What will the next game changing sort of game be? No one really knows that exact answer although someone out there may be formulating a plan on that right now. If so, the restaurant/arcade chain Dave & Busters along with Comedy Central, VH1 and MTV, would like to hear from you about it.
Calling it the Next Big Game Search, they want to hear pitches for ideas ranging from “a mobile app, larger than life arcade game or simply have some improvements for an already classic game.” Those interested may do so by going to http://www.NEXTGAME.CC.COM where you fill out the form there. They do list the judging criteria so I imagine that as with any game pitch you will need to be detailed enough to get those aspects across. They include: Originality, Ease of Play, family Fun (suitable for people of all ages), Gameplay Experience (i.e. fun to play) and Difficulty. Some of these things can be difficult to get across on paper at times, but a well-thought out game idea that is more than just “what if we took this element from X game and combined it with Y game?” will probably hit those notes.
In case you are wondering about the prizes, more is up for grabs than just seeing an idea of yours possibly brought to arcades. The grand prize is “D&B Creates Your Game and Free Games For Life”, 1st runner up gets $5000 in game play at D&Bs and the 2nd runner up gets $500 in game play.
More info > Dave & Buster’s Next Big Game Info Sheet (2013)
The contest has already started as of June 10th but it will go until July 15th and is open to residents of the continental US. Perhaps one of the AH readers here will present the grand idea, we certainly have no shortage of them.
If you need some idea of how the game development process goes, particular for arcades, then I highly suggest this Youtube playlist by Brian Colin. 14 videos that show how difficult it is to come up with a game winning idea, albeit not impossible. Here’s a couple of videos from that series entitled Advice to Game Designers and the Role of the Game Designer, featuring Brian Colins, George gomez, Eugene Jarvis, Jeff Nauman, Jack Hager, Mark Turmell, Laura Kampo and others.
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kiwasabi
I really didn’t like seeing this contest. “Hey, come up with an idea that will make us tons of money…and we’ll give you nothing in return!”. I hope nobody with a good idea is stupid enough to just give it away like this. But I suppose some people don’t have an inkling of how to actually develop a game.