. . . or perhaps more importantly, “how to design a good video game”.

There are thousands of different video games flooding the marketplace every single day of the week, some of them disappear into oblivion (if they’ve ever actually been anywhere else) and for others the sky is definitely the limit. So where do you actually start when designing a video game?

• You are limited only by your own imagination – let your imagination run wild, the wilder the better. Revamping a video game which has already been made is not the answer; your video game needs to be unique. Let your creativity run wild whilst drawing, writing, reading – play other video games for a little inspiration if you like but remember, be creative and use your own imagination for your video game.

• Expand your mind – inspiration can come from many different walks of life and not just playing other video games. Many of the best video game designers have a real interest in other topics like history, science, music, space, warfare, computers and literature. All of these things will come in useful to make your video game more interesting and exciting, more realistic and believable. This all helps to improve your creative skills which in turn help to improve the design of your video game.

• Work on; – how to code, all of the major video game designers know how to code, it is very true that not all video game designers can code but you can guarantee that those who can’t wish they could. It is also important to have a fundamental, working knowledge of maths, all of the best video games involve maths, even if the “gamers” don’t realize it at the time. Writing is another important skill for video game design – the game designer is really telling a story and the more imaginative the story, the more the players will enjoy the game.

A Few Important Tips for Video Game Design

• Keep a pen and paper handy at all times to jot down your ideas at any time of the night or day. You may be surprised at how quickly these flashes of inspiration come and go, write them down before they are gone forever.

• Start off small, particularly if this is your first attempt at designing a video game.

• Get your video game to the playing stage as soon as possible, that way you can play the game and expand it accordingly. Great video games grow from the very smallest (and simplest) beginnings.

• Take a break – don’t forget to down tools and put the kettle on every now and then – leaving your video game design for a period of time will help you to look at it with a completely fresh perspective when you go back to it.

• Don’t forget to let your imagination completely run away with you – unleash as much creativity as you can possibly muster, be inventive, in the long run it will pay.