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Great blog about Game Ideas – Matt Langley

Matt Langley
Member

Posts: 247
From: Eugene, OR, USA
Registered: 08-31-2006
Thought someone might find this interesting:

http://www.garagegames.com/blogs/3/13562

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Matthew Langley
Lead Documentation Engineer
GarageGames

HanClinto

Administrator

Posts: 1828
From: Indiana
Registered: 10-11-2004
hehe, I was thinking about posting a link to this same entry, Matt.

I've posted a number of links in the past couple of days, so I thought I'd hold off on this one -- really glad you posted it.

I remember Gump talking some about his notebooks filled with game designs, and this also reminds me of Charlie Mauck's Idea Portfolio -- I remember talking to him about some of his ideas on GameACE a while back.

While there are a smattering of notes that I still carry around with me regarding my old Air Locked project (2d multiplayer RPG space shooter), I sadly don't have a buildup quite the way that Charlie or Jeff Tunnell do.

As we've been talking some about polishing our game ideas, I'm reminded more and more that I need more game ideas. To hearken back to Steveth45's old analogy, we need to dig through all of the common rocks to find the rough gems, and focus on those.

I don't think I'm starting with enough "mine rough" to find very many gems.

--clint

samw3

Member

Posts: 542
From: Toccoa, GA, USA
Registered: 08-15-2006
Fantastic read. Sometimes I feel like I need to have the pump primed to get my creative juices going. The SpeedGame topic was good for me in this regard.

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Sam Washburn

Check out my CCN SpeedGame 2 Blog

[This message has been edited by samw3 (edited September 14, 2007).]

ArchAngel

Member

Posts: 3450
From: SV, CA, USA
Registered: 01-29-2002
good read; it was a learning experience.

I have a couple game ideas... but not quite at hundreds.
well, time to start transferring sketches off the sides of my class notes into a sketchbook.

..yeah, all my inspiration comes around in class. I can't show my notes to my professors, lest I show the the endless scrawlings of spaceships and warriors.

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"The generation of random numbers is too important to leave to chance."
Soterion Studios

SSquared

Member

Posts: 654
From: Pacific Northwest
Registered: 03-22-2005
Nice link. I have ideas floating around my head but I don't write them down. Then again, I don't consider myself a game designer by any means.

Definitely good advice in the article.

HanClinto

Administrator

Posts: 1828
From: Indiana
Registered: 10-11-2004
It might be neat for the new CCN to have a wiki area where people could write down and collaborate on various game ideas, to build up a big community database
samw3

Member

Posts: 542
From: Toccoa, GA, USA
Registered: 08-15-2006
I'll second that.

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Sam Washburn

Check out my CCN SpeedGame 2 Blog

Super Angel Steve

Member

Posts: 212
From: Staten Island,Ny
Registered: 05-10-2006
Cool! I have a Great Idea for a 2D Fighter,Will it count?

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CCN's Resident Color Commentator!

[This message has been edited by super angel steve (edited September 14, 2007).]

ArchAngel

Member

Posts: 3450
From: SV, CA, USA
Registered: 01-29-2002
sure, just run with it. start writing about it, sketching.

Many writers keep a notepad on them at all times, just in case they come up with an idea at any moment.
What ever idea you get, just put her down.

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Q.E.D.

Matt Langley
Member

Posts: 247
From: Eugene, OR, USA
Registered: 08-31-2006
Figured I'd post some bio info on Jeff Tunnell the author of that blog...

quote:
A serial entrepreneur, having co-founded Dynamix a development studio for Sierra/Vivendi/Universal, GarageGames, and Great Games Experiment. Director, designer, or producer of over 70 titles including The Incredible Machine, Starsiege: Tribes, Trophy Bas

Formerly Executive Director of Dynamix, a game development division of Sierra On-Line and Vivendi-Universal Interactive. Tunnell co-founded Dynamix in Eugene, Oregon in 1984, guided the company from an independent game developer for Electronic Arts to an affiliated label of Activision, then sold the company to Sierra On-line, a publicly traded company in 1990. His role at Dynamix was as product and technology visionary and creative spark, directing development of new game genres and on new platforms. Tunnell has either designed, produced, or directed more than 70 titles including the best- selling and award-winning Rise of the Dragon, The Incredible Machine, Starsiege, and TRIBES (Online Game of the Year, AIAS). He has pioneered new game genres such as Outdoor Sports with Trophy Bass and Family Entertainment with the 3-D Ultra line of products that includes such mass-market titles as Pinball, Maximum Minigolf, and Cool Pool. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a BS in Biology, and lives in Eugene, Oregon.


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Matthew Langley
Lead Documentation Engineer
GarageGames

GUMP

Member

Posts: 1335
From: Melbourne, FL USA
Registered: 11-09-2002
quote:
I remember Gump talking some about his notebooks filled with game designs

Yeah...I do have hundreds of pages of design documentation scattered all over my filing cabinets. The problem is I've never had the resources necessary to implement them. Or some were too far ahead of their time...like for one concept I had back in 99 I did a quick calculation and realized that I'd have to wait until a larger percentage of the population had broadband internet.

The negative thing to having these ideas is that every year or so I'll see a title where someone independently came up with the same idea. I actually documented a system for context-sensitive movements in 2000-2001 (I believe I called it "action awareness" or something like that). Some games over the past 6 years hit aspects of that idea...but then Strangehold came out the other day. I haven't had a chance to play it but from reviews it sounds very close to my idea. Kinda annoying, since now if I were to get the resources to do such a game people would be like, "Oh, it's just a Stranglehold clone".