.
Unsatisfying answer ⌠it depends on many factors.
Is it a revolutionary idea that you expect someone else will steal and beat you to it or do you want to learn from the project and donât mind that much since itâs a copy of other projects anyways?
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I think in an extreme case it might be a bad idea, but for the (overwhelmingly) most part itâs not problematic.
This is because the âtangibleâ value of an idea is in the execution, not in the idea itself.
The kind of person too lazy to come up with their own ideas is most likely also too lazy to put in the work to make yours happen.
Of course, just going around posting ideas can make one seem like an idiot, like the guy whoâs âwriting a bookâ but never actually writes a book.
I remember when I wrote a novel. I told a couple of my friends about it. They were all like, âcool, I want to write one too!â One talked to me a bit about a collaboration. Came up with a basic idea. Started spending most of his time one tangential nonsense, like capturing a topographical map of the region he wanted it to be in. Meanwhile, I kept writing.
A few years later heâd forgotten all about his idea, and I had finished a book.
So youâre not likely to have issues with people copying it, but at the same time you can become that guy if thatâs all you do.
Edit: And what Picasso said is not really true. I suspect he was being facetious. An artist experiences, and then filters their experience through their own emotions, their own mind, their own spirit if you will, before expressing. Hence their work is inherently unique.
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Frankly unless youâve uncovered some kind of unique and magical solution to making an awesome game, thereâs nothing to gain from hiding it (and a lot to lose in visibility and interest/marketing).
The way I see it is like this. There are several things which each reduce by orders of magnitude the possibility that you will lose anything from someone cloning your game.
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Chances of anyone cloning something you show off are pretty remote (/100);
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Most people will never finish a game, period (/10);
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Most people who have the skill and determination to make one, are not short of ideas or pride (/10);
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Most people who can make a good game, canât market a game to save their life (/10);
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It doesnât really matter if itâs cloned anyway, there are clones of every kind of game doing quite well for themselves (/100000)
So just make a good game, market it well, donât send your GDD to a clone factory studio, and donât worry about it.
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Nobody is going to steal your idea because everyone is too busy working on there own stuff.
But just to be safe - consider showing only when you have some quality stuff to show - that canât be duplicated in 2 weeks time.
If itâs a simple mobile bouncy, flappy, simon says, dodgie runner, circle square game created for learning - donât even show it - just move on to the next idea.
One is a writer and the other is an author. There is a distinction.
Same as working on games - and releasing a game. 
Iâve worked on several released games but have yet to release my own. (except for that demo that doesnât count)
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Fair enough, though in my experience the ones who were talking about writing one were never even that farâŚ
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I think if the idea can easily be stolen, it was not a very good idea to begin with
Ideas canât be copyrighted, and are mostly worthless. Their implementation however, is valuable. There are also people who think that NDAs and attempts to keep the idea to yourself are in the long term harmful, and the best results arise during exchange of ideas. See, for example:
http://blog.jpl-consulting.com/2012/04/why-i-wont-sign-your-nda/
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I worked with a writer that wanted to call herself an author - she wrote over 7 volumes but was afraid to pull the trigger on the first volume because she said all the lore/history needed to be written.
As far as I know she is still - only a writer. 
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Nowadays I think it is fairly normal to have a âsoftâ release and a âsoft sellâ and a much lower barrier to entry and early engagement etc. This is happening all over the place, internet, apps, payment models, etc. Instead of a black-and-white nobody knows about it and then suddenly it comes out of nowhere on release day with a high price tag, itâs shifted a lot to a gradual introduction, a gradual raising of awareness, a gradual developing of engagement, a gradual developing of commitment, a gradual development of the willingness to pay less over time after you already had the thing for a while etc. It also works well in terms of social media because maybe then you are willing to be more of service to the community and ask for feedback and get people engaged and be a part of the development process, so that they grow with your project and then have some investment in it. These days being suddenly hit with a big price tag is considered jarring and like a slap in the face. So similarly with your precious âideasâ, itâs not a âbad ideaâ to expose it. Execution leaves a lot on the table. If the game is good enough at some point someone is going to be inspired by it and want to copy it anyway which is sort of a credit to you. In a way, you canât have it both ways - you canât have every adoring your product and wanting to lick it, and then at the same time tell them that they shouldnât try to mimick it or copy it or do something similar because theyâre inspired by it.
Why would you post game ideas anyway? If itâs just an idea and you already know itâs totally awesome then you donât really need the feedback until you make a prototype.
Show. Always show.
If youâre afraid your idea is good, all the more reason.
Donât think of your idea as an idea ⌠think of it as a brand. And not just any brand, your brand. People must say âHey, particle ice is doing some nice progress on his game idea, I like him, he pushes all the right buttons for me.â ⌠âIâm even considering stalking himâ
When you realize how difficult is to get anyoneâs attention as a small indie dev ⌠youâll see why you shouldnât even ask that question. Show your game from day 1.
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I agree with everyone here, basically. The only incentives for not sharing I can think of:
- Your idea really is good, and youâve made some great progress youâre showing off. But you havenât purchased appropriate domains, set up social media accounts, or registered the game with the marketplaces you plan to distribute on. You might get unlucky and a sleazebag could camp on a domain you wanted or something.
- Sharing information fulfills that pleasure center in your brain that is otherwise triggered by making real progress in your development. This is what happens to me. Talking about my game and showing early progress is exciting, and it also distracts me from working on the actual project.
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Itâs a great idea to show your game to the public as youâre developing, how else is everyone supposed to hear about it?
If youâre worried about ideas being stolen, donât worry, ideas are useless without good execution, and chances are someone out there has either already thought of your idea or thereâs a game out there similar. I would worry more about how you can build a good game than about others stealing your ideas.
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Or if you are Bethesda and you love to watch the fans squirm trying to determine if that random website that recently appeared was an actual release message or simply a troll. 
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Ideas are a dime a dozen, if youâre confident and enthusiastic in yours, you shouldnât feel afraid to share it with others. If youâre worried about plagiarism, itâs actually quite easy to defend against in the software world. Just document everything. If youâre worried about people stealing your ideaâŚdonât be. What makes a product good is the person behind it, not the idea behind it. You are selling you, not your idea. In fact, keeping your super duper classified project top secret until youâre ready to drop it on the world out of nowhere is actually not a great idea. You want to generate excitement and interest and you canât do that by keeping everything secret
Now, your methods, techniques, etc. Keep those closely guarded. A magician never reveals their secrets
Iâd argue its better to keep quiet, most games you see young developers making seem to be games involving robots/zombies fighting humans in a post-apocalyptic open world survival thing⌠with M4 rifles.
so if you have a genuine idea Iâd say you should be quiet and find developers/arts and discuss it in private until you have some good screenshots/concept art etc to show off to the world.
Ideas are nothing. Its implementing them were the magic happens
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exactly, but it depends if you are making a generic plug-n-play FPS or something more unique.
A FPS is not good if the mechanics are not. For example the feel of the first person controller is crucial.
of course, but thats the difference between two kids who think they can make a game by watching a couple of youtube videos and obtaining some Blender models of robots/aliens/zombies and an M4 rifle, and a group of people who want to make an interesting expereince in a game and are aware the mechanics and the physics and the other bits under the hood are the what make it special and therefore its the IP which should be kept secret.