Lenovo wants fans to help design the next video game

Lenovo is joining the bandwagon of game developers, this time with the goal of creating a game that combines heroes, tower defense strategies and science fiction. However, the developer is not only teaming up with key influencers, but also inviting fans for the ride of developing the game.

The collaborative project is between Lenovo and Dark Rift Entertainment. The Chinese company has already teamed up with the likes of Nerdist, Geek and Sundry, Inside Gaming, Machinima, Felicia Day, Funhaus and Rooster Teeth to develop the new project “GameState.” Detailed over the project’s official webpage, Lenovo is currently also calling for recommendations from the public for the game.

The idea behind “GameState” is to team up with people who can contribute in terms of designing game levels, character development, mission designing and plot. Those interested in sound designing, lighting effects and music can also join the team by signing up on the company’s website. Anyone interested in getting onboard with the team should mark the February 2016 deadline.

“Gamestate” will have four development levels strewn over the course of four months. The team will keep interested people in the development process. The first level in November is mostly a preparatory level, where the game developers work on story ideas, game title and the mission. Development team will discuss the scopes and tools during the second level in December. Level three will be more productive in terms of deciding on details such as music, colours, Sound FX, skins and demos. February will be the final stage where the development team will work on game preview and demonstrations.

Apart from bragging rights of being part of the process, those who will join the team will get a chance to work and interact with key developers of “GameState.” Active participants will also be recognised with special badges.

Lenovo is not the first company to conduct a crowdsourcing event aimed at creating user-friendly products. Previously, Nokia’s Design by Community in 2010 and Microsoft’s more recent Create Together projects are just some of the ways that companies have tried to look at the crowd for some inspiration for better progress.

If the idea does work and Lenovo creates a brilliant indie game, maybe people will have something amazing to play in the near future. In the meantime, Lenovo with its team will provide more updates over the next few weeks. Right now the company’s focus is to get more players engaged in the idea. To let more people join the forces, Lenovo will host a one-hour live stream session in an upcoming event INSOMNIA56 which is going to take place on 11th to 14th Dec, as per the official website of INSOMNIA Gaming Festival.