Business of pLAy - Creating Quality Quickly with Creativity

11/18/11 Edition:

(This is the second post in a small series addressing the issue of quality in license titles.)

When a team is presented a "just throw something together" attitude, it sets negative expectations for everyone. It may seem impossible to get people excited over a game about a car wash; but if you approach such projects as a challenge and an opportunity you can create something innovative that is fun and engaging!

Be open to new ways of thinking. Simple "art" games are fun and often generate a lot of buzz. Say you are making a game to sell lollipops. Instead of telling a designer to throw together a spec for a generic platformer about collecting lollipops (or worse, designing it yourself if you aren't a designer); try pulling together a small team for a day and challenge them to come up with a bunch of innovative ideas. Start with an "anything goes" attitude. Many designers live for the chance to be creative and design simple, fun, and innovative game concepts. Once everyone is in "the zone" you can slowly add in project restrictions.

Make the process fun. Have you ever seen the kind of innovation that comes from those 24hr, 48hr, 72hr, and week-long game jams? Harness that power! Put together a few small teams (3 people or fewer) and give them 3-5 days to create the best small prototype. Let them use in-house assets or free online SDKs, art samples, etc. (The point here is to prove fun and viability, not to make a usable release candidate.) Throw a party where everyone demonstrates their prototypes and have a panel vote on them (you can even invite outsiders and use this as a focus group opportunity). Give out a gift certificates or free lunches as prizes.

Support your team. After your team creates a bunch of creative new ideas, decide which ideas are the most likely to connect with your target market while taking the least time and resources to develop. Then support it - fully! Make sure the team has all the resources they need to succeed; if you can’t give it to them, don’t pick that idea. If you need a specialist, consider contracting a consultant rather than adding a permanent employee.

Finally, what if the client paying for the project adds a set of requirements that are truly awful? This is more common than you may think. Some marketing person sees that Farmville is popular and requests you make that, but featuring their brand of fertilizer. (Or worse, their unrelated product - like hand soap or pizza.) You can use these techniques to sell the client on better options.

First, present the client with exactly the project they requested along with all its (tactfully stated) pros & cons. At the same time, present them with a second option - a better version your design team came up with that is a slight variation on the original request (show how it is better with its pros/cons list). Finally, present the client with the optimal option, what your team would do without any restrictions (the pro/con sheet will support why this is clearly the best option). The client may have their heart set on the clone, but hopefully they'll be smart enough to respect your expertise and at least go with the better variation.