"What is the toughest part of designing a game?"

Submitted by: Kyle "the dark elf" Harrison

Answered by: Tammy Dargan (designer/producer, Sierra On-Line)

"OK - the toughest part of designing a game? There are numerous hurdles; however, I think the toughest part is confidence in one’s own ideas in the initial stages of development. I mean, you come up with what you think is fantastic and then run it by someone(s) who in turn give you a flat response. For me, this uncertainty happens at the beginning of a project -- basically when you have the proverbial ‘blank piece of paper’ staring you in the face. Once the game is in progress it takes on a life of it’s own. Momentum builds and ideas flow from the team into the game, concepts blurring from originator to completion. That is not to say that the designer relinquishes responsibility or creative control... it’s just that a game has it’s own life -- it tells you what it should be if it has a firm foundation -- kind of like when writing fiction. The characters write themselves if they are properly & thoroughly fleshed out.

"Other than that, long hours, no personal life and weight gain/poor nutrition are right up there. :-)"

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