When to Kill an Idea

Hey there, Gamers and Game makers!

This week, i'm going to talk a little bit about something that can be hard to admit and even harder to do. I'm talking about when should we give up on a game and just let it die.

Any game project tends to come about from one core idea you had that you thought was really cool and would make for a great game. So, you start working on that game, figuring out what it should be exactly and fleshing out that core idea more. Time goes by and after days, weeks and maybe even months you're still working on this game but you feel like you're not making any real progress. 

If you find yourself at this point you need to ask yourself if you're in a slump and need to find your motivation or is it something more. Is this just not a good game? Sometimes an idea may seem good in our heads but it may not translate well as a game. What seems fun on paper may be boring in gameplay.

The worst thing about spending so much time on forcing this project without admitting the idea may not be working is that all that wasted time could have been spent on taking what you have learnt and applying it to a new project. The best way to avoid all this wasted time is to prototype as early as possible. Use basic art and sounds as placeholders and develop the core gameplay. Once you do this you'll soon realize if your idea is good or not. While it may be hard to admit, sometimes we have to admit that the idea that we thought was the best in the world may not be very good at all and the sooner we realize this the less time you'll waste on a project that was never going to work out.

Sometimes you don't need to kill the idea completely. If it's not working out but you feel the idea is solid but you just can't figure out how to develop it then simply shelve that idea for the time being. You can always come back to it with fresh eyes and perhaps see it from a different perspective. Always prototype early and ask yourself, Is it fun? It's hard to admit when we may need to kill an idea but it's even harder to make up for months of wasted time forcing a project. Sometimes letting go of an idea leads on to better ones in the long run.

Well, i hope this has been of some help and as always, feel free to leave a comment or get in touch.

​Until next time!