How to Quickly Get Ideas in Game Jams

how to get game ideas for game gems running out of space only get one art with NASA sacrifices must be made our ancient technology what do you do with a topic like that step 1 ask what are all possible interpretations of that topic running out of space for example that could mean shrinking levels it could mean that space is a limited resource in the game limited inventory space or even a growing player character who increases in size except to pick the one you like best in my case that's the increasing player size in other s step 3 remove treat whatever you came up with as your new topic now what are all possible interpretations of that new top why and when does the player grow maybe the player character is always grown maybe you can control when you want to grow you could grow when you eat or what if the player keeps duplicating pick the one you like best and release you grow when you eat you look at your options if your favorite you grow when you eat enemies repeat after repeating this process for a couple of times this is what I came up with you're a slime monster in a castle and need to eat nights that way both you as well as your enemies can run out of space so I think it's a cool solution for this topic coming up with game ideas

for a game jam topic is pretty much like being in a labyrinth with a million exits because as long as you keep moving in one direction you will find your way out yeah but what if you get stuck you decided to make the player grow and eating enemies for example and now we have no idea how to continue the train of thought raus it out then retreat to the last checkpoint there are still thousands of other paths to choose from and you hit a roadblock in the labyrinth just go around it the far bigger problem can be too many great options there are so many cool ideas that you don't even know what you want to go for in that case it's really helpful to remember that it doesn't matter that's how important your idea is and that's how important the execution of your ideas you can turn a crappy idea into an awesome game and you can also turn an awesome idea into a crappy game that's why I recommend go for the easiest one go for whatever is the fastest to implement or if you're not sure just pick one at random but pick something because you'll need the time for making the game when you're in a team it gets a bit more complicated cause what if you can't agree one person suggests one thing somebody else suggests something

different entirely the conversation just doesn't seem to go anywhere so instead of arguing against each other whose idea is the best I recommend you explore ideas together start from the gems theme explore possible interpretation decide together what you want to explore further and build on top of that from there let everybody contribute and decide Emma critically your idea is only this important so the time you spend arguing about it should be somewhat proportional to that during the jam it can often happen that doubt starts creeping in is the idea really good enough does it fit the topic will it be fun to play to resolve those doubts please look at this graph again it doesn't matter that's why it's usually the best to just stick to your idea and to stay on course and you modify your idea a bit during development sure but please don't start over for no reason what if you have doubts about being able to finish your game on time is there any yes you should panic over scoping is a huge huge problem in game jam so this is one of the few doubts concerning your game idea that you should absolutely take serious simplify wherever you can cut corners early cuz that will save you

a lot of stress and trouble later cut the main menu you don't need it the inventory the additional enemy types no multiple weapons no additional levels in a game jam setting people usually play your game for about 5 minutes that is why you can and should absolutely put quality over quantity that your priorities early on so you don't have to waste any time on stuff you don't need just make one good level with one good weapon and one interesting enemy because if you have some time left you can still scale it up later start with the gems topic in mind ranch out with your interpretations explore your opportunities keep going in one direction to find one of the million exit points in the labyrinth and end up with a pretty solid game idea perfectly tailored to the gems theme you still have no idea just make a top-down shooter then just play a character who can move in four directions there are enemies who are approaching you and you just shoot them that can literally fit every single topic running out of space you run out of space because more and more enemies are approached you only get one you have only one life start with

nothing you start without a gun and have to pick it up first sacrifices must be made you're sacrificing enemies ancient technology you're shooting enemies using ancient technology have fun on your game gem and consider sharing this video if you found it useful subscribe for more game development videos like this and you next one bye