where good ideas come from

// Gabriel Stancu, Amber, 2016

about

Bogdan Dinca

Nick Skillicorn

creativity

Who can be creative? Everyone

Who is creative? People who do it over and over again.

Creativity: Producing a new idea which has value to someone

Creativity: Problem solving

good ideas?

Brain Power

memories

mimetics

special ideas

ideation

exec

utio

ngame as creativity sensevisionprototypebuildsensevisionprototypebuild

„Even in modern art, artists have used methods based on calculation, in as much as these elements, alongside those of a more personal and emotional nature, give balance and harmony to any work of art.”

-Max Bill

sensing

You and your team will go through a process of expantion. You will be conducting a wide exploration of the topic you are tackling.

Your tools will be rational analysis and an intuitive and associative set of processes that will give you INSIGHTS. This is not about solving the problem but rather about making it your own.

step1:kick off

You need to have a problem and a team

Be prepared to answer the following questions:

Build your Ideation team. Keep in mind this is problem solving

• What is your game making vision. • Why does this game making vision intrigue you. • Why does this game making vision matter to

you. • How will this make your world a better place.

Share with your team and agree on a joint missionCollaborate: Share every bit of info from now on.

step2: explore and consume

Collect data to dispel myths, discover surprise opportunities and surface weak signals

Develop a board to provide direction to the research• This is research, look to compile trees of rich data-driven visualsfrom various sources of games / products that fascinate you• Pages should be easy to review. Focus on infographics, charts,

tables,etc• Use tools like Pintrest / Google Drive to make your life easier

• Identify weak signals: look for patterns that dont define the subject but do recur proeminently.

• Create INSIGHTS

Create a Fact Pack:

When you have the Fact Pack :

step3:play like your gamer

Deeply understand your audience by playing like them for a while

Develop empathy for your audience• Understand who they are, what their

expectations and culture is. Document this and try walking in their shoes by playing the games they are playing• Document your experience. Capture video and screenshots of your memorable moments and add them to your Fact Pack

• Identify Pain Points and add the to your Insights

Document your findings in a Mind Map

step4:identify user relations

Understand the dynamics between gamers, communities and game makers for more insights

• Map the types of audience, stakeholders and key factors that create the microsystem arround similar games• Identify the prevailing dynamics in the system surrounding the ecosystem you are building your game for.

• Document your insights in a Mind Map

step5:connect the dots

Cluster your insights for a handful of original sparks to emerge Sparks

• This is where you use your Insights: surround yourself with harvested clues and pictures

• Pick Insights that inspire you and combine them into multiple Sparks

• Gather your emergent sparks to and prepare for the Big Question.

Ideally have at least one night between each ideation step.This is when Ideea Incubation happens.

Sleep.

part 2:visioning

In this phase the team members ideate new concepts; they develop, cluster, and selectdifferent ideas for potential big breakthroughs.

step6:the Big Question

Gives a direction and even paints the contoursof a ‘solution space’.

Formulate a Question that your game will answer to:

The Formula:

“How can we [Action Verb] for a [User] who [Insight] and/or with [Need].”

step6:the Big Question

Some examples of the questions we have been asking ourselves:

• How can we create an addictive compelling community driven game for mobile users?

• How can we give any mobile gamer an engaging role inside a virtual community?

• How can we emphasize user experience in a community driven mobile game?

step7:back to the fact pack

Go backwards. Randomly.

Once you have the Question you want new ideas for:Go through your Fact Pack again and identify Insights that are relevant

Brainstorm around these and try to answer the question. Map everything.

step6:what would Mother do?

Switch roles for a bit. It might give you interesting points of view.

Once you have the Question do some role playing:Agree on a role play relevant to your problem (IE RR Martin if you are building a narrative game). Use prompt questions to answer your Question in different ways

Take 5 minutes per prompt to write down every idea that comes to mind, don’t be selective; the team should create a long list.

Share with your team. Jolt down the ideas that caught your eye. Find the essence behind the crazy idea and convert it into a fitting solution to your Question.

step7:bright stars and revelations

Its time to pick the roses from the weedsCreate 2x2 matrix: ‘Success’ and ‘Will have an impact’

Label categories: Bright Stars; Wild Cards; Low HangingFruit; Wet BlanketsWork with your team and center the most appealing idea on the map in the Bright Stars or Wild Cards category.Grow your central idea! Expand it by enriching it with elements from the other ideas in the matrix that were initiallydismissed.

step8:the elevator pitch

This is it!

Contract you idea to a meaning full short narrative

Keep in mind all key ingredients like: what is the vision, who is the target, what are the needs, market, competition, etc.

Keep it short and to the point

We made some mistakes so you don’t have to!

nobody is perfect

4 is a party. 5 is a crowd.Chemistry matters.

Use the right people. Execution is not creativity.Criticism: New ideas are rough and they are not always the right answers.

Don’t rush this process. Aim for 2-3 weeks. Incubation is critical.

Now you just have to build it :)

Gabriel StancuGame DirectorGabriel@amberstudio.com