Where do you get inspirations for a game from?

On my point of view, most game inspiration come from movies, books and other games (or things that look close to these). Yes sometimes there can have a great idea that can pop in my mind like this.

I don't think that there is a lot of other sources possible.

One method I used to generate ideas is to use a dictionary. Randomly open the book, blindly point to a word, and then write it down. Then do it again to get another word. Combine the two words creatively to generate an idea. Sometimes you get duds, and sometimes you strike gold. It is a quick way to generate a list of 100s of ideas. Later, you can sort out the feasability of those ideas. Think of this as a kind of forced inspiration.

Movies work the most potent creative magic for me. Being in a technical field my creativity tends to stretch no further than the mechanics to solve a problem. Board games, conversely, are spawned from the idea of conflict, or challenge. I essentially need to manifest a 'problem', then the basis for which to solve it.

Movies of subject matter that appeals to me gives me, though in abstract ways, ideas from which to draw conflict and terms of resolution that I can convert to a gaming scenerio.

marshmellows don't have any bones.

Rob

For me, ideas can come from everywhere.
For my games now, I always think what I like (this really helps because my games are solitaire games until now). So I make what I want, what theme I like, what challenge I like. And since I'm a perfectionist, I'm sure at least my games will satisfy me (and I hope others).

And, playing other games really helps too... I see how players can block each other in Ticket To Ride, and how gaining control and placing a tile can be very difficult in Tigris&Efrat, etc.

wha?

Either this is one sweet idea of a game (Halloween theme?), or Nestalawe
forgot to switch the the Iron Chef Forum :)

Mitch

wha?

I thought is was some ghostbuster reference...

This looks a bit close to what we call in french "Un cadavre exquis" ( an exquisite corpse).

The reason why it is called like this is because they made some sort of game where each person in a group had to find a word. The only information they had is the nature of the word ( ex: Noun, Adjective, verb etc. ). When all the people revealed their selected word it gave a weird sentense that contained the expression "Cadavre Exquis". Which is somewhat weird since no body has tasted a corspe to say that it can be exquisite.

I get my ideas by thinking about "states" of game pieces and relationships between them. For example, I was wowed, by the new relationship I saw in "Ra" that a bid playing card could actually be bid on by the next player. That's very clever, and I hate that it's already been done now. When you think of MTG, I believe that is the first game to "tap" cards. Very clever. When I'm thinking of say a card game, I try to keep in mind that a card can be Face up, face down, top card, bottom card, somewhere inbetween, just played, adjacent to (orthagonal or diagonal), under, over, tapped, occupied by some other object, filling some empty space, who knows what the card is, who doesn't. That it could be, traded, bid on, played, discarded, saved, rearanged, stuck in hand, be donated, and whatever else I am missing right now. Now if the card has something printed on it, that opens up a whole new set of posibilities.

Life:
Ice Lake came from my enjoyment of historical miniatures and a desire to make a game that families can play together.

The Universe:
SiegeStones came from a bizarre little revelation I had that the more things we control, the less individual power we have. For example, a teacher in a classroom with 50 kids appears to have more of an impact than one with 10. However, the one with 10 has more individual impact.

and Everything:
Calaboose came from the game mechanic, the "wild west" feel of the original (zoo-themed) game, and the fact that it's fun to speak in a bad western accent.

That's where I get my inspirations from.

As much of my game development is abstract lately, I admit to having some strange inspirations. Tile patterns on bathroom floors. Woodworking inlays on fancy tables. Scatters of loose change. Constellations. Almost any random visual pattern has a chance of sparking something.

Now, whether it is something that can be developed is another story altogether.

Hi and welcome!

I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this: You are a game designer. It's official. If you do what you say you do, then you are. Even if you've just started. So there.

i'm strange in this way, one da i can have no ideas, and the next night i sit at my PC, and have idea after idea after idea, last night i had 15 seperate ideas in about half an hour!!

the worst thing is, when i sit and plan, they branch off, and occasionally cause even more ideas!