Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design

Getting an Idea

Game ideas come from almost anywhere, but they don't walk up and introduce themselves. You can't sit around and wait for inspiration to strike. Creativity is an active, not a passive, process. You have to put yourself in an inquisitive frame of mind and then go out and look for game ideas. Look everywhere. Some of the most mundane things could be hiding a game idea. Even delivering newspapers provided the basis for a successful arcade game, Paperboy, though developers spiced up the job by letting the player break windows with the newspapers and making him dodge cars on his bicycle.

One idea isn't enough. It's a common misconception that a brilliant game idea will make you a fortune. In fact, this occurs extremely rarely. You might ...