On Ideas; or, "Commit to the Bit"
When we're early on in a new project, often our brains get overwhelmed with the possibilities and choices to make - and it can hinder our progress
As a newer game designer, starting a new project can be daunting; you become overwhelmed with thoughts and ideas of what this game or adventure could be, you want to make sure it’s the best possible project you can make, you want to make a statement. This is usually a bad line of thinking that can lead to you becoming paralyzed in your process. If you think everything needs to be perfect on the first try, then you’ll never be satisfied.
Something in particular I’ve found is that, over the process of design, I come across multiple paths I could go down for a project; sometimes I come across them at the same time, sometimes I start on one and then the other reveals itself, or I consult someone and they bring up a really good point I hadn’t considered yet. Now I have to think about things! I have to make a decision! My ADD mind despises this concept.
I’ve found that, in some projects that I’ve started, this decision point can lead to a total inability to continue until I am certain I have made the right call. This is my game, after all; if I don’t get it perfect, what am I even doing?
But here’s the thing: that’s how you kill your project.
If you start thinking that you need to get this mechanic or paragraph or rule right on the first try, you’re going to worry about whether it’s the right decision until it suffocates your desire to work on the project. If you never answer the question “how should I do this?”, then you can never finish the project.
So, what do you do? For me, the important step was remembering something crucial: until you publish the book, nothing is final. Therefore, just commit to something. This is easier said than done, but I think realizing that nothing is final can help you in terms of ensuring the work actually gets finalized. If you have two options on how to do something, and don’t know which one is better, just pick one at random and work with it; either it will reveal itself to be a bad idea (playtest your games), or it will end up being the correct choice. And if it is the bad idea, guess what? You can change it! You can rework that section to the other idea, or maybe a new, better way will have revealed itself!
Of course, this process of iterative design only works if you are working for yourself or if you don’t have a solid deadline; but, as a beginner, you likely won’t have those restrictions on yourself, especially if you’re like me and have only released one-page games or small adventure frames. So relax. It’s a learning process.
Just commit to the bit.
Hi all, smaller post this week, just had some thoughts that came about while starting a new project; I’ll probably be posting about that as I get deeper into it. If you like what I write, be sure to share it with friends, and if you want to see more from me, follow my socials and subscribe here! I post game design thoughts and product reviews about every two weeks, so be sure to stick around!