Brainstorming

I take a lot of walks throughout the day, when I'm able to. I plug in my headphones and just kind of zone out while I walk around the neighborhood.

Artists used to talk a lot about having their "muse", that guardian angel that inspires them and gives them ideas. Often, I've heard artists refer to a woman as their "muse", but my "muse" is a solitary walk.

Every time I go out, my head starts to fill with scenarios. They almost play out like cutscenes in my head, and I usually find myself seeing them from the point of view of one of the characters.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not crazy - they aren't hallucinations or anything. It's more like a heavy daydream. My imagination runs wild and I just start brainstorming things like characters, plot and how levels will play out.

I think the fact that I tend "see" things from the perspective of a certain character helps me understand character's motivations better. It's almost like the world already exists, and bits and pieces get revealed to me every time.

I know it's not really what's happening, and that I'm just coming up with these ideas as I go, but it feels like I'm being given a window into another world, and reporting on it in the form of a game.

It's bizarre. I wonder if other developers go through this.