"If a picture is worth 1000 words, a prototype is worth 1000 meetings." —saying at @ideo
— John Maeda (@johnmaeda) October 5, 2014
This got me thinking back to a philosophy I thought of if I ever did become part of a studio and there was a conflict with designs or ideas during pre-production, which was inspired by this interview.
The basic idea is that if you have an idea, then prove it with a prototype. Do not argue that your idea is the best if you're wasting your time and breath. Build a prototype, shut up, and play. Then discuss.
Listening in on other indies and seeing what's on their minds, I've realized a lot of them (especially amateurs and newcomers) , want to dive right in and start making a game. This usually ends with the developer quickly building mechanics that work but then give up afterwards because they have no direction.
The approach I advise is to first think of what kind of game you want to make, and then break it down to the core mechanics. Then prototype the essential mechanics and play with them to see if they are fun and have potential to go further, of if the initial idea isn't fun at all. This doesn't need to be made digitally either. What's most important is that the idea you want to display is clearly communicated. That interaction with the game idea you have will speak more than conceptualizing the idea.
I guess the prototype can all be summed up with this video:
So once that is shown off, it becomes easier to discuss ideas and you save time (and money) that would have been spent on arguing and getting mad at each other over which ideas are good or bad. The prototype will speak for itself and truly save you 1000 meetings. It is very productive overall.
Thank you for taking the time to read, and please continue coming back every week for new and interesting articles!
No comments:
Post a Comment