do you have an ideas file?

[bvanevery]

I've got a file of game ideas that I've accumulated over the years. I wrote things down when I had the occasional moment of inspiration, thinking, "Wow! That would be really neat to do." Now I'm going to go back over that file and see if it'll help me with my current jadedness.

Do you have an ideas file? Has it actually proven useful to you at some point?

[Arthur_Ostapenko]

Yea, I have some ideas .txt files.

[Desktop Gaming]

No, I'm busy enough with current projects, without worrying about ideas that have flashed through my mind and I've subsequently dismissed.

[TunaBreeze]

Over the past three years I've had a vision for my video game, and it has evolved quite a bit. I have half a dozen note books with ideas, details, methods, etc. I could probably create 2-3 games out of the ideas I decided not to use for my current game.

[bvanevery]

No, I'm busy enough with current projects, without worrying about ideas that have flashed through my mind and I've subsequently dismissed.

I never worried about these ideas, I simply wrote them down. And only if I thought they were particularly good at the time. They're short too, like 2..3 paragraphs. Once upon a time, I used to have an idea worth writing down maybe once a month. Nowadays it seems like once every 6..12 months. Wonder what changed? Maybe I've spent so much time on coding and survival recently, that my imagination has dulled.

[Musenik]

Yes, I keep a file folder with passing ideas. Sometimes it hard not to think about all the other cool games I could be working on.

Must stay focused and ship the one in front of me!

[electronicStar]

Yeah it's sad to notice that as soon as you start to implement the code and make things actually work , your imagination starts to dry up FAST.

[bvanevery]

I hear you on focus. I did stay focused... on a build system for a programming language, not a game. 8-( But now my build skills are making me money. 8-) Gee, come to think of it, games have been somewhat peripheral to my thinking for the past 3 years. Only recently did I say I was working on "Ocean Mars" again, and all I was really saying, was that I was working on a 3d engine for it again. Which in many ways is a pretty boring slog of a thing to work on. 3d technical minutiae distracts from game design. Ok, I've been highly focused on technical stuff. Need to focus on game design stuff again.

Still haven't read my ideas file. It's on a computer downstairs that I don't like using. Think I'll move that computer upstairs.

[ChrisP]

I never worried about these ideas, I simply wrote them down. And only if I thought they were particularly good at the time. They're short too, like 2..3 paragraphs.

Yeah, this is pretty similar to what I do.

I have an "ideas" folder, within with are a bunch of text files. One-liners (odd combinations of theme and/or gameplay nuggets; amusing names with nothing in particular attached to them; anything else that strikes at random and doesn't immediately go anywhere) go in oneliners.txt. Longer ideas get their own text files.

I started doing this precisely because I was having too many ideas to remember. I figured that one day the inspirations might start striking less and less frequently, so it's not a bad idea to capture the moment on (virtual) paper.

I haven't had much opportunity to use the ideas thus captured yet, though I do sometimes go back and develop them a bit more. It's fun, and it feels productive even if I never actually use them all. :D

[Qitsune]

I have loads of ideas but no clear way of noting them, many are in text files, some in a notebook, many end up in my sketchbooks because it's the only thing I have at hand when inspiration strikes. Fortunately, writting them down helps me remember. I even make a 1 or 2 pager statement when I think the idea is worth it.

[lennard]

I use myInfo (an organizer) to keep track of new ideas for projects - I like the tree structure for keeping my thoughts organized. I prefer to design on pencil and paper though but then I end up having notebooks of odds and ends hanging around forever which isn't very efficient.

[Spore Man]

I don't have a file, but ideas are written or in a Word doc here and there.
Sometimes i find something rather old that I forgot about... and then realize HEY they finally released something like that last year! (garbage bin!)
:D

[Coyote]

I did.

But now I've got enough of 'em to keep me busy for two lifetimes. Though I still replace 'em with better ideas as I go.

[Greg Squire]

...Sometimes i find something rather old that I forgot about... and then realize HEY they finally released something like that last year! (garbage bin!)
:D
That has happened to me quite a few times! As a kid I had this great idea for a game where you deliver newspapers. It was inspired by my own paper route. A year later I saw a new game in the arcades; Yep, it was "Paperboy" (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=P&game_id=8977). I guess it shows that some original ideas might not be that original after all. :(

I too keep a document with game ideas. Most I'll never get around to. I think most of us have something like it; at least some scribbles kept here and there. ;)

[Rainer Deyke]

I write down my ideas so that I can forget about them. If I actually intend to use an idea, there's no need to write it down.

