Jumpstart Your Creativity Shaping Your Ideas Into Games

2 Ideas Ideas come from everywhere How to transform ideas  games?

Game Development Process Brainstorm Prototype Production Testing Quality Assurance

Brainstorming Plenty of ideas are generated Speculative; little value as a game Need to be explored and validated

Ideas in Gameplay Terms What type of game? What does player do? What is the objective of the game? What are the controls and rules? How does he progress through the game? 5

Describing Gameplay

Ideas & Mechanics Note the difference between ideas and mechanics BrainstormPrototype generates ideas validates mechanics

From Ideas to Mechanics Brainstorm Prototype Production Testing Quality Assurance paper/software prototype early test builds user feedback playable build ideas? unrefined gameplay

Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab Casual games based on research Shaped from simple initial ideas 10

Dark Dot

Snap Escape

Workshop Work either individually or in teams Share ideas with one another Conceptualize game from guidelines and ideas –Materials provided if required 13

Conceptualizing Ideas Deconstruction –Break idea down into verbs “Remote Control” –Program 4-5 buttons for your character Less emphasis on story –Think in gameplay terms 14

Things to Consider Objectives Procedures Rules Conflict Resources Outcome 15

Things to Consider Casual Game Genres –Platform –Adventure –Simulation –Puzzle –Arcade/Action –Strategy 16

Example + puzzle game = ? + Inception

Example Deconstruction –Design landscapes –Dream (within a dream within a dream…) –Explore/manipulate environment –Awaken

Example

Keep in Mind Keep game idea simple Ensure gameplay mechanic exists Do not censor your own – or others’ – ideas Deconstruct and think in terms of game systems 20

Conclusion Conceptualization is the first step Prototyping is still necessary to verify mechanics Thanks for attending!

Credits Presented by Justin Kang Sketches by Simon Strauss Braid © 2008 Jonathan Blow Inception © 2010 Warner Bros. Pictures