Quote:Original post by Sneftel

Quote:Original post by lopenka
I noticed on this forum that lot of people post their designs often with unique and quite good ideas. I was always afraid of posting more info than necessary in fear that someone can steal them and make game I designed sooner than me, mainly because my development is quite slow. Maybe I am just paranoid but I would like to know what do you think about it.

Consider: suppose you've decided to make a game. Would you rather steal someone else's idea, or make your own idea a reality? Would you ever "steal" someone's idea, short of them paying you to? Where are the legions of game developers who want to make a game but are utterly incapable of coming up with ideas?

Indeed, seeing another game with an idea similar to my own tends to discourage me from using that idea. I've scrapped / modified quite a few ideas for this reason. The desire to be unique and creative is part of the reason why I like designing games.

I don't think people steal design ideas much at all. I tell my friends and random people online my ideas all the time. The trick is to never show them a full design or technical document. I've also read some of the idea threads for fun and realized that some people hit a few minor points in my design document. Doesn't bother me since it's often hard to tell what genre they might even be referring to.

I am however extremely paranoid about people taking my larger ideas, because even though I have the programming ability to develop them, I only get about five hours a week to work on my engine. Meaning anyone with enough time could implement enough if they are skilled.

Quote:Original post by jbadams

For some related reading, check out Why you should share your game designs, by Daniel Cook.

I agree with this. Simple ideas or concepts are okay to share. I mean for instance when I told my friends (who program) four years ago that I had a cool idea where almost every gun in my game will have more than one firing mode, no one copied it.

For one the person reading or hearing it has to like that genre and has to find the idea worthy to even think about copying it. They also have to be able to program (or know someone who will for them). The probability is just too low.

Quote:Original post by domhnall4h
As far as the mechanics go, you are very unlikely to have created anything new. Period.

I know what you mean, but it's not really true. I've played tons of flash games that use unique ideas or gameplay mechanics. As the article above said, new stuff is risky. I have many new gameplay innovations in my engine that are too "risky" for normal games. They are risky because they are difficult to program and require a lot of research and mistakes to get right. Not something you want when time is money.

[Edited by - Sirisian on February 5, 2008 3:11:56 PM]

Ive posted some idea's. and i like to think some of them good
but all pretty much relate towards a mmo, which is out of my league

so if someone does take an idea I posted and makes it happen, Id be happy ^^

But as someone said, idea's are worthless, like most patents ive seen
you came up with the idea, but until its put into practice and proven,
its next to rubbish

If your idea is exceptional, only share it when you have started to make it and the end is in sight, IF you want to and have the capacity to make it.

When you have a great idea, the temptation is to tell everyone about it as its pretty exciting. If youre not ready to make it then don't risk telling people that could, theres very little to gain until you have a working demo and could do with some extra ideas/opinions.

you wouldn't believe how long I've been trying to argue that point here - just look at my gamedev points!

unless your planning on retiring off the idea you have now can't you just think more up latter

I've always thought the phrase "ideas are a dime a dozen" was to highlight that ideas in isolation aren't worth anything; what matters is your ability to implement them. Obviously some ideas have more potential than others, but if you don't have the ability to realise that potentional (whether by yourself or by mobilising a team to help you) than the idea is essentially worthless.

Regardless, that phrase is usually only trotted out in response to people who think they can make it in the industry as an "ideas man"; the sort of job that involves dreaming up fantastically impossible game ideas and then leaving them somewhere for a team of magic elves to implement while you go play video games waiting for your big pay check.

As for whether you should post your ideas: with any decision, you need to weigh up the pros and cons. If you do post your idea on a design forum, you're much more likely to get important feedback on how to improve it, but there's a chance someone may get inspired by your idea and implement something similar. If you post your idea on a help wanted forum, there's a chance someone might borrow your idea but without it you're highly unlikely to attract anyone.

Personally I think the positives of sharing ideas almost always outweigh the negatives. The only case where I could think it is a problem is you come up with the one-in-a-zillion golden game concept: the riddiculously easy idea to implement that's bound to be a success. And if that's the case, why do you need help with the design? Get a prototype up and running and market that sucker.

Quote:Original post by Trapper Zoid
Regardless, that phrase is usually only trotted out in response to people who think they can make it in the industry as an "ideas man"; the sort of job that involves dreaming up fantastically impossible game ideas and then leaving them somewhere for a team of magic elves to implement while you go play video games waiting for your big pay check.

Yeah, exactly. It's true that a great idea in the hands of an experienced person could be worth a lot. But a great idea in the hands of someone inexperienced is worth less than an average idea in the hands of a professional, because only the latter is likely to get made, partly because 95% of the time the former is completely impractical.

Also, most of the people who try to argue that ideas are super important, are the people who tend to have the ideas that are impractical to implement, and end up complaining about 'the industry' hampering development. They don't take into account that the industry exists and is largely the way that it is because making software is difficult, and because you can't divorce game ideas from the underlying software that realises them. When they say ideas are important, what they typically mean is that they want you to take their idea more seriously. But as with any invention, the viability of a design is something that needs to be backed up with a prototype, not by verbal insistence.