Data Entry in Game Development: The Hidden Bottleneck
Game development is filled with creative challenges—but one of the most overlooked bottlenecks is data entry.
Writing item stats in spreadsheets. Manually formatting dialogue scripts. Syncing dozens of files between designers and devs. These tasks don’t get much attention, but they quietly slow down development and introduce a mountain of human error.
At Drafft, we think there’s a better way.
The Quiet Chaos of Game Data
Most teams manage game content across a patchwork of tools: spreadsheets for item stats, text files for dialogue, Google Docs for lore, and maybe a Trello board or Notion page for organizing it all.
That’s fine when the project is small. But once the game grows, these tools start working against you:
- Dialogue doesn’t match what's in the build.
- Quest data lives in eight different places.
- Designers can’t tweak values without asking a programmer to “re-import” it.
The root of the problem? Game data isn't just code. It’s a living part of your design process—and it needs an interface that reflects that.
Drafft: A Better Way to Manage Game Data
Drafft was built to reduce that chaos. It gives your team a central hub for all your game data, with tools designed specifically for the types of content you work with:
🧭 Game Design Documents
Write, link, and organize full GDDs using a powerful markdown editor. Embed images, videos, and even task checklists. Export to PDF when you need a shareable version.
💬 Dialogue & Script Editor
Design branching conversations visually with a non-linear graph editor. Each node connects to a script line, complete with speaker tags, stage directions, and VO cues. Export dialogue as formatted screenplay or structured JSON.
🧱 Items & Object Editors
Define items using custom fields like name, type, description, effects, and more. Create schemas on the fly and fill them out using a human friendly language. Great for inventories, characters, or any structured object.
🎯 Quests with Conditions
Use a dual-pane editor to describe quest metadata (title, rewards, etc.) and the conditions required for completion. Supports nested logic, game state flags, and JSON/YAML/TOML formats.
📊 Grid-Based Tables
Sometimes you just want a spreadsheet—and Drafft has that too. Create table schemas and enter data in rows and columns. Perfect for stat blocks, level setups, enemy waves, and more.
🧠 Kanban for Tasks & Notes
Organize your ideas, bugs, or worldbuilding notes with drag-and-drop Kanban boards. Each card supports markdown and links to related documents in your project.
Clean Exports, Ready for Game Engines
All Drafft content exports as structured JSON. That means you can use it with any game engine, not just one we picked for you.
Want to load dialogue into Godot? Use our community importer. Need quest data in Unity? Write a small parser. Drafft gives you the raw materials—you plug them into your engine.
Local-First. Team-Friendly.
Your project is stored locally using PouchDB, which means:
- No internet required to work.
- Full control over your data (host it yourself).
- Real-time sync between collaborators on the same DB via a CouchDB server.
You get the benefits of cloud sync without the risks of lock-in or slow performance.
Summary: Game Data Deserves Better Tools
At the end of the day, Drafft is not a fancy text editor or a glorified spreadsheet. It's a unified space for entering, editing, and shipping the content that makes your game playable.
Whether you’re scripting a story, balancing a skill tree, or outlining your entire GDD—Drafft helps you stay organized and in sync, without touching raw files or reinventing your pipeline every time.