Game Concepts

It just comes to me randomly or if I am doing something that eventually becomes part of my idea.

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Original post by Darkbiship Hello Im new here

Welcome to GDNet! [smile]

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I apoligize if this is the wrong section.

It's not a bad section for it, but I'm going to move you to Game Design where I think it fits a bit better and you'll probably get better responses.

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What really frusturates me when Im trying to come up with a gameconcept, is the fact that it feels like almost everything has been done, and when I try to put a new twist on it, it ends up being well stupid. I was wondering how you guys get around this other then story, so how do you guys do it?

You could try following a set of rules or working within some set of contraints. You might enter a contest which places restrictions on the type of game you can create, or you could try a set of restrictions such as Dogma 2001, or simply create your own set of restrictions. Having to work within contraints can sometimes lead to some interesting ideas because you have to be creative to come up with something fun that fits.


Another approach is to simply take a concept that has already been done, and to try to create a better implementation of it; perhaps there's some old game you loved, and there aren't too many more like it, but something about the interface or storyline or weapon-selection or whatever bothered you - create a new setting and/or storyline as appropriate and make a new game which is very similar and not very original, but which improves on the older version.

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when I try to put a new twist on it, it ends up being well stupid.

Have you tried developing small prototypes of your ideas to see if they're actually fun? Lots of very succeful games are based on ideas that sound pretty stupid, but they're still fun to play.

Thanks for that lengthy help, yes I have actually tried prototypes, and I had an idea for an endless shooter where instead of actually weilding them, you open up a portal, and out comes what ever projectile you want, anything from fireballs to small cats, it was fun, but I did it mostly because I cant animate

I think it's like cooking - everything is made out of the same basic ingredients but the artistry is in finding new ways to combine them.

Sometimes you just have to go through several lame ideas before you find something interesting and new. Don't give up if you came up with something bad, just keep going, or better yet, figure out why it's bad, and see how you can improve on it.

I suggest that you look into the Experimental Gameplay Project, and various websites like it.
http://experimentalgameplay.com

I actualy have been visting EGP for a while and I have a new concept, that was inspired by a comic,
Enter the Myspace
its a top down shooter, based around the idea of if you ask me to join myspace Il shoot rainbows at you.
It started as a matrix lobby game, but evolved into EtM, the story is simple Tange Himst has captured your friend, and forced him to make a profile. You and your partner Rintty must fight through emos, flamers, mods, and glammer girls. You have to fight through 50 flights to save him.

I try not to focus too much on story or visual fluff when I'm looking for a good core gameplay concept. Those can be mixed together later on, once I've got a fun gameplay mechanic going. Depends on what sort of game you're after, of course.

Anyway, what I'm doing is just writing or sketching down the game ideas I come up with. I've got a list of roughly 50 ideas and concept images, ranging from rough, vague ideas to detailed and fleshed out concepts and prototypes. Even when an idea doesn't sound very innovative, I won't toss it away. It's not bad per definition, and it might just be what that other idea lacks.

Every now and then I go through the list, to get some inspiration. To mix some old ideas with what I recently saw or came up with. If something sounds interesting, I try to prototype it. Spending a few days getting a basic version up and running. If that's fun to play, I'll spend some more time on it and pass it to a few friends to see what they think of it and what suggestions they come up with. If it's not an interesting concept, I try to find out why and what I can do about it. Often, I just write that down in the list and continue with something more interesting. I might always be able to use it later on.

I think about what makes games different from other media, what experiences would really have an affect on people, what could a game be?

When it comes right down to it, as the good Captain mentioned, a game is only as good as it's gameplay mechanics.
Since the mechanics are what you will be using the entire game, it is an extremely important feature.

My dream RPG is built entirely around a mechanic (a unique movement system). Since the player will spend the majority of their time moving/exploring, I needed a mechanic that felt satisfying even after much use.

If you want more story/theoretical concepts, this method has worked for me every time:

"Wouldn't it be cool if..." or "What would it be like if..."

These questions help me all the time to make up cool settings, character and worlds. It may seem that everything has been done before, but there are still plenty of good ideas out there.

Heres some tricks I use when creating a game:

1. Listening to strange music or movie soundtracks. The Last of the Mohicans soundtrack is what started my latest projects idea. Music helps put some nice imagery in your head to work with.

