What is so hard about coming up with a new game idea?

What is so hard about coming up with a new game concept? Brenda Romero must come up with 10 a day and seems to have been doing it for forever. I can't be that hard can it?

Well, yes and no.

Have a look at Brenda Romero's work on analogue games. Perhaps, if you have the time, unravel some of the threads you can find about her work. Consider speculating about the Mexican Kitchen Workers game,(unreleased, probably still in development) or any of the others.

http://brenda.games/mexican-kitchen-workers

On the surface you might think these games appear simple, elegant. Dig a little, try to play one, recreate the experience or reflect on what the experience of playing might have been like if you could have played it.

Cross reference:

http://brenda.games/work-1

https://gamefulthinking.blogspot.com/2021/01/exercise-brainstorm-game-idea.html

https://gamefulthinking.blogspot.com/2021/01/paper-prototyping-exercise.html

Exercise: Talk about "Indie Game: The Movie" (2012)

The Business of Games

Indie Game: The Movie (2012) - 1h 43min (a short intermission at 50:38)

After watching the documentary you might find yourself inspired to seek out and play some of the most influential indie and commercial computer games of the last decades referenced in the film: ICO, Limbo, Zelda (all platforms, all versions), World of Goo, Portal, Slender, etc.

Indie Game: The Movie by Merge Games, shares the background stories of three video games and their developers:

Braid: a level building platform puzzle game designed by Jonathan Blow.

Super Meat Boy: a fast fire platform game designed by Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes. The game is notoriously difficult with an edgy thematic and stark graphic mood with a strong emotional dynamic and atmospheric feel.

Fez​​​​​​​: a collecting/puzzle game focused level exploration designed by Phil Fish. The game employs a distinctive 2D/3D spatial twist mechanic that reveals novel possibilities for traversing the game world.

Ludology.net - the most must listen to podcast on game design

Ludology has become one of, if not the most, must-listen-to game design podcast.

Ludology logo (source: http://ludology.net)

Paper prototyping exercise

Paper prototyping exercise

Print-and-play prototypes are simply a PDF file containing a rough description of your game idea as a prototype for others to read and play-test.

The components of a game are [1]:

1. Printable game rules
2. Printable game sheet(s) and components like cards and props
3. And assume players can supply extra items like pens, dice, counters, pawns (meeples).

This exercise takes inspiration from Sergi Sanchez Labrador's "Roll & Write Game Design Contest" on Boardgamegeek - in its 6th season as this post is written. In fact Boardgamegeek hosts a huge array of design contests, some focused, some broad. Sergi's approach is nice because the barriers to entry are low. There are "no restrictions on them, mechanics or artwork" [1], in fact the artwork mostly starts out as simple pencil and paper sketches. The games should be original, copyright aware, shared and available to anyone via instructions and artwork files via online storage sites.

Sergi suggests two phases of development: idea phase; and contest ready. The whole process relies upon rapid feedback from all the prototypers to all the prototypers. Everyone plays everyone's game-idea and offers caring feedback to each other.

[1] https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2532785/6th-roll-write-game-design-contest

Question: Is there any limitation on employing specific game genres and ideas?
Answer: No limitations (but no imitations either). Let your imagination run free. But it must be your own original idea and concept.

Question: Are the three prototypes different versions of the same core game idea?
Answer: No. They must be distinctly different. The three prototypes are supposed to be three distinctly different game ideas. However only one will be developed further for the end of the term project.

Debrief: 

General areas for review/discussion (inspired by Tracy Fullerton's Game Design Workshop (2014) - any edition.

• What genre does the game fall under?
• What are the game's formal elements (rules, outcomes etc)?
• What is the game's dramatic structure?
• What are the flow/play dynamics of the game?
• Comment on game balance (between players, between game engine)?
• Casual or deep game (long or short)?
• Comment on re-playability, depth?
• Comment on 'fun'?
• Comment on the design scope (too little, too much)?
• What is the essence of the game?

Game Design's Canonical Literature

In the field of game design, what are the canonical `writings' that all game designers should know?

Let's assume, that as members of a community of practice, we should all be able to talk about a well-known set of influential games and publications. These could be writings on topics, articles, happenings and just things that everyone should understand, know about, and have a considered opinion on.