[Ratboy]

I do pretty much the same thing. If I can get it down in a file, then my mind will let go of it and I can get back to work on whatever I'm supposed to be doing at that moment.

[whisperstorm]

I've been using Google Docs as a great way to quickly jot down a sentence or two while working on other things. It helps clear your mind of the idea and know you can come back to it later

[Nikos Beck]

I have text files in an "unfiled comments" directory. That's where most things go. If it's an idea I think I want to run with then I have a "filed comments" directory. Every so often I move things from "filed" to "unfiled" as the "filed" directory gets too big. I only want about twenty "filed" comments at any given time.

I acknowledge that most of the ideas won't see the light of day but I use them as springboards to other ideas. I found a game called "Outfox" and I wrote up three different ideas. One was a description of the original game. One was terrible. One was compelling. I misunderstood the premise of the game so I went on a complete tangent and came up with "Pigeon". I have no idea if it's fun to play yet. That's why it's in "filed comments", I want to explore the idea. One day I'll have the time for it.

[Videogame Biscuit]

I write down most of my ideas on a notepad I carry with me most of the time, even ideas that seem ridiculous (most of them are ridiculous). By now I have a good collection of silly ideas that will probably never get used, but I keep them anyway, just in case.

[janevblagoj]

Hello!
Quite a while I’m working on my product “Poppy and Rose” which you can download it here: http://www.download.com/Poppy-And-Rose/3000-2111_4-10638405.html?tag=lst-0-3
The game is made in the program language Delphi 6 and I hope that it will take your attention.
Please, after you try the game and study it a little bit, if you can answer the following questions:
- How can I find a video game tester, the best case is that to be some volunteer who will test the game and it will give me critics about the game.
- How is your opinion for the essential value of the game?
- What do you think about the UI of the game (it is made in Delphi 6), can I make it better and can I get some suggestions of how can I do that?
- In which category will you put this game (maybe puzzle!)?
- Is there any company that in cooperation with me can commercialize the game?
- I think that playing on this video game in network can be a real challenge! Do you think same?

Thank you,
Janev Blagoj

[bvanevery]

Personally I don't have time right now, but I did read your publisher's statement. "The aim of the game is to guess random generated numbers" is not a good sales pitch. As a programmer, I feel like I should find better ways to spend my time. "Guess the numbers!" would be better psychologically, although "Guess the words!" and "Guess the pretty shapes!" is better still for most people who don't like numbers.

Also, don't talk about how "In the previously published version on some computers there was problem with the install and starting of the game." Don't talk about how you did something unprofessional and broken previously, it makes me think I might be wasting my time downloading it.

[Tr00jg]

Yep, I have one of those, in fact I have about 50+ pages of ideas... Most of these are just that, ideas. It is mainly a concept, but not meaty enough to fit into gameplay (I still have to figure out how).

Hope that makes sense.

[vjvj]

Ironically, I'm starting one right now. I'm actually trying to really structure it for real, using the format from the following book as a template:

http://www.amazon.com/Game-Design-Workshop-Prototyping-Playtesting/dp/1578202221/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-0235631-7369250?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185078591&sr=8-1

It's been a fun exercise. I'm using a text file right now; maybe one day I'll get all fancy and use real database software.

[Nikos Beck]

It's been a fun exercise. I'm using a text file right now; maybe one day I'll get all fancy and use real database software.

I was thinking of structuring my ideas. Then I decided against it. I constantly have ideas and the last thing I want to do is spend time managing them. I have an "unfiled" folder and a "filed" folder. I make sure I only keep the best ten to twenty ideas filed. When I get a good idea I demote an idea to "unfiled".

Realistically, I only have time for two good ideas at a time: the one I'm working on and the one I plan to work on next.

[Joe Rossi]

I have notebooks full of game ideas. Some of them are now starting to appear in other peoples games, which makes me happy because if people are making similar games I must have decent ideas :)