Getting Started with Game Designs

*SHABLOOEY*
Sorry, working on a new poly assassination technique. Ahem.

A lot of people have ideas for games, concepts, stories, or all of them but do not know how to get started. I just wanted to share some ideas and techniques that I have come up with over the years of scratching my head and randomly trying things that explode in a mish-mash of failure and rejection until finally something shiny appears.

The first trick is for game design in general.This is something I do and may not work for others. Just thought I would share. One of the best things that I can do when it comes to designing is to just start scribbling notes. They don't have to be in any order or sequence and I often use blank printer paper because lined paper still has a sense of order to it.

Chaos is key.

Start with an idea. A lost treasure, a kidnapped friend, the resurrection of an ancient evil, it doesn't matter if the idea has been done before, what you are going to do with it is make it unique and original. Once you have an idea, scribble down some interesting descriptive words. Steam-punk, electronica, bard-assassin (I know a bard-assassin. He is the loudest person I know and the fastest. He once killed this poly monster while in the middle of a... Ah, story for another time.), metropolis, mountain fortress, government agency, etc.

These keywords will help give your original idea some more substance. Remember that if anything ever pops into your head while you are writing, write that down also! Don't stop a thought path even if it goes somewhere really weird and unexpected. Once you have scribbled thoughts and ideas down on 2 - 3 pages, collect all of it together and start picking out the best scribbles. Lay these out on a new piece of paper, order still doesn't matter, and repeat the process. This will allow you to have more information in your head that you can build on yet still be free and chaotic enough to come up with some more interesting ideas. I will sometimes do this process 4 or 5 times depending on how deep in the idea I am and how much fun I am having. Also, don't forget that you might end up with 10 different games by the time you are done thinking about one! Always keep these pages and refer back to them, never know when a thought you had can break open another stream of ideas!

That's all for now! In another post, I will talk about where I go from here. Hope you enjoyed this one.

-POOF-