It only just hit me, but I have realized that wherever I go, I tend to bring a pen and paper along with me. Oftentimes I get really great ideas for a game, and jot them down really quick so I don't forget them. This has been great for me, since I come up with some fabulous level ideas during slow periods at work.

So, what I'd like to know is, how many development studio owners do this, and how helpful is it to you?

For six years I carried a notepad. Usually a micro composition one. I would use the front for whatever but the back strictly for RM. Oddly the most ideas I get have been at work when I shouldn't be thinking about them.

Although, honestly, I have been neglecting my RMs. It has been about a year since I did anything with one. But I still carry a notepad and sometimes, still write ideas for games.

I always have a pen and some kind of paper and when I get an idea I write it down as a note of a couple of words to remind me of the idea. Then when I get home I write the idea and sometimes a little more elaboration in my actual RPGM notebook which I keep at home. It is a regular college ruled type notebook divided into different games or reserve sections.

I am always very tempted not to write notes saying that if the idea is important enough I will remember it AND work on it without losing it. However when I go back and reread some things I wrote months or years ago I say, "man I would NEVER, EVER have remembered that or re-imagined that but I am so glad I documented this idea because I still really like it". Sometimes it is though I get to watch my idea as a spectator because I forgot all about it and I get to appreciate it again from a different point of view.

Got a little notepad full of names. Female, male, location/town, special item names. Whenever I'm watching TV or otherwise come across a good-sounding name, I write it down because I suck at coming up with names for things on the spot. If I get an idea for a name, it gets written down.

Got a text file on the computer with game ideas by title. If I get an idea for a new game, it gets a title or a working title and gets added to the list. (At the moment there are 9 titles on that list.) Everything else (in terms of game ideas) is in my head and stays that way until it's translated into a real game.

There is a rare occasion where I'll pause and write up a cool dialogue scene while pondering a future project, just to get it typed up so I don't forget.

While working on a game, I keep a variety of notes in a regular-sized notebook. Variable information and other stuff that needs to be kept track of, written in pencil in case I need to change something later. There's a good number of pages' worth of stuff for "Warriors Of Altos".

Sometimes it's easier to use a text file on the computer for data that I can easily move around, rearrange, and erase on the fly. Like monster parties, what goes on which fields, and some types of item pricing. Got a text file full of monster party info, right down to the last detail including how many of each individual monster appears in the game.

I haven't worried about carrying one on my. I've got all my notes in .txt format on a computer. I never seem to be in a place that doesn't have a computer accessible at some point. I've got over twenty different documents covering a wide range of notes and ideas.

But even still, I do take notes. So does SK. While I'm actually working on puzzles and what not, I'll be jotting down switches and labeling them so I know exactly what they do (yet another function I wish was built into RM1). I'll draw little sketches for dungeon ideas and notes on how to make them work. I just recently make a light reflecting puzzle. (It ended up being a lot more complicated than I had expected... and in the end, it's not really hard to solve. A bit of a bummer, but I still think it's creative enough to keep.) So yeah, this little note pad I have has most of the switch labels and dungeon sketches.

SK has (I think) two full notebooks full of dialog. He writes all the dialog out before he "types" it into RM1. Not only does it help to write it out because you can do it much faster on paper, but it gives you a chance to revise it while you are putting it into RM1. I guess it is like a rough draft really. But yeah lot of pen and paper going on around here.

That's awesome. I can't wait to see that light puzzle.

I think this is a really cool topic as well, with how everyone keeps info. I've never finished even a demo of an RPGM game. EVER. So back in the day, I had notes on MS Word. Never did anything with the idea though really.

I'm still working on Project Entranse. It's coming along a bit slowly(I'm trying to stretch it out anyhow, until I can get on VX Ace I've slowed down again. I think that's fine though, because planning stuff on paper(database stuff, character bios, etc) is something I think will take a lot longer than other things.

On that note, I have a notebook-sized journal for more formulaic ideas, but I definitely need to get a smaller notebook to take for spur of the moment ideas.

i keep notes only in my room and when i work on my game. i have switches, ideas, references, rough maps and all kinds of data sitting there for later use. some of the harder puzzles or maps i have laid out so i know if im missing a pathway without testing or i can check all possibilities. i found carrying pen and paper everywhere was too much of a burden so i dont. i just remember the idea if its good and try to work it into my files when i get the chance.

i do recommend carrying a pen around with you. i always seam to get caught in situations where i dont have a pen and no one else seams to have one either. napkins make great notepads btw

Yeah, I usually look for something to write in the moment I start working in my game. Unfortunately, this something can be anything that can be written on, so I end up with a bunch of loose paper or more than one notebook with random notes. So when it comes to notes, I'm all over the place.

That was definitely me in high school. I was a margin doodler, and ideas in general used to come to me while bored in class. Seemed like the optimum time.

I'm still thinking of getting a smaller notebook to just take with me to places, since when we're driving I tend to get ideas and have nothing to write on. I have a phone with that mini-office thing... thing, but I prefer writing implement and paper for that sort of thing.

im currently buried in notes for crystal shores. its so much writing and pieces of paper that im not sure what belongs to which. i have notes from play throughs, lists of various kinds, and puzzles in different states of completion. i need to just condense whats useful and chuck the rest.