In game design school, part of what I learned was not only to design an original game, but that you can gain inspiration from other sources.
Many of today's video games are loosely based on feature films. Franchises such as the Lord of the Rings and the James Bond films have had many successful games based on them over the years, which has added to their popularity and drawn in new generations of fans. But, if you plan on attending a game design school, you may want to take a stab at creating something original.
It's hard to come up with original ideas these days as many video games are based on films, television shows and vice versa. If you're starting out in game design school, you may want to think of something original. Not all games have to be fantasies with aliens exploding and guns blazing, as seems to be the norm. You may want to think of something that might be challenging and that can have some sort of benefit to it.
While many game design schools want to see originality, you can most likely utilize themes and ideas from existing games as inspiration and expand upon them. For instance, create a new persona and if that character has specific traits, maybe give them different ones that are unique. If a certain character can fly, why not make him walk through walls, or even better: breathe underwater, if he's human?
One controversy with many games is that they are too dark and violent; in that case there is also a huge market for games geared towards younger children. One thing I focused on while in game design school was to create a game that revolved around learning, but I also wanted to add some exciting elements top make the game more visually interesting as well as instructional.
This was one approach I took when I was in game design school. I wanted to create something for my nephews that would be entertaining and educational at the same time, without resorting to excessive violence or obscene language. Coming up with an original idea proved to be quite a challenge, but as I worked on the rudimentary ideas, it eventually came to fruition and in testing it with my nephews and their friends; they generally seemed to like it.
Maybe your interests lie in science or mathematics? Teaching games are not just for kids. Adults like them and they're also a great way to help expand your brainpower. We all like puzzles, like crosswords, word finds and Sudoku; perhaps elements of these puzzles may help guide you in developing a concept for a game?
I was glad that the game design school I attended gave me the ability to develop games that were useable for all ages. As there are many audiences for all types of games, this type of education was invaluable as it allowed me to learn how to develop ideas and bring them to full fruition.
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