Wonderful Ideas and Where They Dwell

What the talk is about

This is a panel of indie and studio developers (speakers represent Twigames, Hologryph and teamcoil) on where game ideas come from. The participants agree that an idea is an answer to a particular task or question rather than a random thought. Sources they name include broad exposure to games and other fields, combining a known mechanic with a new setting, happy accidents, and, in a studio, a target feeling that works as a filter for mechanics. They discuss validating ideas quickly (prototypes, Reddit posts, test creatives), knowing when to drop an idea that is not coming together, and why they make games at all. Practical tips: keep notes, write many variants, build your own scripts and tools, and play a lot. Useful for indie developers and game designers.