Rampant Games - Game Design

Myrthos

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The Rampant Coyote shares with us what he has learned about game design in 20 years.

When I first started in the video game business (and I’m kind of afraid to mention when that was anymore), I was pretty sure of myself. I knew games. I knew what was fun. I was a frickin’ gaming genius.

That didn’t last long. I blame Dunning-Kruger. The more professional game designers I spoke with, the more I worked on games, the more I really began to study them professionally, the more I realized I didn’t have a clue. And now, with an indie world out there full of bizarre and creative ideas that actually sell (and twenty times more that don’t), the even less clueful I feel. The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t understand.

Sure, I’ve got opinions. They’ve changed a bit over the years (releasing your own games and getting feedback from actual customers will do that), but I still hold them. Maybe not as securely as I once did. I still know what *I* like, though I’m no longer certain how similar my own tastes are to that of the general gaming public.

On the one hand, this is probably a good idea. I’m more open to new ideas and willing to “kill my darlings” – my pet ideas. I hope that I’m more able to swallow my pride to make a better game. On the other hand, this can also make me hesitant and indecisive, which is not a good trait in the fast-moving world of indie game development.
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I haven't read it through yewt, but I'd like to comment on the quoted part :

It is my understanding - and this is strongly - imho - proven by experience - that "outsiders" outside of ANY given system, have far more creative approaches to that "closed" system,
than "insders" of any given system will ever be able to have.

Why is this ? It's in part because of what I know as "the [consoring] scissors in the head". These scissors are cutting off EVERYTHING that does not fit into the given system.

The other part is, that outsiders don't "feel" , "know", and therefore simply don't acknowledge the boundaries of the given system.

To game development and to ANY creative-fuelled art, crafting, work, business r whatever,
this means that any outsider is able to be truly creative. Because of noit being bound by the borders of the system - in this case : Because of not being bound by the borders of "professioonal game design".

So, being cluelessness and especially naivety (spelling ?) has 1 very, very strong advantage over professionalism : No borders. New ideas. Which are new because they can be developed without any borders.

And, the disadvantage is, that, the more professional one becomes, the more one is "sucked" into the system - inclusive all of its borders.

This creativity can also be used in a bad sense : The assassination of the World Trade Towers was possible because some people had been thinking from outside of any border - of the current system of aviation with all of its rules and contexts.
EVERYONE was baffled so much by that approach to use whole passenger airplanes as weapons - which means that those who were surprised by that move were so much surprised because they could only think within the borders of the system they were already trapped in.

You can be sure that the bigger the surprise, then the deeper the surprised person is sucked into the system.

Another more profane example is that Newbies who are entering any system - like cultures or like languages, for example - are able to do the most playful word-games and come up with the most creative solutions "no-one has ever thought of before".

Which means that these "outsiders" are able to do great things - in good as in bad.

So, to Rampant Coyote : Please try to be at least a little bit naive and clueless ! Or at least try to remember how it was when you were it - because it enables you to come up with newer ideas, in my opinion …
 
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If good game design means what sells the best, then I don't care about good game design.
 
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