What's your process?

My method:

1) The idea. I always get the good ideas right as I'm about to fall asleep - generally a night before I need to get up early for some reason. These nights I dont sleep.

2) Write out a basic ruleset in my half-brained-sleepless stupor. It will not be very detailed, it will be full of mistakes and irrelivent information, but it will at least make sense for later.

3) Get rid of the stupidity from #2.

4) Think on the game concept for a day.

5) Write a coplete ruleset, as complete as I possibly can before even playing the game. [I generally design card games, the reason behind this is a prototype for a card game is a pain to do and then revise to a new ruleset]

6) Playtest and revise

I can genearlly get a game to a "fun" state for most players within a week. I've been working on a CCG (see thread a few down from this) for over a year now, but initally I tested the game less than 4 days after I got the idea. It's been all revisions and artwork from there.

How true!! I usually start with an idea like "Wouldn't it be cool if there were a game about..." and then flesh it out from there. Then, when it gets to a state in which it doesn't work, I leave it alone and work on something else.

In the process of distracting myself with other things, problems in games tend to work themselves out. That is, a solution offers itself to me. Once presented with a possible solution, I'll go back to that game and try it out until it breaks and once again I leave it for other endeavors.

Funny how inspiration comes more at the edge of the mind's eye rather than right out in front. Makes it more of a cat chasing its tail experience for me.

I've been working on a fantasy-type game reminiscient of Dungeoneer, HeroQuest, WarhammerQuest, etc. I'm currently trying to decide between making it a Knights of the Round Table quest game or just a generic dungeon crawl...

This is how I am working on it:

There are a lot of fantasy games that I was playing, but none of them really hit the spot for me. I would initially try to "tweak" the rules to get a game that I was satisfied with. But after a certain point, I thought to myself "Why not just design my own game from the ground up?" After all, who knows what you want better than you?

Having a lot of experience in the fantasy genre of gaming, I already had a pretty good idea of what I did and didn't want. I also looked at people's comments on this forum and the BGG concerning what people liked/didn't like in a game.

I then made a list of all the things that my game should ideally achieve - playable solitaire as well as with others, playable competively as well as cooperatively, modular board for replayability, playable in 30 minutes to an hour, the kind of mood it should invoke, and so on.

I then just spent the next few weeks brainstorming. I'd write down every idea that came to mind, as well as making some sketches. This is the part where I can easily get hung up on. I could go on coming up with ideas forever and never actually finish the game.

The next step I took just the other night proved helpful: I made a VERY rough, VERY simple prototype that only involved a small fraction of the game's concepts and mechanics and I played it. Doing this let me know if I was on the right track or if I should scrap it altogether.

As stripped down and as basic as it was, it was fairly enjoyable. In fact, upon playing a very crude, very basic prototype, I immediately had a ton of new ideas!

Since I have a few friends that are coming over in a couple of weeks (to play some D&D RPG), I hope to have a more advanced prototype ready that I can hopefully talk a couple of them into trying. This way I can see how other people that are into fantasy gaming react to it and hopefully gain some useful criticism and recommendations.

It's good to see that a lot of people do things the way I do them. I guess I tend to weed out my not-so-hot ideas right at the beginning - of course I'm not talking from huge experience here. I've only designed 2 games that are in the prototype stages - but I've got 4 more solid ideas already jotted down in bad handwritting with aweful drawings.

I do find it a good thing when working on a tricky mechanic or a wooden part of the game (by that I mean stiff and un-fun, not little wooden thingies) to just leave off for an hour or day or week. Usually I'll get a great idea about it out of the blue.

Anybody do things way differently than the 4-9 step process? Like stay up for 48 hours and crank out 2.5 games?

Cheers!
Ben

stynx9000 -- my process is a lot like yours. The biggest variable from game to game, though, is how I come about the "idea" ... or even what game element the "idea" happens to be.

Sometimes the idea revolves around the theme, such as from the Z-Man game contest, or when my niece asked me to make a game about cows, because she likes cows.

Sometimes the idea is about a mechanic, often after playing a game with a mechanic I liked, but thought could be implemented better.

Sometimes the idea is about a type of interaction, generally after playing a game that should have had a lot of interaction but seemed to fall short.

The ideas often end up striking either immediately after playing a game, or sometime between 1 AM - 3 AM... When it's the latter, I do most of my initial note taking, rules development and prototyping instead of sleeping, sometimes greeting the wife with a freshly-printed out game just as she's waking up saying something like "see what I did while you were sleeping?" just before crashing into a coma.

For myself I am a visual person. Alot of ideas come to me. From other media sources. Movies, games, books. or mostly on what I am interested in. For instants, the survival horror board game, this idea was based on me working at the cemetery.

One morning at 1:30 am or so light fog started rolling in from everywhere. Just like in a classic b movie. It was so strange seeing this fog roll over the cement walls that was about 3 feet in height and then to my left was a vacant grassy area. I had the headlights on and I noticed that the fog was becoming thicker. I stepped out of the vehicle to check this mist out. The air grew dense, and very warm. The city lights were no longer visible from the streets about 200 or more feet away in some directions. I was amazed on how the fog grew larger and larger.

I returned to the vehicle and sat inside and with out any hesitation and warning a sea of images rushed my head. i was in a transe like state of mind. That is when i started the game. After 8 years still in production I have been greatly amired my diligent work.

From experience on the job or home life or just traveling around town, or asking people at arcade plazas or game stores etc what they would like to see in the near future or havent seen in a game yet or what their favorite game is or would like to be.

Now for me I have studied the game guides from various publications through out the years and from my own ways of coming up with an easier format on game design. But there is no right or wrong way of game design. I actually do alot then just work on the game mechanics and play testing. I start with a game title. I have over 140 game titles that of course no one has ever seen. I can literatly go from one title to the next and tell you what each game will be about. I also work on two to three or four game titles at a time and i never get side tracted.

I actually can tell you that if your project is bigger then you and you know you can finish the details but having a hard time to stay focused. Step back and see what you have already. if not then work on just the characters or a simple storyline. if you still have some trouble take a day or two away from the idea but don't let it fall behind then your idea will be just another idea sitting on the self or sitting in the trash. Keep your suggestions, ideas, drawings (if any) neat and clean. Date and sign everything you have done.

I take a note pad and a pen or pencil with me everywhere I go. I try to out do myself in everyproject I work on. There was a time in the very first project I was in production with. The game can be used in to different formats. One is a board game similiar to that of a dungeons and dragons game or a video game of medevil knights and creatures. Hmm well its still the same idea but you get what I am after. Anyways. there would be times after the second year of production I was so bored with it I almost didnt complete the project. But I knew that If I keep working on it I would know that the results will be astonishing.

Don't give up. Stay focused, and take breaks after 2 or 3 hours. But that is from my own experiences. Some times I wouldnt leave my room even when I was married my ex would never see me because i was so involved in the game production then her. Also game design takes persistants, long hours of dedication and if you have a busy schedule, make time for your self if you would like to keep the game idea fresh, new , original, and up to date.

Just my two cents ! ya!

BullDog