Hello and welcome to the Casual Chat!

Today I wanted to talk about a much more broad concept when talking about making a game, and that is actually getting the ideas to make a game.

There are plenty of ways that games are made, and this is not going to be an all inclusive list, but I find that there are some similarities in how some game ideas come to be.

Let’s get started!

Modification

One thing that I notice that a lot of game designers and game developers is that they believe that game that they like is pretty good, but would be much better if they changed a couple of things.

This can be something as simple as a setting change to a comprehensive design overhaul of a system.

If you take a look at Commander for Magic, it is using the rule set of Magic but with the added restrictions in that a deck needs to follow particular deck building guide lines that are different to traditional ways to play the game.

It is still fundamentally the same game, but the rules are changed slightly. It can begin as a house rule that you think makes an existing game better that slowly evolves into a massive series of house rules that the original game only serves as a the base to what the game has become.

Genre

Some game designers and developers feel like there is a space in game design that is missing a particular genre and decide that they have an idea that will help not only get the first mover advantage, but also potentially get more games in that genre.

While science fiction card games are not rare in the card game space, they are not as common. This is one factor in why, in my opinion, Star Wars Unlimited has done as well as it has. There aren’t that many science fiction card games out there in the public conscious that were dominant in the market space, so Star Wars has managed to take up a large chunk of that space.

There are plenty of genres that are still unexplored that game designers are taking advantage of, not just in card games but other types of games, that people aren’t really exploring because they may feel like the space won’t be as supportive to that particular genre of game.

I am of the opinion that there should be more science fiction trading card games that are officially supported (sorry Netrunner) that have the chance to compete since there is a lot of fantasy based games taking up the trading card game scene that I think a shake up would be nice to experience.

Licensing

There are of course the kinds of games that are developed with the thought to sell the idea of a game to a major company so that it can be filled with another IP to sell a bunch of units.

While I think Lorcana is a fine game, I do think that Ravensburger had a lot better of a chance of getting it made because of their licensing deal with Disney making the Villainous series of games.

Licensing other IP’s to make into games is not inherently a bad thing, in fact using another IP to jump off of can be a way for a game studio to make a strong debut in the game scene in order to develop customer good will to buy an original game from that company.

The issue does come from the actual licensing agreements of the original IP owner, since if the game doesn’t sell enough units to cover the licensing fees or expectations set by the owner of the IP, then it can potentially sink a company.

High risk, but high reward.

Unique

Of the last of the main inspirations for game ideas, I do think that a unique and spontaneous idea is what most game designers hope for when making a game.

Fun fact, Richard Garfield went to Wizards of the Coast to pitch another game called RoboRally, which didn’t end up being picked up because it would have been too expensive to make the game.

Instead, founder Peter Adkinson suggested for Richard Garfield to make a game that was portable, quick, and cheap because they made RPG supplements and had access to a print shop.

This is how Magic: The Gathering ended up coming into existence, and it took the world by storm because it was a concept that had never been done before: a game where the cards affected how the game was played and that no one had all the pieces immediately.

In the hearts and minds of a lot of game designers and developers, this is the ideal dream. The ability to change the gaming landscape from having a unique game idea is something that I’m sure many designers and developers would like.

This gets more and more difficult every day, but there are dozens, if not hundreds, of games that are being made that have a unique idea among them to play. All it takes is giving that game a chance and an opportunity to play it.

Thank you for reading, see you all next time!

Peace,

From, J.M. Casual