Game Ideas are the initial spark that ignites the creation of a finished game. If you’re seeking inspiration for your next indie game project, polarservicecenter.net is here to help you explore the world of game development. Let’s dive in and uncover some incredible concepts to get you started, all while keeping in mind the challenges Polar users face and how we can provide solutions.
1. Where Do Game Ideas Come From?
Game ideas can come from a variety of sources. The most common are other games, genres, mechanics and systems, and experiences.
1.1. Other Games
One of the most common ways to come up with game ideas is to take an existing game and use that as a jumping-off point to make something new.
- Change the Perspective: Consider how Satisfactory began with the idea of moving Factorio into first-person.
- Shift the Theme or Context: Think of how Subnautica’s initial concept was Minecraft, but underwater.
- Move to a Different Medium: Among Us is famously based on real-world social games like Werewolf.
- Bring a Game Back From the Dead: Stardew Valley was created because the designer felt the Harvest Moon series had declined in quality since the PS1 era.
Screenshot from Satisfactory, showing a first-person view of a factory landscape
These games aren’t just reskinned clones. They use existing titles as a foundation and then explore unique design spaces by changing perspective, world, or medium. Consider how your unique perspective and set of influences can transform an existing game into something entirely new.
A top-down view of a level in Hotline Miami, featuring neon lights and violent action
Hotline Miami, for example, was inspired by Ikiki’s games but feels completely distinct due to its unique style. This, in turn, inspired a new generation of fast-paced, violent indie games. Every game builds on what came before. Minecraft is based on Infiniminer, Vampire Survivors is inspired by Magic Survival, and Fortnite owes its battle royale mode to PUBG. Don’t hesitate to draw inspiration from the games you love. As Terry Cavanagh, creator of Dicey Dungeons, puts it:
Everything anyone ever makes is inspired by what’s in their head – what they’ve played or read or encountered or thought a lot about. Creation doesn’t happen in a vacuum – everything is a remix! You start with the ideas you love and obsess about, and go from there to make something that’s uniquely your own.
1.2. Using Genres
Genres act as templates or recipes. They provide ready-made mechanics and conventions that you can put your own spin on.
An image of Crypt of the NecroDancer, showing a character moving to the rhythm of the music in a dungeon
A potent source of inspiration is identifying a problem with a specific genre and trying to fix it. Ryan Clark, the designer behind Crypt of the Necrodancer, felt that traditional roguelikes were often unfair due to their reliance on randomness. He wanted to create a dungeon crawler that emphasized player skill over computer RNG. Similarly, Jonas Tyroller, the game designer behind Islanders, identified the ever-increasing complexity of city builders as a problem. Islanders was their solution, focusing on building beautiful cities without the added complexity.
Another approach is to combine multiple genres. Spelunky designer Derek Yu loved platformers like Super Mario but disliked repeating the same levels. He also enjoyed roguelikes like Nethack but disliked their randomness. By combining elements from both genres, he solved the perceived problems of each.
You can also add something entirely new to a genre or take something away. The Captain Toad levels in Super Mario 3D World remove the character’s ability to jump, transforming the traditional platformer into a slower, more methodical experience.
Consider genres in the broadest possible terms. Instead of fixating on specific requirements, boil the genre down to its core DNA and build from there. For example, first-person shooters are about lining up a crosshair with a target. Traditionally, this involves guns and enemies. However, swapping the gun for a camera results in Pokémon Snap, while swapping it for a pressure washer gives you PowerWash Simulator.
An image from PowerWash Simulator, showcasing a player cleaning a dirty surface with a pressure washer
1.3. Making Mechanics
To create entirely new mechanics and systems, draw inspiration from real-world activities and experiences.
Game designer Lucas Pope, inspired by his frequent travels and experiences with passport control, created Papers, Please, a game about checking documents and deciding whether to permit or reject visitors. It’s important to have interests and experiences outside of gaming. Shigeru Miyamoto created Pikmin after developing an interest in gardening.
Will Wright’s games, such as SimCity and The Sims, are inspired by his reading and learning. He says:
I read a lot, I like learning new things, and at some point I’ll just trip over a subject or some material that I find particularly fascinating. So it’s not like I sit down and say, okay, I’m going to come up with a new game idea. It’s more like I’m kind of just exploring, browsing the world, then it’s like oh, maybe I can make a game out of this.
The way we control games can also be a source of inspiration. Designer Luke Muscat, thinking about touchscreen interactions, realized that a swipe felt like slicing with a sword, leading to Fruit Ninja. Nintendo’s squidgy analogue shoulder buttons on the GameCube controller inspired Yoshiaki Koizumi to create Super Mario Sunshine, reminiscent of playing with water pistols as a child.
Isolate a specific mechanic or system from another game and spin it off into something new. Braid began with the rewind mechanic from Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. The developers at Yacht Club Games loved the down thrust sword attack from Zelda 2, inspiring them to create Shovel Knight.
