Have we ever wondered what makes some games successful and others not. There are several bullet pointer articles that mention the dos and don’ts for game development, but none entirely guarantee game success. Actually there can never be any documented method to guarantee game success.
Games like movies rely on the audience views, if there is value for money it is successful, otherwise a failure. And there can never be only one aspect of a game that can make it successful…like films it’s always a team effort that makes it or breaks it!
I was listening to a video on Ted on how great leaders can inspire action and it got me thinking about how our approach towards game development can largely affect a success or failure of a game, if the principles from the video are put into action. To give you a brief on the video, Simon Sinek talks about the Golden Circle and the 3 rings of behavior that most people follow in the order of - What, How, and Why while talking about their product or idea.
Game Development in most cases begins with a ‘what’ game concept, mostly inspired by another successful game of a similar genre or an old arcade/online game. This is then followed by a ‘how’ for development where logistics like budgets, time estimates, teams involved, discussions on the development cycles etc are finalized. The ‘why’ is never reached because nobody ever knows what inspires them to develop a particular game idea.
Now think, if we reverse the order inside out i.e Why, How and What. Would that alter our approach to game development in any way? Lets try it to see a changed perspective on how we can look at game development now..
‘Why’ do I want to work on a particular game idea?
Is it because I am confident of thinking out of the box about an addictive concept with a high replay value? Or I believe the idea is unexplored and new for the audience, so they will be drawn to it making it very successful? Or I believe we have the potential to not limit ourselves and push the edge of the ideas we discuss, making the development process fun for ourselves while coming up with a fantastic game, and so on.
If an idea cannot convince you, it should be best dropped rather than putting more logistics into it.
‘How’ do I begin my game development process?
This shouldn’t be too difficult, if I am passionate and convinced, so my team will be!
A motivated team always puts in an extra effort to meet goals thus easing the complete development process.
‘What’ do I want to achieve with my game?
I want my game to reach you, my consumers!
This theory in relation to game development may not seem completely accurate in practice, but a reality also is, all good ideas have always come from innovators; those who have had the conviction to stand out from a crowd! And the Golden Ring says just that - think Why, How & What and not the other way round.
Just my two cents.
Mariam
