Oh, the stories are endless. I actually sold what I thought was a totally original game idea to a prominent game show producer whose name we all know. I had yet to decide between 2 names I was alternating between, "Picture This" and "Get The Picture".
We did office run-thrus with contestants. The producer made some great tweaks to the idea and then made informal presentations of the idea to two network programmers. Shortly thereafter a friend told me she was hired to be a contestant on a pilot called "Win, Lose or Draw" with amazing similarities to the game I created. And 3 months later I was hired as a run-through contestant at Group W to present "Get The Picture". I was crazed - both my idea and even one of my titles were stolen.
After I calmed down and had conversations with people higher up the game show food chain I came to understand that there are only so many concepts that can be turned into a game and they are continually "created" again and again in varying incarnations. I even learned that at least one of the titles I "created" had been used before.
EDITORIAL:
For myself, I'm convinced that everything that can be done with Q&A, words, numbers, prices, pictures and cards has been done already either on-air or in the office of at least one producer in the past 50+ years of TV game shows. The great and not so great minds in TV game shows have spent millions of hours cumulatively trying to invent a new wheel. They all turn out to be round with spokes, and all bear at least a moderate resemblence to something that has been on-air or piloted before.
I think the inventive and memorable presentation and/or concept within which the game is played is what gives a show marketability. Examples, great and not so great, run the gamut from the A&Q variation of Q&A that is "Jeopardy!" to the arithmetic hocus pocus accompanying the simple asking of riddles that was "Jackpot". Look at the great TPiR games that are simple at their core but truly inventive and engaging.
Now what the hell were we talking about?
Randy
tvrandywest.com