Shovel Knight in action, wielding his shovel
This type of game development, known as bottom-up, starts with mechanics and then adds a story, theme, or aesthetic. Nintendo’s Splatoon, for example, began as a game about tofu-like blocks hiding in blobs of ink. The Inkling characters and punky urban aesthetic came later.
Top-down development, on the other hand, starts with the experience and then picks game mechanics to fit. Hideo Kojima often uses this approach. Death Stranding began with a mental image of a beach lined with dead whales and Norman Reedus.
1.4. The Experience
Start with the experience you want the player to have. What role do you want them to inhabit? FTL was designed to make the player feel like the commander of a spaceship in a hostile galaxy, capturing the thrill of exploration and the panic of things going wrong. According to designer Jay Ma:
All we cared about was making the player feel like they were Captain Picard yelling at engineers to get the shields back online.
The rest of the game flowed from there. Jonas’s Thronefall started with the fantasy of building and defending a tiny kingdom.
Consider starting with a theme. Spiritfarer came from a desire to discuss death and dying in a cozy and wholesome way. Into the Breach was inspired by superhero movies and the collateral damage they cause.
Personal experiences can also be a starting point, as seen in That Dragon, Cancer, an autobiographical game about a couple coping with the death of their son. However, remember that a story or a single game mechanic is just a starting point. You need to turn it into something playable. Use the following structure to get started:
- Win State: What is the player’s goal in a level or scene?
- Obstacle: What is pushing the player away from that win state?
- Fail State: What are those obstacles pushing the player towards?
- Actions: What is the player doing to overcome those obstacles and reach the win state?
Consider Crazy Taxi. The win state is to make a certain amount of money by delivering passengers. The obstacle is a ticking timer and other cars. The fail state is running out of time. The actions involve driving the taxi quickly and recklessly.
2. General Ideation Tips
If you’re still struggling to come up with ideas, here are ten rapid-fire tips to help you get started.
2.1. Break Games Down
Break games down into their smallest elements to create a periodic table of game mechanics and systems in your mind. This makes it easier to pick, choose, mash up, and remix elements into new forms.
A stylized periodic table of game mechanics and systems
2.2. Play Like a Critic
Interrogate the games you play by implementing a critic’s mentality. Consider their pros and cons, as flaws may be opportunities for new games.
2.3. Challenge Conventions
Challenge conventions by questioning everything expected of a game or genre. Designer Rob Daviau realized that board games always start fresh, with no memory of the previous session. This led to Risk Legacy, where one game influences the next.
2.4. Play All Games, Genres, and Mediums
Play everything to discover game ideas from unexpected places. If Toby Fox had only played JRPGs, he wouldn’t have made dodging enemy attacks into a bullet hell segment in Undertale.
2.5. Impose a Limitation
Impose a limitation or restriction to give yourself boundaries to work within. After making Sayonara Wild Hearts, Simogo decided their next game would be slow, thoughtful, and black and white.
2.6. Enter Game Jams
Participate in game jams, especially those with good themes, as they offer both limitations and interesting ways to spark your imagination. For the Ludum Dare 54 theme “Limited Space”, designer Tim Fitzrandolph created Parking Garage Rally Circuit by squishing a racing game into a multistory car park.
2.7. Get in Your Editor
Open your editor and start experimenting. Some of the best game ideas emerge from the development process itself. A Short Hike started with Adam Robinson-Yu creating a cozy little scene in Unity.
2.8. Listen to Music, Look at Art
Surround yourself with music and art. A song may trigger neural pathways in unexpected ways. Kyle Gabler, inspired by Tango Apasionado, created World of Goo.
2.9. Don’t Think
Do something else to allow your mind to wander and make new neural connections. Good ideas are more likely to come in the shower than during a brainstorming session.
2.10. Keep it Small
Keep your idea small. Think of it as a seed that you will grow and cultivate throughout development. Don’t spend too much time on an idea you might not even pursue.
3. Is This Idea Any Good?
Once you have an idea for a game, it’s crucial to determine if it’s worth pursuing. As Jonas advises:
For Will You Snail, I had one idea and I just made the game. And that was, I think a stupid thing to do. It was like playing Russian roulette.
Instead, ask yourself a few key questions.
3.1. Can You Make It?
Consider your resources, including time, staff, budget, and expertise. The idea must be viable with your unique setup. According to Jonas:
If you can make the gameplay prototype in one or two days, then you can make the game in one or two years. If the gameplay prototype alone takes you two weeks to make, then it’s going to be a very long project to actually finish the game.
Reduce the scope of your game idea to fit your resources. Firewatch initially included other characters, but the team reduced the scope due to limitations in modeling and animation. Above all, ensure you’re passionate about the idea, as you’ll be working on it for a long time.
