Define "Fun"...

     One of the first hurtles anyone has to get through in game development is figuring out a definition for "Fun".  Quite often, the initial keywords/phrases a designer may use when first conceiving a game would be "Interesting", "Challenging" and "Lots to do".  But the one keyword they should be focusing on is "Fun".

     So what is fun?  :  Fun is why people play your game.  It is what gets them involved.  It is why they tell others.  And, it is why they keep coming back for more.  Granted, fun can be challenging, interesting and give you lots to do, but the word challenging can describe wrecking your bike, and having to walk it home 2 miles in the rain.  NOT FUN.  Challenging yes, but not fun.  All to often a game designer will get caught up figuring out how to challenge, when you should always first questions yourself, would the players enjoy this?

     First, look at some of the games you play, the games you are most interested in.  Don't consider the technical details of it, but start asking yourself "Why do I enjoy this?", and "What makes me keep coming back for more?", and naturally, "Why would I pay money for this?".  Make a list of things that you think really tie you too it.  Be honest; don't just put things that tie directly back to your ideas, but think through what really makes you want to keep playing it.  Order these by what you think is most important.

     Now, look at your existing designs, and look for where it addresses any of these.  chances are, it probably doesn't address any of it, and probably not things at the top of the list.  

     Now that you have a list of what you really enjoy about a similar game, Start going through your existing design, or start a new one, and everything you add, or have added, ask yourself does it help with the list, and how valuable is it.  For instance, if your list is 20 items long, number them 1-20, then each requirement laid out in your game design should get a number corresponding to which item on the list it covers.  If it is not on the list, put an X next to it.  This right now, is a really important make or break time; don't look at your design trying to defend it, but look at it like its too big, and you need to simplify it.

     Now, take a look through your design, and see what stacks up.  You'll probably find that some of the lower end items have a lot of hits, while your top 3-5 have very few.  This is bad.  The best reasons for playing your game are being ignored, while these little things are taking over.  They are consuming your design time, and certainly will reek havoc on programming development and graphics time.  Remember that every requirement you add, can easily add a week to your projects timeline.

     Now, I don't expect anyone to do exactly what I suggested.  This is intended to give you some ideas, but the most important thing to get from this is that you DO need to figure out what is fun, and focus on that.  Anything else is extra.