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Coming up with an idea You ask yourself. How do I come up with an idea? Answers to this question can be quite varied and you will find some in various inventors' bios. In one I read the inventor said it started in a dream. This was coincidental to me as my very first game idea started that way. As with mine, that inventors' initial idea developed into a much different final result. The good news is that you don't need to dream a game idea. Each of the games I have since developed have, resulted in recognizing situations that exist between people in everyday life. Whether at their jobs or going about home life all the human qualities and failings can be found. Greed, cunning, betrayal, rivalry, ambition, caution, revenge, trust, distrust, jealousy, intelligence, stupidity, ego, observation, bluff, lies, gossip, secrecy, guilt, honesty, dishonesty, generosity, meanness, confidence, uncertainty, humour, seriousness, prejudice, compassion, love, hate, rumour mongering, sucking up, attraction, disgust, tolerance, intolerance, happiness, sadness, righteousness, scandal, condescension, prudence, cruelty, kindness, sneakiness, arrogance, addiction and obsession etc, etc, etc. So to invent a game of life all you need to do is create a situation where some of these human traits can collide in a fun and competitive way. Add the ingredient of random luck (fate) and by experimenting with ways of using game components such as cards dice etcetera you are on your way to creating a game of life. A game of life needn't be that of an empire builder or an international spy or a space traveller. It can easily be as much fun and just as competitive if the subject matter is seemingly mundane and about shoppers at the supermarket. The first game invented was TAXI! (a kind of taxi drivers monopoly) Although this game wasn't consciously created from this formula it developed with a number of the human character traits I speak of. As a money game the object (as usual) is to accumulate the greatest wealth. Obviously greed and ambition come into play; a gamble element adds bluff and various cards in the game display acts and reactions of kindness, compassion, surprise, fear, tolerance, disgust, attraction, happiness etc. The second game invented was GOSSIP ST. This game came about as a direct result of human interaction. A female partner and myself were having a sort of amusing argument when (having already created my first game TAXI! and not ever considering I'd create another I thought, "Game", "Family dispute"? No! "Next door neighbours"? No! Let's bring the whole street into it. So became GOSSIP ST a clue type game where the residents of Gossip Street travel the footpath of life dropping clues and gathering gossip on their neighbours. Interactions between the players reflect, in a fun way real human interaction and conflict. The third game invented was PAWNBROKER. This game (another money game) I deliberately created. How? I thought to myself. What profession attracts a number of situations? Pawnbrokers receive goods sometimes stolen, give credit and charge interest; they sell goods, trade goods and auction goods. Having the elements of high risk, cajoling, bluffing skills, greed, tactics, observation, caution and humour this worked well right from the beginning with few refinements needed. The fourth game invented was CORPORATE AMBITION. A semi-clue type game it was another deliberately created. Once again I thought in what situation could these factors of human nature collide in some competitive way? Rivalry in the workplace! Just look at the likely factors that exist. Ambition, ethics, dilemmas, strategies, proposals, protocols, etiquette, decisions, sucking up, sexual harassment, backstabbing, ganging up, passing the buck, jealousy, winning support, daubing in etc. Here was a game waiting to be invented. The fifth game invented was BAG OR BASKET? This is a game of observation, risk, luck, chance, strategy and an element of choosing the reprieve of one person over another. Once again using the formula of human nature colliding. This time, its shoppers in the supermarket, taking advantage of red spot specials and being tempted to shoplift under the watchful eye of the security cameras. With each of the characters having different shopping habits and requirements rival players have to observe and record or memorise for when it becomes their turn as store detective. So to create a game of life all you really need to do is think of where some of the elements that exist in certain real life situations can be made to collide in a fun and competitive way. Whether it is shoppers, neighbours, taxi drivers, doctors, lawyers, garbage collectors or athletes it doesn't matter. Once you can find that real life situation where you could pit opposing basic elements in a fun and competitive way you are a good way there. If a game was to be invented around food or cooking adding little things such as giving players names like Larry Lardgut or Suzie Sugarsweet could give a good feel to it. “Cluedo” used character names. I use them in “Corporate Ambition” and particularly the “Gossip St” game. Interaction makes all the difference. Without doubt the benchmark in clue type games would have to be the classic “Cluedo” or to North Americans, “Clue”. I remember Cluedo as a kid and though there was some light degree of interaction I always wished it was more involved and would take longer to play. This may have been the thought behind the creation of the 221 B Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes game. Though the intention may have been to make it more involved I found this game to have no interaction whatsoever between the players themselves and it became more like work than fun. Each player would search for clues without any interplay and become frustrated waiting to use the clue booklet. I designed GOSSIP ST, with the deliberate intention that it would be challenging and include a lot of interaction between the players. In my PAWNBROKER game the wielding of the gavel as you cajole your opponents. In CORPORATE AMBITION trading memo's of dirt and voting on various decisions etc. In TAXI!, various cards produce the interaction. When taking the roll of a store detective in BAG OR BASKET? When challenging a shopper it creates interaction. It's the interaction and roll playing of a person competing with others that really makes the fun. Remember how that Monopoly money seemed to become real. In the game Scotland Yard where one player takes the roll of Mr. X being pursued by the rest as detectives, that player really gets nervous as the others close in. Create these types of emotions in a family game and you are creating a great game.
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