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"What inspires the developers?"

At the moment we can’t get enough of computer games. We want to know what is coming out in a year’s time, how small the next batch of new consoles is going to be, whether they play DVD’s and connect to the Internet. We want to know everything there is to do with the gaming world. We are getting greedy, but that’s not a bad thing it just means we are widening out gaming vision and venturing into different genres. We are spoilt for choice. I don’t think I can ever say ‘nothing good is out at the moment’. When people make stupid comments such as ‘FFX sucks’ then they obviously don’t really think about the statement they are saying. They are implying that FFX is a bad game, which it obviously is not. It’s just not the game for them, lots of work goes into these games, but where does it all begin?

The numbers of games are increasing in numbers dramatically; as new consoles come out we can expect at least 150 titles to be out on each one. This is great for us gamers because there is an even wider market of games. We will never be able to buy all these games (unless we are loaded) so its great we have a wide range to choose from. Most of the games are very different, people have thought up these games and then spent lots of time developing them. Where do the makers of these fantastic games get their inspiration to create characters such as Mario?

The world as we know it is full of material things and will eventually be packed full of man-made objects. Some artists walk around the countryside and get inspiration from nature. Where would you get the inspiration to create a character such as Crash Bandicoot? Did they sit their drinking orange juice, and looking through an animal book and suddenly *pop* they started work on the now loved Crash Bandicoot series. Maybe the makers were on holiday, visiting a zoo whilst happily munching on a banana when *wham* out of the blue a monkey came rolling out of its cage in a large hamster wheel! Could it be that the makers of Sonic the Hedgehog were one day strolling round the public footpaths in the countryside, when a cute little hedgehog suddenly zoomed along the footpath?

When I am looking for inspiration I usually turn to listening to music and usually my ideas develop from there. Maybe the makers of Rez were listening to some funky music and decided that it would be amazing if a game were based around music. It would be great if the makers of all these great games got together and wrote a book about where they get their inspiration. This would help the future generation of developers to make top class games that are out now.

What do you think inspired the makers of Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Wario? If you were or even if you are, where would/do you get your inspiration to create such famous characters?

Thanks for reading :)

There is very little that's original anymore. Most of what is coming out has already been done several times over.

"Dilbert" creator Scott Adams, in his book "The Joy of Work" (I think it's that one), he likens Dilbert and Dogbert to Charlie Brown and Snoopy. In fact, that book tells a lot about sources of inspiration.

A great source of inspiration in fantasy is, of course, JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. But it borrows heavily on Nordic myths and legends (among others).

Speaking from personal experience, I do a fair bit of adventure design for various paper-based RPGs, and there is a lot of bits taken from various places; my main one contains various references to elements in the Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy, and Phantasy Star console RPG series. Reading numerous books and magazines in the genre also provides additional ideas. In fact, it started out as a Dungeons & Dragons game based in the Final Fantasy II world (post-game end), but has in the past ten years "evolved" into something where both the D&D and FF2 elements are fairly obscure.

In all, I would take in all of these various sources, pick out the "best" elements (ie. those that appeal most to myself), and add them in, adjusting them to fit my "ideal". Many others I've spoken to who also design adventures have said they find much the same.

Hercules! wrote:
> I think developers get thier ideas from dreams they have and maybe
> from thier kids (if they have them) because they (the dreams) are
> always full of the weirdest and most unimaginable things. Kids minds
> are also the same. Especially young ones.
> They can gather ideas from many things though and all of them can be
> from different types of things. Thinking of one little thing, and
> another, and then combining them to get a fun game or whatever.


Its not just young kids, Im 17 and have a messed up imagination and have often gotten inspiration for things in my dreams, but to be honest if you analysed and deconstructed the dreams you would see exactly where everything came from your memory, its just that your schemas dont control how you see your dreams so weird and wonderful interpretations (the dreams) are possible. I sure hope I dont lose this abilty or 'defect' as I get older.

I think developers get thier ideas from dreams they have and maybe from thier kids (if they have them) because they (the dreams) are always full of the weirdest and most unimaginable things. Kids minds are also the same. Especially young ones.
They can gather ideas from many things though and all of them can be from different types of things. Thinking of one little thing, and another, and then combining them to get a fun game or whatever.

I get my inspiration from everything and anything. Just everything around me and anything like dreams and other peoples imaginations and stuff like that.

Thats one great thing they have, a bizzare yet creative imagination.

But, to tell the truth, I dont care where they get thier inspiration as long as what they have done with it all has gone to good use and eventually provided a great game.

Nice post.
:)

And wats that gotta do with inspiration? Cleary RCS got it's inspiration from Vinny Jones.

Someone said somewhere that RCS was a really original title.

Asher D wrote:

> red card soccer - speedball, sega soccer brawl


But asher u dont like Redcard so how can u compare it to such greats?

I like it anyhow.

Developers get their ideas from old games that have been released for yonks.

The more original games of late:

red card soccer - speedball, sega soccer brawl
Frequency - Rez


Mainly it's just the same item being sold in fancy packaging.

True inspiration is a rare thing, mostly ideas are "borrowed" from elsewhere, at the minute I am working on a treatment for a film for my School Media project, mostly its just little ideas from here little ideas from there, a setting from this, a character type from that, but when its all fitted together it seems completely fresh and exciting. The few moments of inspiration usualy come in the details, how to say this or how to do that, the base ideas are usually built upon foundations already layed by peers, much like all videogames are based upon older ones. Does SpiderMan the movie have traits in common with all the old superhero movies? Of course! Does tekken 4 have traits in common with Street Fighter? Of course! Videogames by definition cannot be truly original, they can subvert the traditions, or add a fresh twist to an established style, but eventually it can be categorised and compared to previous work.

Looks like a great post there Kerrang!

*whispers*

I'll reply properly later, I'm not supposed to be on till 6!

Another good post in the sony forum! Welldone.

Basically i think creativity is a skill that very few have. Ok everyone can think of stuff but it does take something special to make something stick in your mind. But in order to be more creative it's best to think of something and build from that. I am sure if you look at early concept art none of the characters will look exactly the same. Many new things are thought up and as more and more ideas are founded, the character builds up to be better and better until it is finally right. For all we know Crash could have started off as a monkey. But maybe things like the abilities the creator wanted the character to have changed the basis of it. Certainly alot of the inspiration comes from what the developer wants to do. I.e. Characters like Solid Snake have to fit into the game. As the game was rather military/stealthy like, then snake had to be a tough guy and also one that could do the abilities required. Ok snake is easier to conjure up as he is based on a human and we all know what humans look like. So i suppose really like i said before characters like yoshi and such just are built up when new ideas arise. Thats what i think any way :)

Nath.