Chapter 6: Conceptualization

---

Overview

It all begins with a spark. When you're driving in your car and you get that flash: 'I could design a game about carrier pigeons! It'll be the coolest carrier pigeon game ever!' Perhaps it will be the only carrier pigeon game ever, but to you it's the beginning of a process. And hopefully, the process we're about to show you will help you weed out ideas that just won't fly, while enabling you to refine and properly prepare the concepts that are worth pursuing.

We believe in a systematic approach infused with inspiration-taking the spark of a creative idea and allowing it to mature without killing it, then developing that idea into a workable structure. As you may have already discovered, some ideas are brilliant, but they simply don't make good games, while other ideas seem dull at first, but underneath lies a compelling game system. What we hope to do is allow you to wed an exceptional concept with solid gameplay in a manner than doesn't appear to be contrived. That in itself is a huge leap forward.

Now, let's begin with the spark.

Exercise 6.1: Your Inspiration List

List the top ten games you've played in each of the following categories: videogames (computer, console, mobile, and arcade), boardgames, social games, and physical games (like basketball and tag). Next to each one, write down why it is you love this game. One sentence per game is enough.

---