2. Constraints. With the above game I made the constraint of "Nothing cliche". Its an RPG and there could be zero cliche elements in the story. No hero with a troubled past, no ancient artifact/profecy, not one mention of the word destiny, etc (I did this cause frankly I hate cliche) and ill tell you what, many people have told me my story is excellent. Contraints are one of the best things I think you can do for creativity.

3. Sticking with non cliche, come up with a gameplay mechanic thats unique. I usually try to think of how I can kill things without weapons, then add weapons to taste. I also like to think of the physics in the environment. Is there a way to kill something using the environment?

4. Look at photographs and art. These always help getting the creative juices flowing.

Hopefully this helps, it works for me.

I don't worry about whether it's been done before. If I did that, I'd spend more time going through games to see whats been done than anything else; including eating, sleeping, and breathing. You'll be hard pressed to come up with anything truly unique in every respect, just because there's so much that has already been done, and only so much that can be done within the constraints of human ability (and our computers' ability).

A game is just that, a game. Thus, the number one priority to me is to make it fun. The number two priority is to make it challenging enough to entice people to keep going. IMO, easy games get boring quick; can you imagine if every 'Sonic the Hedgehog' level was as easy as Greenhill Zone Act 1? If every battle in Dragon Warrior was against Blue Slimes?

Since I don't know what is 'fun' to the other 10 billion people on this planet, I usually go by myself. I like a reasonably long, challenging experience. Thus, I am working on an RPG, with mechanics designed specifically to increase the challenge. I like studying tactics, so tactics play an important role in battle. I don't like the idea that hacking heads off is the only way to solve a random encounter, thus I have diplomacy mechanics more involved and complex that the combat mechanics are. I like choices, so everything I do in this design is geared to allow as many choices as possible.

Everything about what I am working on, I like to see in games I play. Some of it is similar to things I saw in games dating back to the mid '80's, like Phantasie III ('85 IIRC). Other stuff is derived from, but not identical to, stuff that's been in use for decades in more games than I can ever play.

So, in short; design what you'd like to play, what you think would be cool. Don't worry about what other people think, because you cannot possibly know what they'll think. No matter the design, some will hate it, some will love it, and some won't care. This goes for the story as well. Tell the story you want to tell; not what you think might go well with one group of people or another. Don't worry about if it "looks stupid" because first drafts almost always look stupid. That's why it's called developing. It's an ongoing process and refinement.

You should see the first mechanical draft of my RPG. I have more detail in the race section now than it had in it's entirety. What's worse, it was actually put into motion with a mostly complete engine (no graphic exactly...). It sucked. However, elements are still here with me, so it wasn't a waste.

Good luck, have fun.

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Original post by Darkbiship Hello Im new here, so I apoligize if this is the wrong section. What really frusturates me when Im trying to come up with a gameconcept, is the fact that it feels like almost everything has been done, and when I try to put a new twist on it, it ends up being well stupid. I was wondering how you guys get around this other then story, so how do you guys do it?

I think it might be useful to really think about what games are about. A game is an interactive experience that is geared toward providing enjoyment. However, I also think of games much like other creative arts such as movies, literature and music. They can be a means to express ideas and evoke feelings.

So how do you go about finding a game concept? First I think it should be about something that gets you excited. Don't think about what other people might think is fun. Before you start to brainstorm ideas it helps to have some constraints. Ask your self some questions such as:

Do I like games that are social or do I prefer games that are more solitary?
Is there any idea I want to communicate?
What kinds of emotions do I want to evoke - excitement, mystery, fear, serenity, happiness, etc?
Do I like games that are immersive?
Do I prefer games that are easy to get into and don't require commitment?
Do I like games that are like sports with a playing field or games that are more progressive and explorative?
etc.

You can then start to think of game concept that will give you the experience you want. When you brainstorm don't censor yourself, write down any silly thing that pops into your head. I think this is pretty important because if you go with the first thing that you can think of it will probably be cliché.

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Original post by Chrono1081 Heres some tricks I use when creating a game: 1. Listening to strange music or movie soundtracks. The Last of the Mohicans soundtrack is what started my latest projects idea. Music helps put some nice imagery in your head to work with.

I think this is very true. I heard that Gunnar Ekelof a great swedish poet used to listen to certain music while writing his poetry. I was thinking about the game concept of the current game I'm making and when I heard a certain song that fitted perfectly to the emotion of the game. Alot of things came together. The music made me constantly aware of the focus of the game and helped alot in the creative process.