Level Up.pdf

Brainstorming 31
When it comes to fun and games I have found there is only one truth:
YOU HAVE NO GUARANTEE THAT YOUR GAME IDEA IS GOING TO BE FUN
You can try to skew the odds in your favor by basing your game on existing,
proven gameplay style, but more often than not, you end up with a “ clone ”
game. Look at how many lousy first person shooters and survival horror
games have been made.
Because developers always lose their objectivity during the course of
production, I have created the “Theory of Un - Fun. ”
The Theory of Un - Fun states: start with a “ fun ” idea. As you develop the game,
if you find something in the game that is not fun (or un - fun), then remove it.
When you have removed all of the un - fun, then all that should be left is the fun.
Seems like common sense, right? And yet I have encountered many
developers that have left bad gameplay mechanics and ugly art and broken
cameras in their games because they got used to them or couldn ’ t
recognize them as problems. They just didn ’ t possess the objectivity to see
that something in their game was not fun. Of course, you need to start with
a game idea that is fun to begin with. Otherwise, when you have removed
all of the un - fun you ’ ll be left with nothing!
The theory of un - fun must be applied several times during the game ’ s
development. Stop what you are doing and take a look at the game.
Make a list to determine what is making the game “ un - fun. ” It could be a
crappy camera. Lousy controls. You could have bad animations. The game
may be too hard. The game may be too easy. A producer I once worked
with gave me a great piece of advice when it came to ideas. “ Don ’ t be too
dear. ” And what he meant was don ’ t be afraid to kill bad ideas. In other
words, kill the un - fun. Don ’ t worry, there are plenty more ideas where those
came from.
Brainstorming
When coming up with ideas, I like to brainstorm. To brainstorm properly, you
need the following five things:
1. A working brain
2. Something to write with