Computer Game Design Techniques - Choosing and Filtering ideas.

Following most brainstorming sessions, groups of game designers have relatively huge lists of possible games to choose from, which then must be put under intense scrutiny before they can be considered worthy of spending time developing.

First of all, a game has to have an artistic impulse, it needs to feel like the core components from the brainstorm belong together. If they do not feel like this they something needs to change, whether it be one core component or more of the brainstorming process, you cannot just throw together a few components and be guaranteed a successful title.
The components may feel like they go together more successfully in your eyes or in one persons head then they necessarily will with another person, this is why it is crucial to have more than one person batting around ideas through any given brainstorming period.

Secondly, a demographic needs to be targeted, to go with the artistic impulse, something not only a developer, but the leader of a studio possibly thinks will sell copies and bring in revenue.
A demographic can be as simple as an age bracket, or as niche as a small cult following of any given fandom, these must be taken into account with regards revenue and titles shipped also, as the smaller the bracket there is to aim at with the title, the less likely the game is to sell well.

The third question which must be asked of any design proposal is the physical design of the proposal itself, how would the title be balanced? How would the game retain a users interest and keep them returning time after time to play again?
These factors are absolutely paramount to modern game design and are pivotal to the success of a videogame in this age.

Fourth, comes the speculation of innovation, does your idea have any innovative elements at all?
Whilst these are not necessarily mandatory it does of course help to have a selling point which has not been hit yet within the market.
This can be seen with Titles suck at Bungie's 'Destiny', which took two core game genres and mixed them together to produce a completely different product altogether, it has attained worldwide acclaim and has millions of players logging in daily to play some 18 months later.
This is a good example of not so much innovation, but taking two already existent products and fusing them together to create a product for a platform on which the type of product did not already exist.

Business and Marketing is the fifth element which factors into the list of filters. This is defined by things like the constant appeal to customers to play, and the design of promotional art, whether posters or physical box art upon release.
If a game can be appealing enough to buy for the average gamer, by simply glancing at the box art, then the marketing strategies have been correctly organised and.
If a piece of box art can tell a story, it is also more likely to drag consumers in, I personally feel as though a good example of this is the original box art for Naughty Dog's 'Uncharted 2: Among Thieves', which features the protagonist, Nathan Drake hanging from what is later known to be a train cart. The box art shows just enough of the image to be intriguing, and draws in consumers to pick up the box and look at the back, of course this is where the marketing methods come in even more, dressing the game up as highly as possible to sell a copy to every consumer possible.

Sixth is Engineering, and whether or not it it is physically possible to create the game generated from the brainstorm session, this includes limitations in both hardware and software, more often software and game engines in recent times, with the latest generational evolution of games consoles.

These limitations are not always a bad thing however, as beyond the face of the issue presented to the designer in the form of limitations, it can expand the title in a different direction if the title has to be adapted to suit certain limitations, providing other potential angles for the game to grow and achieve success.

Seventh in the list are social aspects and community elements to a game's design. Most titles brought to the front of mainstream gaming in this era, and for the past 10 years at least where consoles are concerned, have been focused around getting communities to play together through the implementation of network gaming.

Aside from social aspects coming to the forefront of console gaming within the past 2 years, also heavily influenced by the design of Destiny, there are multiple Role Playing Games which have featured on PC for many years which have successfully drawn together communities in the effort to work together to achieve goals, such as World of Warcraft, which has been running for more than 20 years.

Finally, comes the process of play testing. Play testing is absolutely key to the development of a game, as it helps with not only functionality but helps the developers grasp an idea of how fun the game is to play. As soon as the game reaches a playable state this filter begins.

The addition of this filter, somewhat fluctuates the other filters over time, as with difference in opinions on how well the game plays or on how fun it is, come modifications to the game itself, mechanics, features and visuals alike.