How to come up with a winning idea

Great ideas start with humble beginnings

Everyone always makes fun of the “idea-guy”, but in reality having a good idea and executing it can be one of the most rewarding things in life.

Nowadays it seems like almost every idea has been done… but has it really?

Sure, the internet has connected humans like never before and encouraged the instant transfer of information making previous non-possible ideas now even “easy” to make. And now with AI, it seems like there’s nothing else to improve or iterate on.

But that’s not true. We see it everyday. Lethal Company beating Call of Duty sales, Content Warning selling a million copies in it’s first week (and the game was made in only 6 weeks!).

They’re not providing “revolutionary” ideas, but they are taking something that already exists and making it better by putting their own twist on it.

Especially in game development, one of the most artistic mediums that combines art, music, level design, story, programming, there are an infinite amount of ideas and any one of them can be the next big hit.

But how do you come across these ideas? And how do you know which ones are actually good?

My Two Main Methods

I prefer two main methods:

1. See what other people are doing and how you can improve on them.
2. Deep thinking.

Method #1: Market Research

Let’s dive into #1. This is essentially market research. What are other successful games doing? What is a part of the game you can take and put your own unique twist on?

There are multiple ways to view trending topics. Scrolling through Steam daily and seeing the New and Trending, checking out tools like games-stats where you can even see the revenue behind different genres, or even taking inspiration from “real-life” trends on social media.

Participating in game jams is also great to get the brain thinking on a specific “theme” and then seeing how others interpreted the theme. It also encourages you to finish a prototype in a limited time and get immediate feedback, a very underrated way to test an idea.

You can see game jams on itch.io, there are dozens every day.

Fun fact: Rollerdrome, winner of a BAFTA, started off as a game jam idea for GMTK’s jam. You can see how much the game changed from the initial prototype.

I use this same method for making YouTube videos. Everyday I’m looking at what others are doing, what’s succeeding, what I can improve on and provide my unique twist. If you are consistent you start to catch patterns and eventually, your big break.

Method #2: Deep Thinking

The next part and my favorite is deep thinking. What exactly does this mean?

Set aside all distractions, take a notebook and pen, go outside, and sit somewhere nice. Just stare at things. Our minds are always “on the go”, staring at screens and never truly resting. But really we get our best work done when we give it a break.

Ever have an “impossible” problem you spend hours on, only to take a break and figure it out in 5 minutes? Yup, that’s our subconscious at work.

Some of my best ideas are in the shower or when I’m falling half asleep. Be sure to keep a notebook nearby and write them down!! There is a 99% you will forget.

I also like to mind-map my ideas on tools like Milanote which allow for visual storyboarding.

ChatGPT is also great for coming up with ideas, just keep probing it for unique ideas/twists and you might be surprised what it comes up with!

A Personal Note

I made a mistake in my current game project, BUMBI. I didn’t think of the “idea” as much before-hand and made it as I went. This meant that after two months I decided to “re-brand the game” and almost completely change it. If I had solidified out the idea beforehand, I wouldn’t have wasted so much time. BUT I’m really excited to show you the cool changes soon, so make sure to wishlist on Steam it helps me a lot :)

Hope you got some inspiration from this newsletter, until next time!