Game Design

Great idea ?

Genius ideas are generally stupid ideas... until the world realizes they are relevant after all!

Most stupid ideas are and stay stupid ideas, but geniuses know that generating these stupid ideas is essential in finding great ideas.
Hence, a genius needs 2 main qualities:

the ability to generate lots of ideas that look out of place,
and the ability to identify which of these ideas is a genius idea.

So if I say something stupid, bare with me, I'm just training to become a genius! :)

I highly recommend that all creative people follow this course that explores this thought in greater detail:
Lynda.com generate ideas in better quality and quantity

Finally in our business, it is important to add that a genius idea is useless without the capacity to make it happen.
Oftentimes the essence of a great idea is that holds an unexpected way to make something valuable happen, breaking status quo and expectations.

The paper tower

This exercise gives a hands-on experience of good and bad things that can happen on a project. Students are required to build the tallest, best free standing structure with 2 sheets of paper and no tool except for their own body.

This is quite a classical exercise, except that I usually ask the students to iterate 4 times! Strangely enough it's much less fun the 4th time. Also it is quite a challenge to build a sturdy tower in the time alotted: making sure it does not collapse at the very last second while taking some risks to make it tall. Well guess what... game projects go exactly the same way!

Hera are a few pictures taken during these courses, a very interesting exercise indeed...