Research: Honing the Creative Mind

As a designer, you're a creative person. Coming up with ideas is second nature, but pruning those ideas to make the best use of them might not be. Idea hoarding is a self defeating process. You'll end up working on several projects and potentially completing none of them. Don't stretch yourself thin. You need to know what ideas are worth investing your time into, which are worth storing for a later date and what ones are just clutter. Deciding the merit of ideas comes with time and experience, but you can optimize this process. Instead of investing your time on problems that already have solutions, research what other people are doing or have done. Every hour you spend researching is saving you hundreds you'd spend designing.

Often you'll hear people say to list the pros and cons of an idea first. I think that approach is quite dated. As well sometimes it can be difficult to determine the pros and cons by yourself without a lot of experience under your belt. I personally feel that listing what your idea is like and what makes it different is more important. There is a huge reason for this and that reason is market research. If you are going to design and implement something, what does it bring to the table that hasn't been done before? What can it be compared to, to help people understand exactly what it is? Who is benefiting from this new idea and how are they benefiting from it? These are important questions you should be asking before spending any resources. This will make identifying the pros and cons much easier. In all honesty, if you aren't willing to do this, don't bother starting the project. This is the easiest and I find, most entertaining part of the process.

It is important to realize that you may think you have an idea no one has ever though of, but with some digging you'll probably find that someone has indeed had a similar concept. Unless you are doing something truly groundbreaking, this is very likely. However this is not when you throw your hands up in the air in defeat, this is actually a great opportunity to see what it is you could have made. Examine their product's description, see how it was marketed. Read the reviews and see what customers enjoyed or hated about it. These things should shape your project. Now before you even begin, you have access to problems another designer overlooked and an understanding of what people want from your idea. Buying a copy is also a great idea as it can be used to flesh out an early prototype for personal testing. After trying the other persons product you may realize your idea is not what you would enjoy designing or you'll be even more motivated because you know exactly how to improve it.

So what if you've found there is nothing like your project out there? First off, are you certain? I know that Android: Netrunner isn't very similar to Magic The Gathering, but they are both Customizable Card Games. Try to classify your idea, no matter how unique it is. If it's a similar to a CCG, research CCG's. (Pro Tip: Don't make a CCG, even if you are passionate about it. It will consume you.) Is it a new combination of different genres? Awesome, love it, but research those separate genres and try to figure out why it hasn't been done before. Figure out how this combination serves to help the player have an enjoyable experience. What if it is truly unique idea? Congratulations, you're a pioneer! Hopefully the research portion has helped you discover what void your product will fill and why this void hasn't been filled yet.

The benefit of this exercise is you will determine the viability of your product. Even if this is just a private project, it is a step that should not be overlooked because it will help you focus on what makes your idea great or expose why it is flawed. I hope you have found this enlightening. Thanks for reading and as always feedback is appreciated.

P.S. I'm well aware Netrunner is considered a Living Card Game. I understand the difference, but is it a game where you literally make a custom deck from different cards or is it a game with cards that are literally alive? So let's agree it's a CCG and LCG's are just a type of CCG.