作者：mobi0125

距离我堂弟提出一个很棒的游戏理念已经过去了一段时间。尽管我们当时所燃烧起的那股激情依然存在，但现实是我们各自都有一份全职工作。最终我们决定暂停这份日常工作而抽出1周的时间对这一理念进行头脑风暴/构思，以判断它是否真的具有价值。

因为我们所属的情况较为特殊，所以我们的出发点也非常简单，即我们将在一个普通的环境下围绕一个核心目标，并基于用户碰触屏幕而给予其特殊的反应。回想下《愤怒的小鸟》开发者最初的想法也只是让玩家穿越屏幕弹射一个特别的角色罢——这基本上与我们的构思类似。但是我们却希望能够提供给玩家更多有价值的探索。

如何将理念演变成游戏是非常重要的一个过程。举个例子来说吧，《涂鸦跳跃》开发者是在平常的某一天突然想到让一个外表奇特的生物用脚弹跳在许多随机的砖块上这一理念。尽管你并不是基于这种方式形成理念，但是没关系，理念会慢慢发生进化。不过老实讲，我真心希望我能清楚理念是如何形成的，因为这至关你在今后的实践。

我建议你们能够使用一个白色书写板，或者像我的堂弟那样使用Crayola Drawpad（游戏邦注：一种售价15美元的儿童玩具）去思考关卡的设置。构思想法并不是件容易的事。以下我将列出能够帮助你更好地进行头脑风暴的几大诀窍（虽然我不是专家，但是根据我们自身的经验我们也获得了一些有帮助的理念）：

brainstorm(from byhill.wordpress.com)

1）不抱成见——这点在游戏设计中更加重要。有时候一些稀奇的想法能够为你带来不一样的效果。

2）坚持于你所努力的目标。对于我们来说这便是关于围绕游戏理念而构建游戏结构，理解游戏玩法的物理特质，目标，以及游戏类型。

3）重视成员间彼此的想法。协作才能帮助你更加全面地去考量你的想法，并推动你们最终取得成功。创造手机游戏并不是件易事，你只有在前进过程中保持思考才能避免遗漏任何重要的细节。

4）欢迎任何反对意见-—–你不应该过度沉迷于自己的想法，并应该学会在发现任何不确定因素时迅速摆脱出来而继续前进。这样你才可能拥有更多发展机遇。

5）记录下所有内容——这并不是你的第一次理念构思过程，所以你也可以回到过去找寻对自己有帮助的内容。这对于手机游戏开发者的工作非常有帮助。

你可能需要多次经历这一过程才能获得真正的进步。而在此你还需要问自己几个重要的问题：1）我是否真心喜欢做这些事？2）如果你有搭档——你们是否能够和谐相处并尊重彼此的想法？如果你给出了其中一个否定答案，那你有可能不适合创造手机游戏这份工作，或者你需要换个搭档。

对于我和我的堂弟，我们虽然经历了理念的各种转变，但是我们却真心享受于这个过程中。尽管这期间也不乏一些争吵，但是随着我们进行更多次头脑风暴，我们便更加明确我们所做的事是对的。而这点真的非常重要。

最后我想说的是，虽然我不支持在头脑风暴过程中纵酒，但是适度的饮酒却能够帮助我们更好地放松身心，并激发出真正的创造性。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Keys to Brainstorming Success for Creating Mobile Games

by mobi0125

Some time had passed since the Christmas Eve football outing where my cousin pitched his great game idea (see The Beginning: From NFL Game to an Idea for the Next Angry Birds). Our shared enthusiasm for it still remained but as was usually the case life and our full time jobs simply got in the way.  We eventually both had a lull in our schedules and decided to try a weekend brainstorming/ ideation session to see where it would take us.

In our particular case our starting point was very primitive; we basically had a central object within a common environment reacting in a unique way to a user touching the screen.  Think about the mobile game developers who created Angry Birds initially coming up with the idea of slingshotting a whimsical character across the screen – that is basically all we had.  But we felt like there was something worth exploring.

How an idea evolves into a game is very important.When one looks at a game like Doodle Jump for instance you assume the creator was REALLY enjoying life at the time when he conjured up the idea to have an alien looking thing with springs on his feet jump on randomized blocks to infinity.  I assure you though the concept didn’t start that way – it evolved.  To be honest I kind of wish I knew where it started.  What a great game.

Doodler from Doodle Jump (Please don’t be offended Lima Sky)

Anyways, let me add a disclaimer here and say if you are going to do this you will absolutely need to keep an open mind.  And if you are going to do this with a partner – remember it is only a game.  Sorry stupid pun.  But seriously though, hide anything you could throw at each other because things could get ugly.

Also I would recommend a whiteboard, or in my cousin’s case a Crayola Drawpad to think through levels (no joke he bought a $15 kids toys to think through the game with).  Ideation is not easy.  Here are my tips on how to make it effective (not that I am an expert but we survived and came up with something cool in the process):

1)Keep an open mind (Yes I am saying this twice) – Especially in game design this matters.  Sometimes the wackier the better.

2)Keep rooted in what you are trying to accomplish.  For us it was about building structure around the concept, understanding the game play physics, the goal and what type of game this really could be.

3)Build off each others’ ideas.  Collaboration is the key to exhaustively think through your idea and give it the best potential for success.  Creating mobile games is not easy and usually requires progressive thinking to ensure no detail is overlooked.

4)It’s okay not to agree….yet  – learn not to get too attached to ideas and move on when you get stuck.  You will have ample opportunity to figure things out later.

5)Document everything – this isn’t the first of your ideation sessions so it is good to have something to go back to and eventually provide mobile game developers.

You may have to go through this process a couple times to really make any headway.  Ask yourself when doing so a couple critical questions 1) Am I actually enjoying doing this? 2) If you are working with a partner – do we actually get along and really build off each others’ ideas well?  If the answer to either of these questions is no, maybe building a mobile game isn’t right for you, that, or you may need a new partner.

For my cousin and I, things flowed naturally from one concept evolution to another.  And we enjoyed almost every minute of it.  Sure there were a few shouting matches and I dodged a stapler or two but the more we brainstormed the more we really started to believe in what we are doing.  That’s what is important.

And lastly I don’t necessarily condone drinking during brainstorming but sometimes a little help to loosen the body and mind can really get the creative juices flowing.  You need to be comfortable and carefree to be effective I will leave it to you to decide how to do that.

Now the sad news; once you have the concept mostly thought through the fun ends and the real work begins.  Were we up for the challenge?（source：mobilegamedevelopment101）