If you had a really good game idea...

[tylen]

How would you get it to be developed? Would you stem it from a mod? Would you approach a big game company directly and work your way up the development team? How would you make it?

[Caiada]

Probably dev it myself, preferably with help from same-minded people.

I'm an aspiring writer, so it's much easier for me to develop my game ideas, all of which are stories, on my own through writing.

[Kaj392]

(Try and) Go to/contact a big game company, let them know i got a awesome game design (assuming that the idea is, ofcourse, something they would want to design). But, on one condition; i want to be there all the time, so they can't just 'steal' the idea.

[sadface]

well i would make sure none could copy my great game i made first))))

Then i would offer it to everysingle game company to the highest bidder

[Fencers]

Almost no publisher or developer will accept, open, read or review your game idea. They don't want the legal fallout of just looking at a design document by Joe Random @ the risk one day they might have a similar idea that is published.

Pubs/devs usually throw those letters, emails and such in the trash unopened. Legality and all.

There are a few options: 1. create a proof concept on your own to shop around at trade shows/online demo 2. get a contact/job in the industry, 3. make the game yourself [indie development].

[Ynna]

What Fencers said.
Having an idea is pretty much worthless. You need to have something to show to the developers.
Ideas aren't worth anything. Everyone has ideas. Some people even have good ones. But if you can't show that your idea translates to an actual decent game, it doesn't mean anything.

[Deleted]

I have a great imagination and I can draw, but I have not the slightest clue how a game is made, I don't know coding (yet, next year I'm going to study software development with a minor in game design for the third year) and making it out there seems like a hard thing to do. I want a stable income when I'm older since I want to have at least one child, so I shove my ambitions away somewhere in a dark corner. But who knows, some day :-p.

[tylen]

What Fencers said.
Having an idea is pretty much worthless. You need to have something to show to the developers.
Ideas aren't worth anything. Everyone has ideas. Some people even have good ones. But if you can't show that your idea translates to an actual decent game, it doesn't mean anything.

Thats what I am saying but I am wondering the best means of translation or the best path

[Ave07]

I wish someone would make a game creator tool, like Gary's mod but with more options.

[Kosm]

I wish someone would make a game creator tool, like Gary's mod but with more options.

Its called visual studio or eclipse.

[Ynna]

Thats what I am saying but I am wondering the best means of translation or the best path

Well, if you're idea is relatively simple, try getting some friends or other people together who know how to code and draw and animate and get some kind of a demo together, so you have something to show for. If it's a more complicated idea, try modding an existing game so it somewhat looks like your vision.

[Frenegade42]

In my casual conversations with developers (no, I'm nothing special but they're just up the road from me and are relatively new and they are riding the iOS boom) every developer has a metric crapton of game ideas. The games industry is not short on really good game ideas. It's all about getting your hands on the resources, the time and the finding the right enviroment to develope that great game idea. No one is going to pitch a game idea to a developer that is going to drop his jaw and send him scrambling for a pen and napkin.