@baconman
This is kind of related. You can always find a way to work your "dream" ideas into any project, given time. You just have to find out what the idea is "really about" and push it into a new context. For example, given your Zelda II example, I'm sure you could push in that direction from any action/adventure. You just have to find the "essence" of the idea. In fact, the process of finding the essence of any idea, say by pulling it out of one context and shoving it into another, is often constructive towards improving that idea. Doing that, you'd probably end up with something far better.
Your welcome.
wow, im wondering, im working on a action, sidescrolling, roguelike, building game and i had it all planned out till i realized it was too terraria like.. development is going very smooth.. but i cant figure out what direction to bring it in, i wanna keep that terraria/mc/roguelike charm, but i want to be MY game, this is really stressing me out, any tips, i would appreciate it
Yeah, this issue comes from relying on previous structure too much. You probably have in your head some "grand vision" of what you want. Then you can't "personalize it" without losing the original vision. Right? This kind of situation is because you're trying to do too much at once. No one can design an entire game all at once, in their heads. At least they shouldn't, because it always produces sub-par results.
I'm going to assume you have something playable. If you do not, follow this:
1. Write down the single most important mechanic (or art asset/sound-effect/etc) that you need to get your game to a playable state asap. If you have several to choose from pick the one that will make your game the most interesting i.e. pick the one you like the most. It's really important to pick the things that require the smallest amount of work possible.
2. Implement this thing.
3. Repeat until you have something that:
a. You can play.
b. You think is a game.
It's okay if it's only fun for like 30 seconds or something. You just want absolute bare-bones.
Ok, next, you're worried that your current prototype is too much like what's already out there? I imagine your prototype is pretty similar to Terraria or something at this point? That's okay. The easiest way to get a game to a playable - and fun - state is to copy things you know are good. It's the secret trick. Here's the second secret.
Do this:
1. Choose your favourite mechanics that is in your prototype (not your design).
2. In fact, you can choose several and rank them. It would be even better if you had several scopes. Example for Minecraft:
. smallest scope: the animation for "chopping/digging" w/ some object
. medium scope: the breaking of blocks into floating cubes which you collect by bumping into them, putting them into an inventory
. larger scope: wandering around looking for trees
Maybe you have a couple favourite items for several scopes, ordered by how much you like them. So far everything is copy, probably.
Ok, here's where you make it personal.
3. Pick the top item from the list for the smallest scope i.e. the digging animation.
4. "Personalize" this mechanic (or asset etc) using any system. You can use this one:
i. Write a bunch of crap about what you want your game's experience to "be like." Maybe it's half a page. You can also get some pictures of other games from the web, a couple of songs, and other things like that.
ii. Summarize all of this stuff in a single sentence that best describes its most important qualities. i.e. mine for Super Mario World is "focused, playful freedom." Yours could be: "running from that which will hunt you, slowly, until you are gone."
iii. Come up with a single sentence to describe the experience you would like your chosen mechanic to have (not what it is currently like). This one sentence must support your global sentence written in step ii. Yours could be: "frantic digging to escape the terror"
iv. Come up with a single sentence to describe the experience your chosen mechanic _currently_ has (i.e. or what it would have in a full game, such as what its role is in the game you took it from). The mining animation in Minecraft could be: "light-hearted punching."
v. Redesign that mechanic to satisfy the sentences from iii. and iv. Can you make the digging animation both light-hearted and frantic? Make a judgment call about which sentence should take precedence. Maybe you want a split like 80/20. The frantic element may be way more important to your vision.
5. Repeat for various items in your lists.
6. When you're ready, add new stuff to your prototype, say by stealing further from the games that inspire you.
In summary: steal a mechanic, implement it, personalize it. Sometimes you personalize one; sometimes you don't. Use your intuition. As you do this you'll come up with new ideas spontaneously. Sometimes you'll be able to personalize a mechanic even before you put it into the prototype. The more you practice the more easily "visualizing" the game will become, and the less you'll have to rely on actual prototypes.
Player
