FUNDAMENTALS OF GAME DESIGN, SECOND EDITION
Game Concepts
Designing a video game begins with an idea. This chapter discusses how to turn that idea into a game concept, a more fleshed-out version of the idea that can be used as the basis for further discussion and development. Creating a game concept is what you do in the concept stage of game design. Your goal at this point should be to write the high concept document that Chapter 2, "Design Components and Processes," discussed. To do this, you don't have to have all the details worked out yet, but you do need to understand clearly what your game is about, and you must be able to answer certain essential questions about the game itself, the player's role in it, and the target audience. Here, we look at how to make those decisions.
You can find game ideas almost anywhere but only if you're looking for them. Creativity is an active, not a passive, process. Look everywhere; some of the most unexpected things can hide a game idea. Viva Pinata, for instance, is a slightly odd but highly successful game about "breeding" living pinatas.
One idea isn't enough. It's a common misconception that a brilliant game idea will make you a fortune. In fact, this occurs extremely rarely. Even if you think you have the game idea of the century, you should always look out for more. Make a note of each one and go on. If one seems especially promising, then start to expand and refine it, but don't let that prevent you from thinking about other games as well.
A lot of computer games are light entertainment, designed to while away a few minutes with a puzzle or a simple challenge. But larger, richer games begin with a dream. If you've ever thought to yourself, "I wish I could... " or "Imagine what it would be like to.," then you've taken an important step on the road to creating a computer game. Computers can create almost any sort of visual experience you can imagine, even experiences that are physically impossible in the real world. The design of a computer game begins with the question, "What dream am I going to fulfill?"
Perhaps it's a dream of exploring a dungeon infested with monsters. Perhaps it's a dream of coaching a football team. Perhaps it's a dream of being a fashion designer. But before you do anything else, you must dream the dream. Understand it. Feel it. Know who else dreams it and why.
