I recently met a few guys who were involved in the making of this week’s tower-defense game “Ninjatown DS.”

The development process sounded really casual, as if it would be possible for anyone with a dream and the right friends to make a game.

So how do you get from concept to release?

Here’s how they say it went down. (Warning: you are about to enter an experimental blog post)

*The Making of “Ninjatown DS” - In Pictures*

1) Gaming PR guy Rob Fleischer knew Shawn Smith , former “Electronic Gaming Monthly” editor — and creator of the Ninjatown characters — from about a decade ago.

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2) About two years ago, introduced to Corey Wade , a former Rockstar employee who now works with Rob.

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3) About a year and a half ago, caught up with his former Rockstar colleague Jeremy Pope . Maybe they could work on a game together?

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4) So… introduced , who loves “Desktop Tower Defense,” to . They started crafting a tower-defense concept that would work with “Ninjatown” characters.

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5) Next, brought his idea to Brandon Curiel, of mostly mobile development studio Venan. Brandon’s team would be able to make the game.

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6) In June of last year, , , and pitched the idea to publisher Southpeak Interactive.

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7) The publisher signed on, with Lee Perez and Howard Perlman serving as the game’s producers.

And that’s all it takes to turn an idea into a video game. (Or so they say.)