Don’t “Save” Your Ideas

                As a new game designer there’s a problem I wish I had known about when I was first trying to start. I have a ton of awesome ideas, but I have no idea how to implement them. These ideas were so good that I didn’t want to waste them on the version of me that was just starting. There’s no way I could make them the way I imagine them in my head right now! So instead, I would “save” them for later, and try to come up with a disposable idea to learn on. Of course, I could never find a disposable idea that I was passionate enough about to finish. If you’ve ever experienced this then I’d like to pass along some advice I wish I had.

                Working on an idea you love is hard, let alone one you don’t like. If you’re ever going to get any good at game design then you’ll have to design games. And to see if your designs are any good you’ll have to actually finish making those games. This means you’ll have to use ideas that make you excited and figure out how to make them as best you can. If you can’t make an idea you’re excited about happen then good luck working on other people’s ideas.

                But don’t despair at using up your good ideas! As you progress in your skills as a designer, you’ll find something magical happens. You realize that your old ideas are actually not all that great and more importantly you’ll find out why they aren’t great. Furthermore, you’ll be able to come up with even better ideas and iterations of your old thoughts.

                 If you strike gold and realize that one of your earlier ideas was actually the best one don’t despair! You can always come back to it and keep improving it. Even the biggest studios in the world resort to making sequels of their best ideas and IP. If they can reuse them then you can do the same.

                So get out there, take your favorite idea out of the vault and try to make it happen!