As someone who often has game ideas, tries to execute them, and falls a bit short, this article is right up my alley. It might as well be called “How to Have the Superpower You’ve Always Dreamed of,” and it would pretty much be the same article and I’d have just as much interest. The logic is sound, the creative process is solid, and if it’s been tried and tested by Jesse Schell, then I’d be a fool to disagree with him.
It also gives me peace of mind to see these ETC students come up with games, start to make them, realize they suck, and move on, since whenever I make a game and I start to realize it’s not great, I feel like this is something that only happens to me and that I must salvage it before anyone notices. Their honesty about their failures is appreciated.
I also really responded to the constraints, since that is something I’m used to; if I feel a creative block, I often go to random fill-in-the-blank generators to get ideas, and seeing ETC students do that is very affirming.
