How to make a game when you don't have any good ideas

Great ideas are a labor of love, and come with time and constant iteration and diligence.

We all need this in our office! 😄 Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

We’ve all experienced writer’s block once or twice in life. There is an equivalent feeling for every artistic endeavor, including game design and development. When it feels like every great game has already been made, and you begin to overthink your plans, it almost feels like you’re out of good ideas.

Rejoice, for this is not the case! There are plenty of great unexplored game concepts out there, many of which are already stirring around in your brain right now. Let’s walk through some quick steps you can take to refresh your mindset and get to work even when the ideas aren’t complete there.

Drill Down and You’ll Eventually Find Gold

Nothing beats a brainstorming session. If you have a concept or theme in mind, drill down on the individual components of that theme. Let’s say you want to make a strategy game, the next level down would be “a spaceship battle strategy game”, and another level would be “manage ship placement, fuel, ammunition, and crew health”. Notice how a genre became actionable game mechanics? You’re well on your way to crafting a Game Design Document at this rate!