For most gamers, having the opportunity to create and design your very own video game doesn't come along very often, or even in a lifetime. But for Shawn Smith, creator of the Shawnimals toy line, turned his idea into what would eventually become a Nintendo DS game titled Ninjatown, which released in October.

"It's surreal," Smith said. "Were a small company and we've been making these toys. It's so weird to see it come all this way and come back full circle to be this game."

Fortunately for Smith, he had a much easier time getting his idea into game makers' hands. Before running a toy company, Smith spent several years as an editor at Electronic Gaming Monthly in the late '90s where he made important industry contacts that he would later help get his idea off the ground.

Despite Ninjatown's simplistic look and tiny budget, Smith said the total time frame to get his game idea onto store shelves took around two years, which he thought was "pretty quick" by game industry standards. He also noted all those days reviewing games at EGM helped lay the groundwork for Ninjatown.

"Having the experience of reviewing games in the past, it was great to look at it early on," he recalls. "I was really able to think about [the development] as a game reviewer based solely on the gameplay mechanics. I would ask myself 'Is this fun?'"

When it came to populating Ninjatown with new characters, Shawn worked closely with producer Jeremy Pope on designs that made sense within the rules of the game. Pope would approach Smith with ideas that could work, and Smith would draw up the character. As an artist, he said he never felt too restricted about what he could do.

"There are some designers that like to start with an open field, but if there are loose parameters and it's guided, I really like that," he explained. "It was perfect for this since I already had the framework in place for characters. It was great to sit down and sketch them out and send them out to talk it over, which is much different than me sitting down by myself."

With the recent success of smaller budget, online-only console games like Braid and Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Smith felt that there were more opportunities to get games in front of wider group of people than before. So the chance to grow the Ninjatown franchise is a possibility... assuming the sales of his DS version are good, of course.

"All of those downloadable content for the consoles, it's phenomenal what you can do with a shoestring budget," he said. "It's really exciting to think about not just for ports, but what you can do from the ground up. I would love to explore that."

It's one thing to make a game, it's another to have it launch alongside an array of toys to help promote it. But don't say that around Smith.

"One thing we've experienced time and again is a lot of people assume the toys were made because of the game, not realizing the product existed before the game idea," said Smith. "We never wanted it to be marketing tool for the game. We're doing it with out without the game."

If you're looking to turn your sketches into a game, Smith offered up some advice. "I think the more details the better... That's what's going to give it longevity. You can work with people on storytelling and creating narratives. Just always keep drawing and thinking."