Here's how you can develop innovative games by embracing creative thinking.

Fostering an environment that encourages creative thinking. Start by assembling a diverse team with varied perspectives and backgrounds. Promote brainstorming sessions where all ideas are welcome, no matter how unconventional. Use techniques like mind mapping and prototyping to explore and refine concepts. Stay updated on industry trends and emerging technologies to inspire fresh ideas. Encourage continuous learning and experimentation within your team. Take risks and be willing to iterate based on feedback. Draw inspiration from different media, cultures, and genres to create unique experiences. By nurturing creativity, you can develop games that stand out and captivate players.

There are unlimited sources of inspiration. Consider the following: - Traditional games - Movies, TV shows and videos in general - Books and stories - Sports exhibitions - Comments from people Normally I carry a notebook with me and write any idea that can be useful for a project when I see it. Don't wait until you come to home, sit down and write it as soon as you see it. It can be a general idea or a developed version of that idea, get advantage of the inspiration you get, once it is gone, will be gone forever.

Creativity is a muscle. The more you work it, the better you become at it. In order to have unique views, train yourself to see the connection between different concepts and how they can fit together.

Imagine scenarios that only can exist in your mind (and in your game)... What if... ... a panda becomes a kung fu master and a hero? ... a man comes from another planet and can fly (and has a blue and a red suit)? As soon as game resources, mechanics and physics allow what you are imagining, test your idea and try it. New designs and ideas are what make your game different of any other game made in the same game engine. Is important to have an integral approach, think in terms of scenarios, characters, assets, environmental look and feel and many more. They can fit or not, like a cowboys team in a science fiction space environment.

Use low-fidelity prototypes, start with simple paper prototypes or basic digital mockups to test core gameplay mechanics. This approach allows you to identify potential issues early and make quick adjustments without investing too much time in detailed graphics or complex code.

I am a believer in the power of the sketches. It you draw it quickly and like it after having a fast drawn mockup, show it to your team, family and related to see their reactions. If you get a positive feedback, try creating a bare bones 3 scenes set. And test it again. Be open to feedback, feedback and failure are the pathways to final success. Adjust and test, until you feel happy with the result and your audience too. Be aware that sometimes the character will evolve, look for example the first Mickey mouse version compared with the current one. Your character can evolve too, be ready to see it happen.

Build an MVP fast and validate it. Fail fast. Have friends and colleagues give you feedback for your prototype as early as possible. And most important, don't try to explain it too much, when you ask others to play your demo, your job is to Observe. See what clicks and what needs changed

The faster you can bring your idea to life, the less time you'll spend working on something that doesn't cut it or it doesn't fit and focus your attention where it matters. Purchase a cheap asset pack for your maze idea and implement it fast, have your story narrated and go back and forth about it with AI.

Once you create a game, a character or anything else and it reaches the public, it will begin to transform, to merge and to be part of your audience culture and will not be only "yours". I am not talking about copywriting, legally it's yours of course, but your character will start to belong also to people heart and will evolve out of you too. Look for example the characters of Mortal Kombat game, they evolved far of the game boundaries and became part of people culture. Another great example, this time from movies is Spiderman. Accept that evolution when happen, and embrace it too, games can become more than a set of game objects, components and scripts, can become something REALLY meaningful for the world.