This, my current project is very similar to team fortress (classes with specific roles, high focus on teamwork) if it were made as a sidescroller. For an SNES. Really, it all comes down to “wow, this game is great, I wish it was like this only with X!” a lot of people forget minecraft was, at its heart, a clone of another game.
what was it a clone of?
Infiniminer, which was a game which centered around mining to complete an objective people eventually just built stuff instead of playing the game as intended.
…and dwarf fortress
If you reach enough, an argument could be made that virtually every videogame out there is a clone of PONG… And PONG itself is a videogame version of Table Tennis.
I’ll direct you to this video regarding Homages vs Ripoffs: SFDebris
Short version, what really matters is not where you got the idea from, but rather what you do with it.
Agreed on this, for sure. (Most) games that get made fun of for being ‘clones’ introduce new gameplay mechanics that add something new to the game. Making a clone for the sake of making one is a waste of time, though. (some people that just clone games add almost nothing and claim it as their own, unfortunately)
If you have troubles to make a game, you can still move into the demo scene. Demos share a lot with game coding (at least all the graphics and sound tricks), but you don’t need to bother with player psychology, and all the interaction details. Well you can always make an interactive demo 
My game ideas stem from a particular graphical style, which formes an atmosphere and the environment, then I just come up with the gameplay. Often if I just google image ‘game’ or something similar I’ll get way too many ideas and inspirations
This is how I come up with a game idea:
- Decide on a genre (sci-fi, fantasy, etc.)
- Decide on a basic overarching structure/plot (eg. for sci-fi, must fight off aliens)
- Based on above two, create one-a few unique game elements/mechanics
- Brainstorm a story around the game
- Begin writing game, story will evolve as you go
What I do:
- Take a game that I really like
- Take a game that I can make
- Add to it
mishmash several games
Well im not exactly sure if I used someones method in this thread but I came up with a new game idea it is sort of like minecraft and runescape but in 2d with rpg style graphics
I liked how the IndieSpeedRun did it. You have a time limit and two random words: a game mechanic and a theme.
By working on elements imposed to you (either by random choice or someone suggesting them) you get to think about game design in ways you might not have though of before.
The again, always remember that ideas are cheap; Everybody has ideas. It’s the ability of seeing them through that really counts.
Those who think they are not creative–might check out “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron.
Sometimes the problem is that ideas are shot down before they have a chance to develop, especially if you are coming up in an environment when there are authority figures with a vested interest in being the controllers of “the right way to do things” (e.g., a music teacher with dogmatic ideas on the one and only “correct” way to play a composition.)
I think a good idea almost HAS to start out as a bad or dubious idea, and one has to be willing to work with it, let it stick around and mull over it rather than suppress it. Only if it is allowed to hang around will it combine with other ideas and become something promising.
I like asking the question “what if…”, and (very important), don’t take anyone else’s word for it, prove the answer out for yourself. This has been the source of many a decent game idea. It has also led down some blind alleys, and to occasionally being called crazy. But creative thinking needs the freedom to “fail”. It is exploratory.
I always think “What hasn’t been done yet?” and do it.
Even if it seems similar to another game, I always try to make it different. Not different graphics etc. Different gameplay. If the gameplay is unique, then you will do well.
What games did you enjoy playing in the past yourself? Try to determine why you liked them. What game mechanics did it use that appealed to you?
Assuming that you plan on developing the game on your own or in a small team, make sure you decide on making a game that you yourself enjoy playing. Trust me, it takes a lot of self discipline and motivation to develop a game from begin to end. You’ll be playing your own levels hundreds of times before you actually release the game, so you better make sure you enjoy the game yourself.
What works for me is playing some of my favorite games at night, specifically old ones on the Znes-emulator, and then analyzing what I liked, but also what I didn’t like about it. Then ponder some more on this before you go to bed. You’d be surprised about the ideas you have when you wake up.