When I began creating this new game, a few ideas quickly formed in my head about what to make; the theme, the genre, the characters etc. The first thing that I did was spend a day going through the 2D sprite sheet tutorial that I posted previously. After I learnt the basics I had a running man who could jump, I suppose that is the beginning of many games. I continued with my original idea; a kind of side scrolling doodle-jump amalgamation, until I round myself into the ground with complicated jumping and landing mechanics, at which point I deemed that which I was doing too complex for to achieve with any ease. That evening my head was full of bits of games I could make, half ideas I was sure would work for all of 10 minutes.
The following day, I, with the help of glamorous assistant (my girlfriend), brainstormed all of the ideas I came up with up previously. This allowed my thought processes to come together and think more clearly about what I wanted to do. 
This is that brainstorm, and you can see the ideas that I had for the different elements of the game. What came out of the brainstorm more than anything was a basic idea of what the game would become; the themes and genre etc. As we went through each section, a much stronger idea began to form of what game I would make, and it began it sway my decisions about what I wanted it to be.
Even so, having an idea and knowing what to make are two very different things, the next key part was when I told my girlfriend what my idea was. She questioned the parts that weren’t clearly explained, meaning I had to think about them more so I could explain my vision coherently to her, and this meant that I understood my own ideas with greater clarity. I think that it was this explaining that has been key to speed of the development of the game, going from non-existent to working at a basic level in 2 days. From now on I will be spending time before coding talking through my ideas with friends/family/peers so that I can clarify them in my own mind and make a better game at the end of it.
TL:DR; diving head long into development is dangerous, brainstorming is good, talking your ideas through with people is better.
Adam Boyne 
Nice work! Especially the insight about talking through your ideas! Feedback FTW!
Although so mind map experts recommend using pens and paper because their tactile nature is meant to inspire creativity, I would recommend taking a look at the free version of a piece of software called xmind (http://www.xmind.net/)
This is why I love having a whiteboard at home.