As adults, we’ve seen and experienced a lot. But because of that, I think we also judge or dismiss ideas much quicker. Personally, I have a bad habit of throwing out ideas I’ve already seen before. But kids are extremely creative and less judgmental. If you are having trouble coming up with your next video game idea, try having the kids in your life help.
Personal stories in this article. They have a point, I promise.
Have Kids Describe Their Video Game Ideas
Recently I took my two oldest kids (8 and 5) camping. To pass the time on the car ride, I asked them to help come up with new video game ideas. If you could create your own video game, what would it be like?
Honestly, this was a bit open ended for them and I didn’t get a very good response. So I gave them little prompts to help narrow down the decisions (a tactic I use for myself, too).
- Which video game would your game be similar to?
- Who (or what) would your player be?
- What would they be doing?
- Why is this happening?
For us, we started with a Metroidvania (Hollow Knight is one of their favorite games). My son came up with a 100-headed alien exploring Earth trying to collect parts to complete its spaceship and get home. My daughter came up with a cute spider who swings from webs and wraps enemies in webs. Both of these are pretty cool ideas, I think. I could see either making a decent Metroidvania.
So rather than just ask them to describe their video game ideas, it may be a good idea to lead them a little with the right questions. Try it and see what the kids come up with. I bet it will surprise you.
Have Kids Draw Their Video Game Ideas
My venture into game development has definitely had an impact on my kids. At school, my son had an art class once a week. And while most of the time they are exploring particular art topics (like drawing what you see, basics of shading, or exploring new mediums like clay), sometimes they get free creation days.
During some of these free days, my son had been drawing out some of his video game ideas. I had no idea this was actually happening until summer break when he brought his art portfolio home. Check this out:
I can definitely see what he was going for. Again, the influence from platformers (like Hollow Knight) is there.
Summer break just started for the kids. Honestly, I haven’t tried having them sit and intentionally draw their video game ideas. But my son’s drawing made such an impact on me that I’m definitely going to have them try it over the summer. (If you are interested in seeing the results, let me know in the comments below.)
Take the same approach as you do when talking about video game ideas. Start with a favorite video game or genre. Have them create their own drawings based on some sort of restriction. Of course, if they have their own ideas, let them explore on their own.
Conclusion
Kids are full of creative ideas. If you are struggling to come up with your own ideas for video games, try getting them involved. Talk with them. Have them describe their own ideas for a video game. Have them draw their ideas. The ideas they come up with could really surprise you.
There is a really good opportunity for me (as both a parent and a game developer) to get my kids involved in the game development process. This is a chance to show them how ideas can be turned into actual games, what tools are available to create games, limitations of those tools, and even just keep their creativity going. Being a cool dad that creates their own video games from their ideas sounds pretty awesome, too.
My nephews are a little older than my kids. I’m definitely going to be trying some of these ideas with them as well.
Do you ever get kids involved in your game development process? I’d love to hear about it. Let us know about the video game ideas the kids in your life have come up with. Comment down below.