A scene from Firewatch, showing the protagonist overlooking a forest landscape
3.2. Will This Game Stand Out?
If you intend to make money from your game, consider whether it has a chance of standing out. Does it have a hook? Ryan Clark defines a hook as:
Some interesting bit of information about the game that compels people to try it, or to discuss it.
For example, Darkest Dungeon is a game about managing the psychological wellbeing of a dungeon-crawling party. Imagine if a website covered your game, what would the headline be? If you can’t write a catchy headline, your game might lack a hook. However, don’t get too hung up on hooks. There is such a thing as being too innovative.
Chris Zukowski from How to Market a Game dot com says:
You can’t go overboard and wow them with a hook that is so out there, so original, so revolutionary that potential buyers have no idea what your game even is. If it sounds too risky to them, they are going to pause, say “looks cool but I don’t trust it.” Then move on.
Instead, consider an anchor, something familiar that makes your game feel safe. This could be a well-known brand or familiar mechanics. Zachary Richman suggests making a simple game with something unexpected, such as a tower defense game where you can be hurt by your own bullets.
Jonas prefers to focus on “appeal”:
So appeal is everything that draws you into the game before you play the game. So it’s like the attraction force that you feel when you see a screenshot, when you see a short clip, when you read the short description. And all of the qualities from that that draw you into the game is what I would define as appeal. And I think there are different kinds of appeal. There’s, for example, fantasy appeal. Fantasy appeal makes you go “I want to be this”. Whereas exploration appeal makes you go “I want to explore this”. Whereas toy appeal makes you go “I want to touch this, I want to interact with this”. And you can see that different games have different appeal strategies.
3.3. How Would You Market It?
Think about your Steam store page early on. As Lucas Pope says:
So, something like Papers, Please or even Obra Dinn, when I’m even thinking about the idea, I’m thinking, how could I express this in a trailer? If it can’t be expressed in a, if I can’t imagine right now a cool trailer for this, then it’s probably not worth pursuing.
Can you show the world what makes your game interesting and worth playing?
Tom Francis, the creator of Tactical Breach Wizards, suggests:
When you start a project you don’t necessarily spend a lot of time thinking about the steam store assets you’re going to end up with, and maybe you should.
Figuring out the game’s name and Steam capsule art can help you determine if your game idea has a marketable proposition.
3.4. Is the Game Idea Actually Fun?
Our brains are terrible video game simulators. Almost every idea seems fun in our heads, but the only way to know for sure is to build a prototype.
FAQ Section
1. How can I come up with original game ideas?
To generate original game ideas, try combining different genres, drawing inspiration from real-life experiences, and challenging existing game conventions. Consider what hasn’t been done before and what unique twists you can add to familiar concepts.
2. What are some popular game genres to explore for new game ideas?
Popular game genres include action, adventure, role-playing (RPG), strategy, puzzle, simulation, and sports. Each genre offers a wide range of possibilities and can be combined or modified to create innovative game ideas.
3. How important is market research when developing game ideas?
Market research is crucial. Understanding current trends, player preferences, and competitor analysis helps you identify gaps in the market and develop game ideas that have a higher chance of success.
4. What role does prototyping play in the game idea development process?
Prototyping is essential for testing the feasibility and fun factor of your game idea. Creating a basic prototype allows you to experiment with core mechanics, gather feedback, and make necessary adjustments before committing to full-scale development.
5. How can I ensure my game idea is unique and stands out?
To make your game idea unique, focus on adding innovative gameplay mechanics, compelling storytelling, distinctive art styles, and engaging social features. Conduct thorough market research to identify and address unmet needs in the gaming community.
6. What are some common pitfalls to avoid when generating game ideas?
Avoid overly ambitious projects, lack of focus, neglecting market research, and failing to prototype early. Also, be cautious of blindly following trends without adding your unique spin.
7. How can I validate my game idea before investing significant resources?
Validate your game idea by creating a prototype, gathering feedback from target players, participating in game jams, and presenting your concept to industry professionals. Use this feedback to refine and improve your idea.
8. What tools and resources can help with game idea generation?
Tools and resources include brainstorming apps, mind-mapping software, game design books, online forums, game development communities, and game jams. These resources can inspire creativity and provide valuable insights.
9. How do I create a compelling story for my game idea?
Develop a compelling story by focusing on relatable characters, engaging plotlines, meaningful themes, and emotional depth. Use storytelling techniques such as character arcs, plot twists, and world-building to create an immersive narrative.
10. What are some successful indie games and what made their ideas work?
Successful indie games like “Stardew Valley,” “Undertale,” and “Hollow Knight” worked because they offered unique gameplay mechanics, compelling stories, distinctive art styles, and a deep connection with their audience. They also addressed niche interests and delivered polished, memorable experiences.
Polar Service Center: Your Partner in Fitness Tech Support
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Call to Action
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