How do you measure the originality of your game design?

1 Define your goals

Before you can measure the originality of your game design, you need to define what originality means for you and your project. What are your goals and intentions as a game designer? What are you trying to achieve or communicate with your game? Who are your target audience and what are their expectations and preferences? How do you want your game to be perceived and remembered by players and critics? By clarifying your goals, you can set the criteria and standards for evaluating your game design's originality.

2 Analyze your sources

Every game design is influenced by various sources, such as other games, genres, media, themes, mechanics, aesthetics, or personal experiences. These sources can inspire and inform your game design, but they can also limit or constrain it. To measure the originality of your game design, you need to analyze your sources and how they affect your design decisions. How do you use, combine, modify, or subvert your sources? How do you avoid plagiarism, imitation, or duplication? How do you differentiate your game from similar or competing games?

3 Test your assumptions

One of the common pitfalls of game design is to rely on assumptions that may not be true or valid, such as what players want, need, or enjoy, or what makes a game fun, engaging, or challenging. These assumptions can lead to unoriginal or ineffective game design, or miss opportunities for innovation or improvement. To measure the originality of your game design, you need to test your assumptions and validate them with evidence and feedback. How do you research, prototype, playtest, or iterate your game design? How do you measure and evaluate your game design's performance, outcomes, or impact?

4 Seek diversity

Another way to measure the originality of your game design is to seek diversity in your perspectives, inputs, and outputs. Diversity can enrich and expand your game design, as well as challenge and question it. By exposing yourself to different ideas, opinions, cultures, or experiences, you can discover new possibilities, solutions, or approaches for your game design. How do you collaborate, communicate, or learn from others who have different backgrounds, skills, or views? How do you diversify your game design's content, style, or format?

5 Embrace experimentation

Finally, to measure the originality of your game design, you need to embrace experimentation and risk-taking. Experimentation can help you explore, test, or refine your game design, as well as generate new or unexpected results. By taking risks, you can push the boundaries of your game design, or break the rules or conventions of your genre or medium. How do you experiment with different elements, features, or systems of your game design? How do you deal with uncertainty, failure, or criticism?

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?