The real world can be inspiring
By Ravenhawk | June 18, 2007
A lot of gamers dream of being in game development. Or at least think of an idea or two that they think would be an awesome game, book, or D&D campaign.
But how many of them really would make a great game? At least a great game that isn’t a clone of something else they’ve played. If you really want to come up with ideas that are truly unique, you need to be getting your inspiration from places other than the medium you’re going to be working from.
You want to make a great RPG? Don’t just play RPGs. Play FPS, Fighting Games, Racing Games, Adventure Games. Then get out of your house. Look for inspiration in strange places. Go to the mall. Watch the people, watch the way they interact, what they do. Walk down random isles that you’d never normally go down in the store. Look at all the weird stuff and just think to yourself other uses that shape could go to, strange things the item could be used for…
There are a million ways to gain inspiration, but the best way is to go out and do things that you don’t normally do. Putting yourself out of your element forces your brain to work. Sure, you can come up with the best new clone of FF3 ever made just by playing all the RPGs out there.
Or you could play other types of games, and come up with something truly original…
What interesting places have you found inspiration?
Tags: Game Design, Games, Inspiration
Topics: Game Design, Games | 1 Comment »