The only way I can explain the importance of prototyping is to tell you about a very important lesson I learned at the 4th Annual Bean Salad Competition in Wilmington, Delaware on March 12, 2002. I was a young braggart, unaware that a mistake I would make later that day would result in the serious injury of 3 people and a stray dog.
How can you create a successful bean salad? One that will satisfy everyone and fly off the shelves? Nobody knows. You can attempt to please yourself with your creation and hope other folks like it, but you're wasting your time. The whole point of a bean salad is to be unique, offend some people, and create a combined flavor that nobody in the entire world has ever tasted before. Not even kings and queens. Choose the finest ingredients and proceed carefully. It's easy to mix 63 buffalo beans into your creation, but it's a pain in the ass to have to go through and pick each one out. Embarrassing, as well. Sprinkle too much rare, iridescent Portuguese saffron on it, without checking it's authenticity, and you've ruined all the utensils in your kitchen. Evacuate immediately.
Simple, stupid mistakes are unforgivable in a finished product. Unless you're planning to fail and be ridiculed by nerds all over the world, prototype everything. Game or bean salad. Test it yourself. Call a cab and have the cab driver come in and test it. Hide your valuables, though.
You ever googled "free online games"? Well, I just did it for you. Click on it. You'll see 8,011 sites that each have 192,353 different games to play. The world doesn't need anymore average games. Only interesting, fun, addictive games from this point on. Prototype your unique idea for months and months. Go back and totally change things. Prototype the prototypes. Delve deep into the dark corners of your soul and search for ways to make it better than everything else. Or just settle for something flimsy and lame. Something rushed and pointless. Something that could potentially injure 3 people and a stray dog.
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