Week 20 - Creativity

Creativity, this sounds like a fun one. Obviously, being involved in the artistic side of computer games design is a pretty creative thing, us game artists should have creativity pouring out of our ears like beautiful rainbow waterfalls of great ideas. I suppose that creativity is the process used to create original concepts and to realise these great ideas as it seems that creativity and originality are closely linked. I think I’ll have to explore the subtle nuances of that relationship later on… Now, to the task at hand!

Creativity can manifest itself in pretty much anything people do. It definitely doesn’t have to be restricted to just art-based outcomes; it can be used to solve anything from day-to-day problems to real complex sciencey stuff. However, I think that creativity can only be properly explored when boundaries such as “problem-with-solution” are disregarded and a person is able to think in an almost entirely creative manner, such as forming works of art. This leads on to whether creativity is hindered by technical constraints or not. Whilst I think technical constraints will always hinder in some way, I feel that constraints cause a person to focus their creative abilities which lets them adapt and manipulate their ideas in a more effective manner. Everybody can have great creative ideas, but part of the creativity is getting them realised.

Now in terms of game design, I think each person involved “does” creativity. Every person, whether lead artist, programmer or coffee maker (he could draw smiley faces in the foam), is trying to help visualise an initial creative idea, they just have different methods of going about it. I think that every bit of input is a creative process because the game in its entirety is a creative outcome.

Just about every element of a game demonstrates creativity. It’s there in how it looks, plays, sounds and also in how it plays on your emotions. Certain games are atmospheric for a reason, for example, survival horror games. The environments, sounds and situations are all there to instil a sense of dread and that in itself is a creative choice. This player interaction is where the versatility of games enables creative aspects that I feel are restricted with other types of popular media, nothing else involves a person in a world of many creative possibilities like a game does.

There are lots of particularly creative companies in this industry and, unfortunately, lots that aren’t. But they suck! So we’ll look at a goodun; betcha all saw this one coming. Clover Studio! …oh wait, they were axed by Capcom. It saddens me deeply when something like this happens; they were incredibly creative in all aspects of their games. But it’s an industry in the end, it’s all about the sales figures right? Amirite?! ... Not to worry though, with plenty of other creative and talented developers on the go I think we’re in for a few interesting games. Since technical limits are being pushed with the powerful consoles and PCs and control methods are being revamped with the Wii, there’s no excuse for a lack of creativity!