Our culture is obsessed with the notion of the "million-dollar idea." Whether it's a new game concept, a piece of technology, or a business venture, there's a common belief that just one great idea can lead to success. When people hear stories about great games or successful businesses, a common reaction is to say, “I wish I’d thought of that.” Another common reaction is, “I had that idea years ago. If only I’d run with it.”
This article challenges the obsession with ideas and digs into the real value of an idea: its execution.
The Reality of Ideas
You've likely had many million-dollar ideas without even realizing it. The challenge is that most ideas are forgotten as fast as they’re created. To keep your ideas from fading away, consider the following tips:
Keep Notes: Always have a small notepad or use your phone to jot down thoughts, no matter how trivial they may seem. Having an always-available idea notebook helps make sure your best ideas don’t get lost! I even have a waterproof one for ideas I get in the shower.
Regularly Review your Notes: Create a monthly reminder in your calendar to review your old ideas notes. Try to pick at least one to spend some time refining that month.
Exercise Your Creative Muscles: Maintain an idea journal, writing down ten new ideas daily to enhance your creativity. (The article below has tips on Brainstorming.)
Recognizing the Gap Between Idea and Execution
An idea is only a starting point—think of it as a seed. Without proper nurturing, it will die. Real value is created by transforming an idea into a tangible product, a transformation that requires tremendous effort and adaptation.
The real work lies in this transformation process. It's not just about having an idea but making testing and refining it to make it appealing and useful to others. The core principle of game design is “player experience is the most important metric that matters.” In product design, this same principle applies to your customer- your idea only has value insofar as it impacts their experience by solving a problem or bringing joy. To validate your idea, your players / customers must first be able to experience a tangible version of the idea. This is the heart of the Core Design Loop. Inspiration is only the first step, then you must develop the idea, prototype it, test it, and iterate based on play tester feedback.
The Importance of Sharing Your Ideas
Ideas contribute approximately 10% to the value of a final product. While they are crucial, they are not as significant as many believe. Sharing your idea early in the development process can help establish a solid foundation and incorporate valuable feedback, essential for refining and improving the concept.
Early on, your prototypes will be ugly and not have all the features of a final product. This means you can’t always get good data from normal users, who will get lost in the details you haven’t refined yet. In the early stages, it is best to test your idea with power-users who are more acutely aware of the core experience you are trying to create. In game design, sharing these ideas with other game designers is one of the best ways to find new and interesting ways to adapt and improve your game. No matter your early testing audience, you must refine your instincts for filtering out the key information that will make your idea more impactful.
Execution is Everything
The real work begins after the ideation phase. Successful execution transforms a concept into a reality. This involves dedication and hard work, learning from mistakes, and iteration. In the beginning, you are focused only on the big questions:
Is this idea any good?
How does it differentiate from what is already on the market?
Where is the fun or joy coming from?
What is the core tension I am creating and relieving?
As you iterate, you will focus on more and more narrow questions, including visual details and price points. Scrutinize every word, number, and symbol on the final product. This process takes months and sometimes years to do right.
In short, an idea is only worth something when executed, and execution is about doing your best work and continuously improving based on customer experience.
Copycat Game Design Exercise
In this exercise, you’ll explore the themes and selling points on the back of a game box you've never played, then create new game ideas to see how they compare to the original. For non-gamers, you can try this with any product in a market you want to enter.
Select a published game you've never played before and note the key selling points and theme on the back of the box.
Use this information—and only this information—to develop five original game design concepts.
After coming up with these five ideas, play the original game. How close were your ideas to the original game concept?
This exercise demonstrates:
Even with detailed information about an established game, it's impossible to replicate the exact game from the idea alone.
This method offers an enjoyable approach to generating fresh game ideas.
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SolForge Fusion is Live on Steam Today
25% Launch Discount (April 16 - 23)
The release of SolForge Fusion on Steam is a huge milestone for my company, Stone Blade Entertainment—it is now available in Early Access on Steam. We’ve also included a free demo for anyone who wants to try it out first.
About SolForge Fusion
SolForge Fusion is a card-battling game I designed with Richard Garfield (creator of Magic: The Gathering), where players tactically deploy creatures and cast potent spells to outmaneuver their adversaries. Each card played levels up, amplifying its power.
The heart of SolForge Fusion lies in its distinctive deck mechanics. Here, every playable deck is crafted from a fusion of two algorithmically-generated and unique faction decks. When you play a card, it doesn't just impact the current round—it levels up, becoming a more powerful version and adding more strategy to your play. So, even though it’s easy to learn and set up, there are infinite possibilities.
Here are just a few of the initial features:
Earn unique digital decks exclusive to you just by playing
Every physical deck can be scanned into the app for online play.
Engage in competitive or casual PvP duels, or explore the world of Solis in our roguelite campaign mode to earn rewards and gain experience.
Customize and enhance your deck as it levels up through campaign play. This allows you to take on more challenging bosses and adventures with increasingly powerful cards.
Regularly updated with new cards and adventures, keeping the game fresh and exciting.
Compete in casual play or rise through the ranks in online tournaments to test your skills against others.
Design Diary is Unlocked for All Subscribers
Over the past decade, I've dedicated my efforts to developing SolForge Fusion. My design diary chronicles the extensive and intricate history of designing this game. I’ve now made this diary freely available from the archives for every newsletter subscriber, whether free or paid.
Your “copycat game design” exercise is a great suggestion. I’ve gotten several solid ideas because I think I know how a game will work based on the description (and get excited about it), only to find out the designer actually did it a different way. I then take my idea and run with it.