Game Design: Simple

I have long been interested in Game Design and consider developing games as a hobby. It is a very difficult hobby to have, because creating a game can be rough. I tend to fall into the 'eyes bigger than your stomach' category. I get an idea, but it snowballs into something much too big. So I will start something, but never really finish it. Each time I get a little farther and a little better. So designing games as a hobby can be thought of as an iterative process.

SIMPLE. That is the word I try to always keep in mind when thinking of new ideas. I much more likely to complete something simple than I am something complex. Every feature I think up must pass the 'is is necessary' test. If it is not, then I file it away for later.

Simple means a few things. Easy to implement would be the first. Will this idea require a lot of time to get in the game? Will it spawn off another whole set of requirements? If so, then shelve it. Is this idea fun for players? If not, then shelve it.

Over the past couple weeks I have developed an idea, and actually have a decent chunk of the Alpha version of the game completed. All of it passes the SIMPLE requirement. It actually is a project I, as a dingle hobby developer with a job and family, am actually able to complete. That is not to say I will, as you know hobbies take a back seat to life.

I am excited to talk about the idea and will be soon.

Posted in: Game Design