board to help the viewer understand the creative direction you're taking, bringing in the key influences that you want to develop further.

Group linked sections for clarity & annotate where appropriate; what links the items in a group?
Use clear choices that are relatable to your intro and influences
Colours, shapes, layout and composition matter - create a visual journey that goes beyond an ideas scrapbook.

References

Usable key art studies, relevant to your theme/setting that can be incorporated into your concept development. e.g.

• Style and aesthetic studies
• Architechtural studies
• Texture and material studies
• Structure and composition study
• Weather & other environmental aspects
• Existing concept studies
• Existing game asset studies

Concept design & development

This is a development of the work done in the referencing and mood board sections, bringing an idea for a full scene to life, further refining the elements of what you have into a working concept design. This can be an original concept piece that you create yourself, or developed from an existing concept in your referencing if preferred.

Mix in elements from your referencing and boards to show how the scene comes together, showing your own personal influence in its creation. If working from an existing concept, try to show how it relates to your research and how your own contributions tie it all together.

The actual presentation of the concept is up to you, and at least in part dictated by the style you've chosen to work in. You don't need to create a super-detailed matte painting if your creative vision & intent can be clearly seen from an arrangement of cutout photo references or a series of sketches.

What's the story behind your core assets?
This is where narrative comes in heavily as well; what is this? where is this? why is this?
Tell the story behind the scene. What's the significance of the centrepiece?

• This narrative should tie into your written intro.

Composition exploration

Layout sketch(es) working from your concept, with composition thoughts/notes including:

• Structural balance
• Light sources
• Colour balance
• Camera positions, focal points & framing

At this point, it should be possible for someone to go through all of the above and, without ever seeing your 3D scene, have a pretty accurate visual idea of what your final piece is intended to look and feel like.

Grey box layout

This is your initial 3D layout of your scene, based directly on the layout in your concept. It only needs to be a simple blockout to show the arrangement of the scene and will act as a base for the start of your production phase.