Yes, I think coding can be a bit like storyboarding, especially for games.
Before writing code, I usually try to outline the “player flow” first: what the player sees, what they can click, what changes after each choice, and what needs to be remembered by the game.
For my own project, I organize it in layers:
Story / script outline — scenes, characters, dialogue, endings. Flowchart — how scenes connect, what unlocks what, and where choices branch. Systems list — things like inventory, stats, relationship points, money, emails, quests, etc. Screens / UI mockups — rough drawings of menus, buttons, windows, or gameplay screens. Task board — a simple list of what is done, what is broken, and what still needs to be made.
You don’t need fancy software, honestly. A notebook, Google Docs, spreadsheets, Trello/Notion, Miro, draw.io, or even screenshots with notes can work.
The big difference is that games are interactive, so instead of only asking “what happens next?”, you also ask:
“What can the player do here?” “What happens if they do it?” “What does the game need to remember?”
So yes, I’d say game development has its own version of storyboarding — part script, part map, part checklist, part madness. 😄