Writer’s block is usually a block of bad writers. There are methods to develop ideas, organize texts, and make sure your work can be completed.
Any problem can be solved with a notepad, breaking the issue down into points.
1. Targeted brainstorming
a) List the obstacles in your game (platforms to jump, coordinated actions, but also puzzles, point-and-click riddles, mazes, multiple-choice dialogues, etc…).
b) Make a list of the levels you’d like to create. Give each level a theme and deduce the type of challenge:
- Snow level → environmental problems like slowing down or slipping → write down all coordination-related obstacles here.
- Dungeon level → environmental problems like mazes and blocked paths → write down all maze-related obstacles, object usage, and clue observation.
2. Start from the end
a) Decide how long it will take to finish the last level of your game: twenty minutes? ten minutes? Write it down.
b) Decide how many obstacles your last level should have (you can even make it up randomly: 100 obstacles).
c) Decide how long it will take to finish the first level.
d) Decide how many obstacles your first level should have.
e) Now you can mathematically calculate how many obstacles each level should include! If you have 100 enemies in the last level and 1 enemy in the first → then you’ll have 50 enemies halfway through the game.
f) You can also create obstacles that grow over time (the same obstacle can have different forms: weak green enemy, red enemy that looks the same but is faster and tougher). You can also assign them a difficulty value and then decide in which level to place them depending on how hard they are to overcome.
3. Experiment, but with focus
a) Create all the puzzles in your game and program them (keys with doors, explosive blocks, etc…).
b) Create random levels to test them together (don’t worry about graphics: just draw something quickly with any tileset).
c) If you find interesting combinations, assign them to levels where they’re most suitable (a bomb works for a dungeon wall, not for snow…).
d) Alternate: linear levels, vertical levels, “diagonal” levels (where you walk, descend, climb back up). Make these alternations cyclical.
e) Play your game and rate the difficulty of each section so you can see if it’s too much or too little.
f) Draw levels with a wide zoom: don’t worry about details (never the details), focus on the big picture.
4. Copy and renew
a) Play old SNES and Sega Genesis games: they’re extremely simple but with very solid structures.
b) Look at maps of old games: they’ll give you hints and ideas.
c) Mockup: download maps from “old,” simple and well-made games that are completely different. Choose one for each level you want to design. Redraw it in GDevelop, but insert your elements, your gameplay, your style—it will become something else.
Final tip:
When I created my game, which almost nobody played (except friends and relatives, haha!), I first imagined all the possible gameplay elements, then tested them together. They led to endless combinations (I designed 320 levels). So find your own method—you’ll see you won’t ever have writer’s block again!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sphereball.saiber