Check out my Pinterest Killer App Icons board!

This is a mindmap I created to start to try to answer that question.

Its aimed more for the casual game developer, I use it as a loose framework for planning the casual game development and deployment cycle.

It also shows all the additional considerations that need to be thought through when creating a game.

What makes a great game

• Story
  • Gives Context
  • Immersive
• Appeal
  • Pick up and play
  • Broad age range
  • Broad appeal
  • Quick Fix
    • Short Levels
    • Gameplay Bursts
• Design
  • Interface / Experience
    • Sensible navigation
    • Pause / Resume
    • Sound Controls
  • Graphics
    • Memorable Characters
  • Theme
  • Polished
• Sound
  • Music creates atmosphere
  • Sound Effects
    • Non repetitive
    • Unique
    • Suited to the game type
• Marketing
  • Blogs
    • Review Blogs
    • Developer Blogs
  • Building Hype
    • Pre release
    • Promotional
    • Videos
  • Promotional
    • Gameplay Video
    • Press Release
    • Screenshots
    • Cheat codes / Easter eggs
  • Social
    • Rewards
    • Easily Shared
      • Facebook
      • Twitter
  • Community
  • Publisher
• Gameplay
  • Originality
  • Fun
    • Addictive
      • Evolving levels
      • New Challenges
      • Trickier puzzles
      • Curiosity
      • Surprises
    • Fair
      • Player can win
    • Psychology
      • Rewards
      • Overcoming Challenges
      • Risk & Reward
      • Exploration
    • Challenge
      • Mastery
  • Intuitive
    • Self explanatory Gameplay
      • Can be explained without words
    • Natural Controls
  • Mechanic
    • Makes sense
    • Learning
    • Role Play
    • Physics
  • Character
    • Upgrades
    • Skills
      • Take Time to master
      • Need to keep learning to progress
    • Items / Accessories
    • Avatars
  • Competition
    • Against friends
      • Social Networks
    • Global
    • Challenges
    • Betting
• Updates
  • More characters
  • New Levels
  • Bug fixes
  • New Gameplay
  • Themes
• Feedback
  • Bug Reporting
  • Praise
  • Criticisms
• Types of Game
  • Action
  • Action-Adventure
  • Arcade
  • Adventure
  • MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games )
  • Music
  • Puzzle
  • Role-Playing Games
  • Simulation
  • Sports
  • Strategy
  • Gamer Profiles
    • Socializer
    • Conqueror
    • Achiever
    • Mastermind
    • Seeker
    • Daredevil
    • Solver
    • Survivor
• Rewards
  • Unlockable items
  • Leaderboards
  • Achievements
  • Rank and Status
  • Power
  • Money

The flags are named with a capitalized two letter prefix eg AU.gif , this corresponds to the ISO3166 naming convention for naming countries. In addition territories are included as well, some of these may share the same flag as the colonising country (theres a lot of french flags!)

Also included is a comma delimited text file countries.csv which includes the two letter code, and the country name, this can be imported into a database, or used with some clever search and replacing to build drop down lists, tables, etc.

Download

Online Table Soccer game. Pick your favourite English Premiere League team, and take it to the table soccer championship! Left and right arrow keys to move. Hold Space for turbo kicks! This is an old game that I created in flash but still one of my most popular.

It needs to be an evolving document, but really helps cement the bigger picture and requirements as to whats involved in creating the game. It’s also very useful if you are going to outsource the development or graphics in the game. A subject of a later post.

I use Google Docs to create my GDD’s, they allow collaborative editing if there is more then one person involved, are easily shareable, and support inline commenting for handling feedback.

My GDD is broken down into the following sections.

Overview

An overview of the game project, the elevator pitch of the project. If you were to describe the game in 1 or 2 catchy sentences then do it here.

Game Play

An overview of the core game play mechanics in the game.

Objectives
The game objectives, i.e., why are you doing it, how do you win

Fun
What makes this game fun.

Story
What is the story to the game, why are we playing it.

Perspective
What perspective is the game, 2d, isometric, 3d, etc etc

Camera
The Camera is the view into the game world, how does the camera work, does it follow the main character, can you control it ( e.g. with a mouse look around )

World
What is the game world, the terrain, environment

Obstacles
Items in the game that are obstacles to the play.

Controls
What are the controls in the game, mouse, keyboard, thought

Characters
Who are the characters in the game, the player and NPC’s.

Pickups
In game pickups and their effects.

In App Purchasing

Micro transactions and how they work in game

Design

An overview of the design of the game. The overall aesthetic and creative direction.

Environment
The world, environment, you could detail backgrounds, locations etc, whatever is relevant to the game

Characters
Character design details

Effects
List any in game effects, dust, particle trails, etc

Animations
List of animations required in game, character, ambient etc.

References
References to similar games, videos or

Game Screens Required
List of pages / sections within the game

InGame Display ( HUD )
In game GUI Items, e.g. Score, Timer, Lives etc

Game Dimensions
Game dimensions

Levels

Description of game levels.

Sounds

Music and sound effects listing

Scoring

Description of scoring mechanics and achievements

Specifications

Deployment Targets
Where is the game being deployed, e.g. app store, Facebook, web etc

Deliverables
How is the game to be delivered, app, swf, exe. Single file, multi file….

Technology
Technology Requirements

3rd party Library Support
Any 3rd party technologies or libraries that are supported, e.g. Game Center

Assumptions

Any assumptions, e.g. graphics provided etc.  Useful if this document is going to a developer so they know what to expect.

And here’s one that I prepared earlier the GDD for the game so far

So this post will look at the first part. Concepting.

I have an idea for an iPhone game, it involves Zombies and Monster Trucks, for some reason those two things together really resonate with me. I have a few ideas for gameplay mechanics and how it might work, but nothing concrete yet.

My first stage is to create a mindmap of the game. I use this to throw down all my ideas, then I start to hone and iterate it into what I think would make a fun game.

I find mindmaps really powerful at this stage, as they are fast to use, and allow me a quick overview of all parts of the game process.

Below is my iterated mindmap of my game involving Monster Trucks and Zombies, and this will be the basis for the next stage in my game development process – creating a Game Definition Document.

So it was time for an overhaul, a move to wordpress, a simple clean theme, a smart set of categories, and content that reflects work, lifestyle and inspiration as relevant to me now.

I hope to use this blog to share ideas, processes, stories, photos, tips and tricks that I use in a professional and a personal context.

The first step was to come up with a set of useful categories that reflect areas of interest ( and knowledge) for this I used one of my favourite tool – Mindmapping ( more on this in a future post )

Below then is the first pass at how I see this blog organised, as a mindmap, an at a glance representation of professional and personal categories of interest. My goal this year, 2012, is to get at least 1 post in each of them! If not more. I can but try.