I'm not saying ignore the GDC talks and guys like Jon Blow, because it's always good to keep informed on the current state of gaming. But I will say don't take everything you hear as gospel.
Quazi and Minor have it right. Make something you enjoy, even if it's been done before. Take something you like and put a twist on it. Or take something that had a lot of potential, yet failed to see it through. We've all played games that could have been a lot better than they were if only they'd done x, y, or z.
Original ideas will come naturally, from surprising places, or they won't come at all. There's no way to force it.
Also, there's nothing wrong with the storytelling approach to making a game. If you want to tell a story with a game, then do it. If your game is about characters and plot instead of unique game mechanics, then so be it.
In fact, I like my games to have story elements to them. I find it hard to pay attention to a game for too long unless there is some sort of story, no matter how small and tacked on that story might be.