When Ideas Won't Come [Work Ethic]

It's not easy coming up with great ideas...and sometimes, no matter how hard you think, inspiration just won't strike! Here's what I do when that happens to me.

[BluishGreenPro]

I think it’s really important that Sakurai has emphasized that ideas are allowed to be silly. I can think of plenty of times I’ve mentally shied away from exploring certain ideas because I dismissed them as ridiculous. Yet, the game industry is fully of “ridiculous” sounding ideas that we have simply gotten used to over time.

[adog]

sakurai is a talented director but he's not ready for the responsibilities of fire chief

[catluvr]

Putting out fire... with explosives.
Sounds like something I might expect from Kirby.

[connordarvall]

Tingle is probably the best example of this train of thought at work. The game has a map. How does Link get the map? He buys it. From who? The map maker. How does he know how to make a map? He gets to a high elevation. How come nobody else has done it? Because he used a balloon and nobody in Hyrule would have thought of that. Why did he think of that? Because he's a weird guy. How do we communicate he's a weird guy? He wears a leotard. Tingle.

[Syndralix]

Speaking as a writer, I can add to this. The concept of the "muse" is where many creative types say they get their ideas from. When you have writer's block, the muse isn't talking, so how do you get past it? That's where this solid piece of advice I heard comes in: "Don't wait for the muse. Just write." If you have no ideas, put SOMETHING on the page. Anything at all. Then you can go back and revise. It's a lot easier to fix problems and iterate on ideas than it is to write something that's perfect on the first try.

[JomaXZ]

Personally, I just go for a walk. When something eventually pops into my head, I make a note of it on my phone. Surprisingly effective.

[wraith-cat]

so what you're saying is that i need to find a comically large bucket

[Holammer]

My mental creativity gets super charged when I take a long walk. Same when I go to bed.

[ShinobiPhoenix-YT]

As a writer and designer, all of my best idea come when I am not thinking about writing or designing. If anything, other activities or games trigger writing or game design solutions like an infection that overtakes it. Usually I will stop and write it down so it doesn't interrupt what I am doing and return.

So the solution for me is to stop thinking about it and relax/work on something else. Especially comedy or something joyful, since ideas flow when you're in a blissful period. Jokes trigger the most since it will be a silly idea and then I go "... but wait... what if though?"

[fearingalma]

One of my favorite anecdotes from Valve was how Episode One's entry to the Citadel took shape. Someone suggested "let's just have Dog throw the player in there" and they laughed it off at first but that's actually what they were doing LOL

[hexmancer]

I'm a design engineer and this is an incredibly simple breakdown of an important process. Thank you!!

[dearthofdoohickeys]

I like to give myself an hour to think about it as much as possible, and then for an hour I take a break and forbid myself to think about it at all, and I do that on repeat. 90% of the time an idea will hit me like a stroke of lightning while I’m taking a break.

[LiamWins]

Glad to know a fiery ruin is Sakurai’s Roman Empire

[sigurdtheblue]

I feel like making sure you are eating enough can be a big help to difficult thinking. An exercise like this would be very hard when I am even a little hungry.

[floodedmoat]

Having really silly ideas because no one can read your mind is such good advice. Often, we get stumped because the logical solutions or paths simply aren’t applicable, so getting a little wild can be truly enlightening. Just think of all the strange ways Sakurai and his team figured out move sets for smash characters that never left their vehicles, like Captain Falcon; his falcon punch is iconic now, but if you really think about it, a jacked hovercraft pilot throwing out flaming punches exclaiming “FALCON PUNCH” would seem extremely bizarre in the brainstorming phase.

[Rickinho]

i bet this video is gonna resonate with a lot of people

(it's me, i am 'a lot of people')

[Destroyah]

Put in the work to thinking it out on paper is something that can help immensely with problem solving. If you are having to do multiple tasks and don't have the time to sit down and brainstorm, keeping a catch-all notepad in your pocket can help save ideas that you couldn't arrive at when brute-forcing the idea to come to you.

[NIMPAK]

One thing that sometimes helps me is to have multiple side projects. These side projects don't have to be made with the intent to finish them, but it can help bring a different perspective on things. Sometimes an idea you have for a side project can turn out to be the key for your main project and an idea that doesn't fit with your main project might work perfectly for the side project.

[flintartstudio]

Definitely write down all the thoughts around the problem on paper or PC/Tablet/SmartPhone. Seeing all the ideas tangibly and then organizing and arranging them can help out in the process.

Also, like on a real test for school or something, skip the problem and come back to it later after you do rest of your project. This may help save time and get the things a person does know done as soon as possible. Adjustments, edits, and fixes to the overview of the project can be made later.

Last thing, take proper breaks. Ideas for solutions can come when least expected.

[Bladebrent]

Advice I actually havent heard before; basing your thought process around a 'theme' to solve a problem is actually something I didnt consider. Great video.