Keys to Game Making Success Get Your Game Idea Noticed and Published

You've got an idea about the next first-person shooter, integrating a million different ideas and factors that you know will make it just take off. The level design would be extraordinary, the story is phenomenal (and has been approved of by your eager friends who can't wait to play it) and it will have the most unique and interesting boss fights you've ever pit players against. There's just one problem: You're a guy with an idea, with no money and no studio at your disposal. How can you translate your brilliant idea into a masterpiece of game making?

The first step is to get it written down. Every conceivable detail that comes to mind first, ranging from simple weapons you'd let the player use, to back story, to how many levels you think it would contain - everything. If it comes to mind, write it, and if you have even the slightest artistic ability, draw concept art. Keep a saved copy on your hard drive and always make sure it is backed up - and no matter how close you think you are to completion, keep adding what notes you can. Consider this your rough draft of sorts.

This is a common step in any kind of creative design, so if you're imaginative enough to make a good game designer, you should already be very familiar with this part of any kind of writing. However, as you begin your final outline to submit to the higher authorities of video game making, there are several specific factors that they're looking for - and a game that is remarkably fun in its own right could be cast aside in favor of something that had more market appeal, but could be beat in half the time, cost a quarter of the amount of money to produce, and introduce very little to the gaming world.

When you're outlining your proposal for a game, first and foremost consider the audience you're writing it too. It's going to be to corporate bigwigs who have the final say as investors - and they aren't going to read a novella about your game, considering how much more they have to do in the course of a day. They're interested in seeing your idea quickly and concisely, and they want to know where the money is in it for them.

First and foremost, you will need some clout with a gaming company before you can consider a proposal of this sort - therefore if you've not a shoe-in in the game industry, these simple recommendations likely won't work for you. Independent game designers interested in creating their own video games will have to go through an entirely separate path, but that's for another article. In this case, the article will best benefit those who are already working for a game studio or company, regardless of how high up the ladder you are.

So what are these corporate fat cats looking for? The simplest answer is money. Like any corporation, the end goal of any gaming company is to turn a profit on their product - no one is particularly driven to simply "give a great game a chance". You must labor to present why spending money on this project would be a good idea.

There are some things you can do to make your game far more market worthy in your outline however.

First and foremost, detail the primary source of income for the game. Will it be simple box sales? If you're trying to outline a proposed PC game, consider the market relative to the console market. By and large, console games have outsold PC games by millions of dollars, therefore even long time computer gaming companies such as Sony Online Entertainment are producing console games such as Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom or the cult class Champions: Return to Arms.

If you are designing a PC game, consider supplemental sources of income. What types of things can your game do outside of simple box sales to generate a revenue. This is where the MMO market usually comes in - allowing monthly fees to create a perpetual money maker.

In console games, online game play is a common factor in deciding whether or not to create a game. Halo is not a particularly outstanding game - but Microsoft saw the winning potential in an easy online play climate. Moreso than any other game, Halo has drawn players to Microsoft's X-Box Live.

Corporate investors also want to know, how long will the game take to make? What kind of marketing potential will there be? Include things such as intended marketing campaigns, and most importantly, what sets it apart from other games on the market? If you've come up with the next fantasy MMORPG, consider your idea already debunked. The market has been thoroughly saturated in this regard and will have to take another approach. Games like Horizons has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the world of online gameplay just doesn't care at this point.

Innovative ideas that will bring players in - such as allowing one to brandish their character's earnings on MySpace, which would act in many ways as free advertising for the game.

The all important question, of course, is how expensive the game is going to be to make - and how quickly that money can be made up.