How to Use ClickUp for Game Design Projects

ClickUp helps game designers organize ideas, manage assets, and collaborate across teams in a single workspace, from concept art to final builds.

This how-to guide walks you through practical steps to set up a game design workflow, organize tasks, and use the features highlighted in the original game design software guide.

Step 1: Plan Your Game Design Structure in ClickUp

Before building tasks, decide how you want to structure your game project inside ClickUp.

Choose the Right ClickUp Hierarchy

Use the hierarchy to separate high-level planning from granular production work:

• Workspace: Overall studio or company space.
• Space: One space for each game or franchise.
• Folder: Major areas like Game Design, Art, Development, QA, Marketing.
• List: Features, levels, sprints, or release milestones.
• Tasks: Individual design items like mechanics, characters, items, UI screens, or quests.

Keep your hierarchy simple at first. You can always add more lists as the game design evolves.

Define Game Design Stages With ClickUp Statuses

Statuses show where each task stands in the pipeline. For a game project, you can create a custom status flow such as:

• Backlog
• Concept
• Design Draft
• Review
• Approved
• In Development
• Playtesting
• Ready for Release

Use these statuses to track everything from mechanic ideas to level layouts.

Step 2: Create a Game Design List in ClickUp

Once your structure is ready, create a dedicated list for your game design documentation and tasks.

Build a Feature Backlog in ClickUp

1. Create a new List named something like Core Game Design within your Game Design folder.
2. Add tasks for the main elements of your game, such as:
   • Core gameplay loop
   • Player abilities
   • Enemy types and AI behaviors
   • Level progression
   • Economy and rewards
   • HUD and UI layouts
3. Use subtasks to break down each feature into smaller design deliverables, such as documents, diagrams, or prototypes.

Use Custom Fields in ClickUp for Design Details

Custom fields make it easier to sort and prioritize design work.

Create custom fields like:

• Design Priority (High, Medium, Low)
• Feature Type (Mechanic, Level, UI, Audio, Narrative)
• Complexity (Story points or simple numeric score)
• Target Release (Alpha, Beta, v1.0, DLC)

These fields help producers and designers quickly see which features to focus on during each development phase.

Step 3: Document Game Design Inside ClickUp Tasks

Each task in ClickUp can store the full context for a feature, character, or level.

Write Design Specs in ClickUp Task Descriptions

Use the rich-text editor in the task description to outline a complete design spec:

• Overview and purpose of the feature
• Gameplay rules and edge cases
• Controls and inputs
• UI states and feedback
• Balancing notes and tuning variables
• Acceptance criteria for implementation

Format the description with headings, bullet points, and callouts so engineers, artists, and QA can read it quickly.

Attach Assets and References in ClickUp

Keep assets and reference materials together with the design task:

• Attach concept art, wireframes, and mockups.
• Link to external prototypes or build repositories.
• Embed videos or GIFs showing gameplay references.
• Upload spreadsheets for balancing or progression curves.

This centralizes design context, reducing back-and-forth between tools.

Step 4: Visualize Workflows With ClickUp Views

Different ClickUp views help teams see the same data in ways that match their role.

Use ClickUp Board View for Pipelines

Board view lets you drag tasks across columns that represent statuses.

• Designers can move features from Concept to Design Draft and Review.
• Developers can pull Approved features into In Development.
• Producers can scan the board to spot bottlenecks.

Board view mirrors a physical Kanban board but keeps all design details attached to each card.

Use ClickUp List and Table Views for Planning

List and table-style views are ideal for planning sprints and roadmaps:

• Sort by priority or complexity to build sprint scopes.
• Group tasks by Feature Type to review all mechanics or levels at once.
• Filter by Target Release to focus on a specific milestone.

These views are especially useful when aligning design goals with releases.

Step 5: Collaborate in Real Time With ClickUp

Game design is highly collaborative, and ClickUp centralizes those conversations.

Use ClickUp Comments for Feedback and Reviews

Instead of scattering feedback across chats and emails, hold discussions on the relevant task:

• Tag teammates with @mentions to request feedback.
• Use comment threads to track design debates and decisions.
• Add assigned comments so reviewers know exactly what they need to resolve.

This makes it easy to follow the history of a feature from concept to final approval.

Share Docs and Whiteboards in ClickUp

Use Docs and visual tools to explore ideas before converting them into structured tasks:

• Brainstorm on Whiteboards for level layouts or system diagrams.
• Capture early narrative outlines in Docs.
• Turn sticky notes or bullets into tasks directly from the brainstorming surface.

Once your ideas are ready, link the Doc or Whiteboard to the main design tasks to preserve traceability.

Step 6: Manage Sprints and Milestones in ClickUp

ClickUp can organize agile sprints and milestone planning for your game.

Run Agile Sprints With ClickUp

1. Create a Sprint list or folder.
2. Use custom fields or tags to mark sprint membership.
3. Pull prioritized design and implementation tasks into the sprint.
4. Track remaining work with workload or burndown views if available in your plan.

Designers and developers can share a single sprint board, ensuring that design and implementation stay aligned.

Set Milestones for Game Releases in ClickUp

Milestones help you align design tasks with key dates:

• Create tasks for major checkpoints: vertical slice, alpha, beta, content lock, gold master.
• Mark these tasks as milestones and add due dates.
• Link related design, art, and engineering tasks as dependencies.

Dependencies make it clear which design work must be approved before implementation or playtesting can begin.

Step 7: Improve Processes With ClickUp Templates

Once your process feels solid, turn it into reusable workflows.

Create Reusable ClickUp Templates for Features and Levels

Standardize recurring work with templates:

• Build a task template for New Mechanic including sections for goals, rules, edge cases, and test plans.
• Create a template for New Level with checklists for layout, pacing, encounters, and optimization passes.
• Use a list template for Playtest Session that includes tasks for setup, running tests, collecting feedback, and adjustments.

Templates keep your ClickUp workspace consistent and make it faster for new team members to follow your process.

Step 8: Connect ClickUp With Other Game Dev Tools

Game studios often use specialized tools for engines, assets, and builds. You can connect those workflows with ClickUp.

Integrate ClickUp Into Your Toolchain

Common patterns include:

• Linking source control commits or build numbers in task descriptions.
• Referencing engine assets, scenes, or prefabs by ID or path in tasks.
• Connecting communication platforms so notifications appear where your team already chats.

Keeping ClickUp as the central source of truth for design and production status reduces confusion and duplicate work.

Next Steps: Scale Your ClickUp Game Design Workspace

As your project grows, refine your workflows and reports.

• Create dashboards to track design completion, bug counts, and release readiness.
• Adjust custom fields and statuses as your pipeline becomes more mature.
• Review and update templates after each major milestone.

If you need help designing scalable project systems around ClickUp and other tools, you can explore consulting and implementation support from partners like Consultevo.

By setting up structured lists, detailed tasks, and collaborative views, ClickUp can serve as the hub for your entire game design process—from the first concept sketch to the final shipped build.

Need Help With ClickUp?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.

Get Help

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