Candidates for core canon talking points and short articles (the short, dip-in, quickly-read literature)

• Richard Bartle's article on player types
• 
  

Similarly, a more-or-less agreed set of significant books (the long-read literature)

• Christopher Vogler's Writer’s Journey (and by reference Joseph Campbell's mythic structure), etc.
• 
  

And not to forget, canonical games, games that created and defined genre's of play

• Poker
• 
  

Group presentation activity

A Group Presentation consists of:

1. Preparing, delivering and recording the presentation session
2. Prompting and responding to audience engagement
3. After the show - providing an edited MP3 file typically of 15minutes duration for uploading to the DesignTalk.ie podcast
4. After the show - provide show notes in Word or text file
5. After the show - provide individual cover art (podcast image) adapting provided artwork

Note: Cover art requirement: "Podcast feeds contain artwork that is a minimum size of 1400 x 1400 pixels and a maximum size of 3000 x 3000 pixels, 72 dpi, in JPEG or PNG format with appropriate file extensions (.jpg, .png), and in the RGB colorspace. Aim not to exceed ~300KB size file." 

About the podcast

The podcast is "Design Talk (dot IE)", hosted on acast, and has its own website www.designtalk.ie.

• Yes. The podcast is recorded (not livestreamed) and post-edited before uploading.
• Yes. It is possible for you to review the podcast before it is published externally and to have some say in edits.
• Yes. The questions will be available in advance - although the format is conversational, we like a lively gabfest style.

Tips:

The podcast is recorded live, not prerecorded. We are very keen on balanced contributions from all participants. The moderator / host's role is to invite everyone to talk, to move the conversation along and gently redirect it if needed. The engagement person's role is to monitor the chat and other channels, working with the moderator / host to encourage, respond, drawing attention to comments etc.

To make for lively panel discussion, everyone should have something to say about everything. The panel concept is for a discussion of ideas.

Develop your own running order / show notes. The order of questions (and indicated responses) are merely a starting point. Include links to other material you might have referenced in the show or to point to additional content. Don't forget that the show notes will need to include single sentence source acknowledgement for the music and creators of images, clip art etc. (creator name url copyright/license).

The show notes / running order is merely a guide rather than a tight script and the show itself always takes its own course. 

Avoid reading word-for-word scripted responses - unless you have amazing voice acting skills it is nearly impossible to not to sound wooden. However the activity of preparing readies the mind and enables us to engage nimbly with the flow of a discussion.

How to use Audacity - notes:

Audacity tutorial and workflow activities:
https://podcasts.ceu.edu/how-edit-your-podcast-audacity-step-step-guide

Audacity tutorial on mixing a narration with background music

https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/tutorial_mixing_a_narration_with_background_music.html

Is there a role for visual aids during a podcast?

If, for during a recording, you feel that visual props and different kinds of activity fit with the scope of your session then yes, you can use props like graphics, websites, slides and engagement tools such as surveys and whiteboards for interactive components.

However: as the finished product will be an mp3 file (an audio podcast) we expect that the visuals are merely aides for the talk, rather than substitutes. Your show-notes can be used to share links to online versions of visual elements, references to other material etc. If you have an essential diagram or picture, then please provide a description and explanation for the audience who won't be watching the video version. Some of the visual segments of the (i.e those without spoken descriptions) will not make it into the finished edited podcast version. For the final edited podcast, assume your audience is only able to listen to the audio file.

Improv exercise: game + industry pairs

(A game properties improv exercise)

Pair game types with industry types as prompts for new game ideas. Working with external constraints can be extremely creative/productive.

Button artwork

Individually or in small groups.

1. Eyes closed, pick a button from the game types box
2. Eyes closed, pick a button from the industry types box
3. Come up with ideas inspired by the pair of buttons.
4. Capture your idea in a "working title".

Examples:

"Pirates and Underwriters - The Insurance Industry Action Game"

"Energy Roulette - Gamification of Customer Incentives for Electricity Meter Reading"

Resources:

"games_industries.pdf"
"gamesindustry.xlsx"

Use a whiteboard or jamboard

Games, Gaming, Gamification

Should we or shouldn't we? Is gamification manipulation? do we even have a choice if we do it or not? If we're going to do it anyway, well who is going to do it well? Because one thing is certain, it will be done badly too, very badly. (part 1 and part 2 and part 3)

"...but I do know this stuff is coming. Man! It's gotta come. What's gonna stop it?
And the only question I care about right now, is who, in this room, is going to lead us, to get there?" Jess Schell @DICE2010. 

LARP gone wrong

Live Action Role Play (LARP) games can be great for pushing the boundaries of games and play into unconventional areas. The notion of LARP has been drawn on to explain the origin and growth of QAnon -  a game gone wrong (FT video article - link).

NBC News article expanding on the background behind QAnon, its origin as an easter egg hunt, its hijacking and use as a vehicle for a contrived 'movement'. (NBC News - link)