Techniques to come up with a great game idea

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.” - Steve Jobs

So you have decided to create a game. But now you are asking yourself: “Which one?”. Maybe you have hundreds of ideas in your head, or maybe you can’t think of anything to get started. Or perhaps you are worried your idea isn’t ‘good enough’ or ‘won’t work well’. Let’s suppose you decide not to make another copy of a recent game that has been successful, in that case there’s a huge number of possibilities and opportunities in front of you.

We believe anyone can become a master at generating awesome game ideas if they apply and practice the right methods. It is just that there is no one approach that would work for everyone. That is why we have prepared a list of 10 techniques that you might use to inspire yourself and create your personal set of approaches that will help you generate unique game ideas over and over again.

Technique #1: Generate a basic idea

Here you might use a simple formula:

Adjective (a describing word) + Genre (a type of game) + environment (the place) + setting (the world in the game) = the base for a game idea.

For example, you could have:

A Thrilling (adjective), Action Game (genre) based in a jungle (environment) in the Past (setting)

OR

A Scaring (adjective), RPG Game (genre) based in an Desert village (environment) in a parallel world (setting)

You can open a list of game genres and adjectives and start scrolling through them while paying attention to what inspires you and gives you those magic feeling of “This one! Exactly!”

Technique #2: Mind mapping

Mind mapping is a visual method of brainstorming where you use words, images, and colors to connect your ideas around one topic. With this technique, you can quickly generate various game ideas while also properly organize them.

You can also combine mind mapping and the first technique in the following way:

Write your idea from the formula in the first step in the center of a piece of paper, you can draw a big bubble around it or put it in any other shape you like. Then you can use different colors to draw other 5 figures around it and write in the following words: Goal, Space, Components, Mechanics, Rules. Here is what they will mean for us:

• Goal: The purpose of the game (or how you win/lose)
• Space: More details about the environment and setting (eg. Background and short history, materials, how it looks and feels)
• Components: The main characters and surroundings (eg. monsters, planets)
• Mechanics: What a player can do in your game (eg. jump, run, manage people, use magic)
• Rules: Which actions a player should and should not do in order to win (eg. take turns, hold 3 things, do not touch the ground)

Once you have completed your mind map, you should have a much more clear idea of what game you want to bring to the mobile stores. This is already a very short version of what professional game makers call a Game Design Document or GDD.

Technique #3: Research

Another approach is to get inspired by what people are interested in, to research which games are topping the charts, in which categories, and why. Researching the charts and current trends will give you great advantage and insights.

If you want to connect this technique to the previous ones, just look at all of the high-ranking games in the same category/with a similar idea. Then thoroughly research each game, try to play them. Analyze the game’s features and write down what you like. Examine your notes and add them to your document.

Technique #4 Become an Active member in the Gaming Community

Being active in the gaming community is another way to learn from the experience of others and generate game ideas. Try to to join and actively participate on the forums, share your ideas with the others. Browse various message boards and read the most discussed topics. Post and ask questions, give answers where you know them. A gaming community is a great resource that developers need to take advantage of. It is the place where you can find inspiration, get guidance, create your own network, and hear lots of useful feedback from gamers.

Technique #5: Take inspiration from your everyday actions

Think about things you like to do and how you could make them into a game — Do you like baking, knitting, doing sports, or Learning languages? How could you make something you enjoy doing every day into a game? What rules or scenes would you add? How would you win? Create a book of ideas, carry it with you, or use a note-taking app on your phone, so you can write down ideas any time you catch them. Write things down while you remember them! Imagine yourself being a photographer, you might start seeing the world in game ideas!

Technique #6: Generate ideas from non-connected sources

Use random pages on Wikipedia as the starting point of your game idea, take some newspapers or magazines you don’t want to read any more and cut out words or images from different pages, put them together and see what ideas come to you. Another great way to get some idea is to use Pinterest search. Try searching for words around the game theme on Pinterest App to see the inspiring collections people have made around the words or the topic. You can also create your own board where you save the images you like the most.

Technique #7: Start with a Character

Starting off with a character in mind is another approach that’s worth trying if you don’t come up with a full idea. You can start brainstorming around that one core element until you have a complete concept. Just decide whether you you’re your main character to be a person, creature, or an object. Then try to think of different possible scenarios that could work with this character, imagine how they can interact. Brainstorm also around some alternative themes, challenges, rules, and gameplay.

Alternatively, you can start from a problem (a disease, world crisis, global warming), a scene, or the result of the game.

+1 Technique: Take a break!

Although it might sound quite banal, sometimes it is a really good idea to take a break. It is scientifically proven that your mind generates the best ideas when you are not actively thinking about them. So, if you realize that you are too tired to get some use of the techniques presented below, have a break and retry as soon as you feel restarted.

Bonus: techniques to refine ideas

Technique #1: Look at your idea using a game design lens

You might want to visualize your idea, and here a helpful tool called the ‘Deck of Lenses’ will be helpful. You can use it to look at your game idea from many different perspectives. In case you have a couple of good ideas, this approach might be useful to find out which one seems the most perspective and engaging for players.

Technique #2: Prototype and test

What is the best way to know if an idea is good? Prototyping and iteration is the best way to quickly see if the idea as good as it seems to be. In the process of prototyping, you might want to change the game completely — do so! This is your space to create something truly unique.

Technique #3: Ask people

Always gather feedback on your ideas to see if you’re missing something. If some of your friends or family members like playing video games, their feedback will always be of great use.

Some final tips

• Reminder about the SCOPE. After having lots of ideas, be prepared to use or test only a couple of them, or even just one.

But it is a great idea to continue taking notes of the new ones coming even in the prototyping or/and development stages. You can create so many more games in the future!

• Remind yourself that the more ideas you generate and the more games you create, the more you will get. See it as a practice.
• Remember: there are no bad ideas. There are many factors that make an idea suitable or unsuitable at a given time. Welcome any of them and select the best.

We hope that the techniques presented in this article will add lots of ideas to your list.

Get inspired by our ultimate games: https://www.utahtechlabs.com/game-development

Contact us to start developing together: https://www.utahtechlabs.com/contact