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[danlthemanl]

I have trouble starting games . Whats are ways you guys think of ideas for games, awesome control schemes, original gameplay. I always think of projects that complicated, and eventually give up. I want to focus on 2D and I'm just starting pixel art.

[ink.inc]

Lost Garden has a ton of stuff on this.

You should probably check them out:

http://www.lostgarden.com/

There's a bunch of essays on what works in games, and on the design process in general.

[J. R. Hill]

My most common idea-making methods:

1. Randomness.  Basically think about two or three unrelated things then put them together.  E.g. pickleball & tanktop shirts & candy canes.  Now imagine how those could be in a game together, but don't focus on the specific objects.

2. Rebellion.  Take what I really like or really dislike about a game and imagine the opposite and how I could make it fun.

3. Other people.  Either take direct suggestions or unintentional typos and imagine them as games.

So basically take something interesting and imagine how you could make it fun.  (or art or provoking or whatever)

[qmvo73hoy]

Make a game in a genre you like, look at all the good games in the genre and try and make a game that's better than them.

[gimymblert]

4. Amelioration. Continuing a promising idea
5. Minimalism. Stripping the fat of some convention

[chumez]

When I get an idea for a game, I think of all the options, features that
I want to have and just throw it down on paper. Then i start thinking about
individual features and how to go about implementing it in the engine.

And the ideas ... well I usually get them after playing a game I like.
Then I think to myself, well that'd be cool to make, but with x more features.

Or I suddenly get an idea for a story and then I shape the gameplay, characters,
graphics, etc. in my mind according to it.

Hope this helps, cheers!

[moi]

A good way to start in art creation, used by many great artists in history, is simply to copy preexisting art.
My problem is that whenever I start sthg my ideas get more and more complicated and it ends up with something unplayable and unfun and way too grandiose to be achieved anyway. So knowing when to limit one's ideas is crucial.

[namragog]

Think of something you like, and write it down.
Think of something you like, and write it down.
Think of a character comprised or related to those two things, and write it down.
Think of something related to the character, and write it down.
Maybe you don't want any characters. you should write that down.

ANYTHING EVER can basically be a game, you just have to think of it before anyone else does.

[ink.inc]

Start small. Do a 'post it note design doc'. If it can't fit on your post-it note, don't add it into your game. Also, give yourself hard deadlines, and you should really make a to-do list of everything that needs to be done, otherwise you just find yourself fucking off on the internet more often than not.

ANYTHING EVER can basically be a game, you just have to do it before anyone else does.

Fixed. At a population of 6/7 billion people, you'd be surprised how many good ideas are thought out every day. And even then, this isn't really a problem; just think of how many clones are out there on the internet.

[Inanimate]

2. Rebellion.  Take what I really like or really dislike about a game and imagine the opposite and how I could make it fun.

This would make an awesome compo.

[namragog]

ANYTHING EVER can basically be a game, you just have to do it before anyone else does.

Fixed. At a population of 6/7 billion people, you'd be surprised how many good ideas are thought out every day. And even then, this isn't really a problem; just think of how many clones are out there on the internet.

I hadn't thought of that. good job cookie monster man! 

[ink.inc]

No problem, son. That's my job. I think.

[moi]

Start small. Do a 'post it note design doc'. If it can't fit on your post-it note, don't add it into your game.

I like that. That's what I need to do.

[Greg Game Man]

the best thing i think ive learnt doing games so far is this:

"If its not fun to make, it wont be fun to play"

When i was making Bat Country, i have this really standard set of levels in mind with a cave, and a level above the sea, and i wasnt looking forward to making it. Then my mate said "put a giant shark in it!", and so the sea level had a giant shark now, and it eats you, and the cave level is its stomach. Just have fun with the process, then the game will be interesting

[gimymblert]

Don't care about fun, just make things, making is thinking.

[Xion]

Start small. Do a 'post it note design doc'. If it can't fit on your post-it note, don't add it into your game.

_{I write small.}




And They Have Large Post-It Notes.

[ink.inc]

Buy the small ones and write with a fat sharpie.

[danlthemanl]

Wow thanks everyone!!!

[TacoBell_Lord]

Get some support from friends, start a little crew or band lol. Its sorta dark when you're in it by yourself.

[ink.inc]

Yeah, it's sometimes better to do it with a friend. Then you feel shitty when you're doing a wiki-walk on TVTropes instead of getting that instance deactivation system done...

The only issue is that conflicts can put a stopper on your friendship(s).