Hey Puzzle Bomb Family!
When we launched the Bumfuzzled subscriptions back in February, it came with a big commitment: I had to release a new Bumfuzzled every month without exception. There's the potential of this feeling like a grind or a quota to meet if I approach this wrong, and that would reflect in the final product. Here's what I do to ensure I'm passionate about everything I put into your hands!
Tons of Concepts
It always helps to have a multitude of concepts ready to develop, rather than having to do an entire project from concept to final product all in one go.
Every week, I come up with three new concepts, without necessarily thinking through all the details of each concept. This means I'm generating 12 concepts per month, of which I only fully develop one.
Why so many concepts if I'm only going to run with about 10% of them? Not every idea is a great idea. And, even for good ideas, sometimes you're just not in the mood to develop that idea on any particular day (more on that later). I currently have 156 ideas in my concepts folder, which means there's bound to be something that piques my interest when I'm ready to design a new puzzle.
I also cull ideas from the list when I realize I've passed over an idea for many months, and I'm just never going to be interested in developing it.
Only Designing What I Personally Like
If I'm only designing stuff I personally enjoy, it always means I'm more invested in the design than if I were focused on what I think other people will like, or what I think will sell well. When I design, marketability is always secondary to personal enjoyment. If I like what I'm doing, you're going to notice that on your end!
I wrote more in depth about this in a previous blog post, but it really does make a huge difference when there's freedom to just do what you like!
Designing at Least a Year in Advance
While some folks thrive on tight deadlines, I find it restrictive. If, right now, I needed to design a puzzle for production next week, I could pull something off, but I find forced creativity to be of lower quality than ideas and design that flows more naturally.
I'm currently designing Bumfuzzled 51, with a scheduled release of March of 2028. If that sounds crazy in advance, it takes 5-6 months from the time I order the first sample until the puzzle are in our warehouse, so I'd need finished production files for this puzzle by around August of next year. So, I'm still way ahead of the game, just not quite as far as it might appear!
This dovetails into the last bit of my design process.
Only Designing When I Feel Like It
I don't necessarily design one puzzle per month. Some months, I don't design anything at all. Other months, I might design three Bumfuzzleds.
There's just that flow that happens sometimes when I'm in the mood for designing, and everything feels relatively effortless. That's when I just keep designing, and there's an excitement about putting ideas to paper. If it ever feels like a grind, I put down the pencil and come back to it later.
All the above sections support my ability to pull this off. Those tons of concepts always ensure there's something I'll be excited to bring to fruition. Designing what I personally like means I'll feel like working on it. Designing so far in advance means I can take a few months off from designing if I'm not super pumped about designing for a while.
God knew what He was doing when He took a sabbath rest after creation, and He's made us the same way! If we're always grinding away, we're not functioning the way we were designed to function.
Serving You Well
That's it; my personal process to ensure I'm sending you something I loved designing vs. just another puzzle to fill that month's slot. My focus is always going to be on how I can serve you well and truly give you something to look forward to every month.
Until next time, blessings to you all!
Chad aka the Puzzle Bomb Designer and Other Stuff Guy
5 comments
You know I’m zooming in on that photo above to get a peek at a future puzzle!
As a fellow creative-type, I well know you can’t decide to be inspired, you can only try to see it when it happens, seize it, and go along for the bumpy ride! I tend to work just a week in advance of when I need to design something for production, so your years-ahead planning is well ahead of me. :)
I really enjoyed blind-building Sublime Contrivance. The abundant “false keys” and airy interior was a fun challenge. Keep up the great work.
Ben, if I have a handful I’d like to work on, it’s usually based on which one offers a good contrast to the previous puzzle. I don’t like issuing two similar solve experiences in a row, or two puzzles of similar visual content in a row.
Todd, I like how springy some of the pieces in Sublime Contrivance are! Those long, thin pieces flex well without breaking, but yes, you’ll see in the design diary a goal of this puzzle was to push that limit! :D
Whatever approach you’re taking it’s worth it. They say if you do something you love you’ll never work a day in your life, sounds like you’re living that dream, congratulations! I have immensely enjoyed every puzzle I’ve gotten so far and I have no doubts about the future.
As for the Sublime Contrivance I think you may have reached the limit of how long and thin the puzzle pieces can be. I had a couple scary moments when a piece bent significantly but none actually broke and I learned quickly to be more gentle with this one as opposed to say the Haybound Needle which had very chunky pieces. I have every confidence in your design skills but this one was real close to being too fragile 😁
Todd
I love the little teases of future puzzles we get.
The real question I have is – what happens when you’ve got four ideas you really love all at once. How do you decide which one to pick?