1. Making Your Awesome Game Even Better
Brittany

2. #1. Analyze What You Have

3. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses
No matter what stage your game is at, you can benefit from analyzing what you have.
Main point: What experience do you want people to have? (Game Design Doc)
And how do the mechanics, aesthetics, story, and technology (MAST) help convey that experience?

4. Prototype and Iteration
Make a basic prototype version of what you have and play it!
Then see how that experience compares to what you wanted for an experience and how well MAST helps convey that experience.
Have other people play it to get an opinion, but don’t take them too seriously. You’re making the game, it’s your time, and most importantly make a game that makes you happy.

5. #2. Inspiration

6. From Real Life Boo from Mario Series
_(character)
Wife + will-o’-whisp = Boo
Capture the experience or memory
Then abstract it with symbolism

7. Combine Unrelated Things
Language Learning + Gamification = Influent!
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RPG Character Classes + Classroom Integration = ClassCraft
Education + Games

8. Explore!
Explore options outside of the scope of your game! (Don’t be afraid to daydream and experiment with thoughts and ideas)
You don’t need to keep the entire idea, but maybe parts of it could improve the current idea or spark a better idea.

9. General Idea: Get a New Perspective
Can use the lenses from The Art of Game Design to focus on one aspect and see how well it works or how it might be added to the game
Lens #72 – Indirect Control – How do you develop the experience in a way to control how the person plays it without taking away their feeling of choice?
Lens #97 – Transformation – How is your game changing the player, and is it a good thing?
Lens #5 – Endogenous Value – What about the game is valuable to the player or yourself? The community it promotes, the experience, the achievements?

10. Use Tools/Apps/Etc. to Help You

11. Applications Twine Evernote Art of Game Design http://twinery.org
Keep track of different story lines
Evernote
Easy cloud-based note taking system
Great to jot down ideas while brainstorming
Art of Game Design
All the lenses in your pocket for free
s/details?id=com.schellgames.deck oflenses&hl=en

12. Randomization
Use a character/setting/plot/name generator to spark ideas
If something repeats in your game you can try to find a way to abstract, kind of like a formula, so you can easily generate versions of it with random information

13. Successful Randomization
Binding of Isaac (Newgrounds.com Demo) - al/view/581168