Brainstorming and Crazy 8

I think most of us - even those without a creative background know what brainstorming is. You sit there with your team or friends and try to come up with various ideas that would hypothetically solve a problem. These hangouts are usually messy; we are talking over each other and there are tons of ideas generated but at the end of the session, we are usually none the wiser. We are exhausted and although it may feel good to have done something about the matter at hand - in the long-run nothing really changes. You just talk for an hour or so and then move on.

I am not saying that the scenario above is necessarily the case for you or others. Brainstorming like that sometimes works out well. And I don’t have the official numbers but my gut says that in 80-90% of the occasions, unstructured brainstorming leads to absolutely nothing tangible.

So how do we fix this? You guessed it; we need some structure to contain the fluffy creativity that is oozing out of each and every one of us. Now I am not talking about a military-grade structure; we are still game designers and we wanna have fun. So let’s go over some ideation methods together. In this chapter, I want to tell you about one of the most fast-paced methods- and then we go over some that take a bit longer and are fun, actually.

The method is called Crazy 8 and it is about each team member generating 8 ideas over the course of 8 minutes! Here’s how to do it:

Preparation

• Materials Needed: Each participant needs a blank sheet of paper and a pen or pencil.
• Time Setting: Set a timer for 8 minutes.

Folding the Paper

• Fold the paper in half three times to create eight sections (panels). When unfolded, the paper will have eight equal sections.

Setting the Challenge

• Define the problem or design challenge clearly that you want participants to generate ideas for. Ensure everyone understands the goal.

Generating Ideas

• Each participant has 8 minutes to sketch 8 different ideas, one in each section of the folded paper.
• Encourage quick, rough sketches. Perfection is not the goal. Each idea should be a separate, distinct solution to the problem.

Time Management

• Spend approximately 1 minute per idea. If participants finish early, they can go back and refine their sketches, but the emphasis is on quantity and variety.

Sharing and Discussing:

• Once the timer ends, participants share their sketches with the group.
• Discuss the ideas, highlighting interesting concepts, potential solutions, and innovative approaches.

Refinement and Selection:

• As a group, identify the most promising ideas. These can be refined and developed further in subsequent stages of the design process.