Meta - Making Games.

Games are made, and unmade, with dreaming. There must be enough vision and substance to engage, yet the extreme limits of time/money/deadline are like the sun melting the wax wings of over-ambition. So what do we do?

We think about George Washington (or rather, the painting The Athenaeum).

The Athenaeum by Gilbert Stuart

There's a reason this painting is the most famous portrait of Washington, and not a halfhearted attempt forgotten in time. I don't know the reason but here's what we can learn about game design:

1. Identify the Fun. Figure out what is most important. This is a synthesis of what-you-do-best and what-people-like-most. In terms of the painting, this is the face. Were there a better background or shirt texture, no matter how good, the painting would be forgotten because people were looking for Washington's face.

2. Identify the core features in the Fun. What must be there? What isn't essential? What would be nice?

3. Build around the Fun. Just like in the painting, construct the most important elements first. Less essential features then insulate the core. Should time or money give out at some point, only progressively more trivial elements are lost. Most people don't think of the incomplete-ness of the painting, their focus is on the parts that did work.