How to stay on course

Dabble in multiple designs, meaning they work on different designs in-between a WIP. Having ideas that seem good as ideas is one thing, but applying them to a design is another. I find that personally, I get an idea that seems good and then when I try it out - oftentimes it is not so great.

But working on multiple designs helps to focus effort on different designs at very different times. And that I believe is beneficial... Because you don't have the feeling of "not advancing"... Something is moving forwards even if it is not your current WIP.

So the key is playtest OFTEN. Whenever you get a *new* idea, prototype it as fast as you can and then playtest it to see if it works. No point thinking about a mechanic that doesn't work in the context of your game.

My 2 cents...

I second the notion of working on several designs at once. Personally, I've settled on a "big three" that I've decided to stay fixated on until at least one of them is selected by a publisher.

I was in the habit of coming up with a new idea for a game, working on it for a few weeks, then coming up with another idea for a different game. I would put down the first game and switch to the second, until of course the idea for a third game came along and I hopped on to that train.

The end result is that I spent a lot of my limited funds on game bits, dice, blank cards, and figures, and I was surrounded by half-baked, nowhere-near-worth-showing-to-a-publisher designs. I could see that I had been working very hard, but not being very productive in terms of being successfully published.

I decided to switch my strategy and simply write down these new ideas in a notebook. I can come back to them later, once [at least] one of my big three is in the hands of a publisher. I've made it to the point that I am corresponding with a publisher for one of my big three, coming up with a new iteration of the game perhaps once a week. The other two of my big three are of lower priority, but I will switch to them before I reference my notebook for some of the dozen or so game ideas and sketches I've scribbled down since the beginning of this year.

Playtesting is also essential, so you can test ideas that you make manifest. If you can determine it's worth throwing out on your own that's great, but when you workshop your games you inevitably come across someone with an insight that helps your game design achieve a quantum leap forward in terms of quality and elegance. By narrowing down the number of designs that pick up these quantum leaps, I have the impression that it's simply a matter of time before a design you've focused your time, energy, and resources on is seen by a publisher and they won't be able to look away.

Good luck to you. :)

Just write them all down. Then return to them after a while.

As easily distracted as I am some ideas I can dismiss quickly if it has nothing do with the main project. Alas if the idea don't quit I will go out my way to document and run it through trails just to get it out of my head.

Usually any new ideas that pop into my head are related to the main project and are implemented or shelved for later use when the time comes. It is often that some scale variation or some advanced set of rules absorb the new ideas into the category. The best solution there is when you must add onto a project at least make it optional lest you have a convoluted mess on your hands.

I call this modulization.

As for new game ideas...well I have an entire filing cabinet full of those and they'll probably won't see the light of day.

I often get inspiration while in the middle of a project. Sometimes it is for the project I am working on and sometimes it is for something completely new. I find that if I do not think about it and ponder on the new idea for a while it will bug me until I do so this is kind of how I have learned to deal with it.

1) New idea - A new idea pops into my head, either for a new game or for the game I am working on

2) Think it out - At this stage it is just a thought so I normally stop what I am doing and give it some thought. I think about the idea and where the idea might go and any general directions the idea might take me

3) Write it down - If I have decided that the idea has merit I will write down the idea and see if it still makes sense. While I am writing down the idea I am also reading it and I have found that can help me decide if the idea translates well onto paper. If the idea is for a game I am working on I will often create a back up of the project, I normally use electronic format, and then copy the project into a new folder. This allows me to completely test out the new idea and write down the new direction and map it out. If it does not work out I still have the project safe in its original folder and have a back up.

4) Think about it some more - After I write out the idea I step away for a day or two and do other things then come back and read the idea and think about it some more. This time it would not be as long, it is just to see if the idea has merit and still sounds good.

5) Move forward or reject - At this stage I need to make a choice on if I am going to go forward with the idea or reject it.

This is just a over simplified version of what goes on when I have a new idea. Sometimes it takes just a couple of moments other times it can take weeks. For me I have found that if I do not spend time on the idea I will lose 3 times more time in the long run as I try to do other work but get distracted. In a odd way spending time on the new idea helps me focus and get back to what I was doing faster.