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Monday, January 07, 2008

A Creative Game























Have a go at this evil knock off of Mario. It's really creative in its way of forcing you to die repeatedly and in the ways it makes you do so. Good luck.

http://www.geocities.jp/z_gundam_tanosii/home/Main.html


Enjoy everyone, the first link is the flash game, the second is the downloadable version. Let me know if any of you beat it. And watch out for deadly murderous clouds.

Organic Character





















This is gonna be my final image for the organic project I think, it needs more work though and I'm kinda stuck with what to do with it

Stress and Creativity

I’ve been researching this subject for a while and the subject seems quite debated. This experiment: http://media.www.thelantern.com/media/storage/paper333/news/2004/11/10/Campus/Stress.Stifles.Creativity.Study.Shows-799647.shtml , claims that creativity is restriced when people are in a stressful environment, however the statement is based on one experiment in which three students are subjected to few tests whilst in an exam period so I’ve decided this concludes absolutely nothing. My research led me to various other evaluations that seemed to provide better proof as to why stress can actually help to push peoples’ creativity to another level.

I think that stress and conflict can help to promote an individual’s creative process because they can show that boundaries are being reached and felt which lets you reflect on the creative work you’re trying to produce. Stress can also help to focus your attention which could speed up and deepen your creative output so in a way stress can be something which helps you channel your abilities so you can make the most of them.

I find I can focus on work easier when there’s more pressure to get it done. When I’m under the stress of a deadline it gets me motivated and gets me thinking, I can churn out more ideas at a higher rate. I’m not necessarily sure about the quality of the ideas I churn out… in some cases the quality probably decreases, but the level of stress helps to motivate and focus me.

I’m looking forward to the group task this year since the schedule will be tighter due to being in a group and I expect we’ll set group deadlines and key points to achieve which will help me to be motivated and to focus a bit more. I found it difficult this term due to the amount of time spent on each project and I really feel I should have set some personal deadlines to help me achieve my work better so for next term, that’s the plan.

At the moment though, I’m so stressed that I know I’m not putting out my most creative work so it’s something to learn from, I’m gonna really try to stick to a schedule for this next project.

Game art itself I think is inherently a very stressful career. You’re constantly under pressure deadlines and time constraints and you’re constantly being knocked back and having to redo work due to decisions by people above you, so maybe that’s part of the process and it’s why people can produce some of the great looking games that are seen today. If they’re constantly used to pressure and having to churn out lots of work then they’re constantly mixing and discovering their most creative ideas which should ultimately lead to producing the best work. It’s worrying how stressful a career it can be though, I hope it all doesn’t kill me off before I’m 30. Since games are a good way to alleviate stress, if I make sure to keep a steady gaming diet I might just survive it all and live to tell a creatively stressfull tale.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Creativity: Speed Painting

I think the speed painting has been a really effective way for everyone to express their creative processes. Since there’s less time to really plan your image in depth and you have to get working right away to make the most of your time, people stick with original ideas that they might usually dismiss and really draw potential from them. I’ve found it a good way to develop my techniques although sometimes I just get totally stuck with a word and churn out stuff I’m unhappy with, it’s all part of the process and is a great way to try out new techniques.

It’s been really helpful for me since I find it difficult to make creative decisions and being given a time constraint has really forced me to think up ideas on the spot and try to experiment with different tools to get a result. It’s great fun trying to think up new ideas each time and an awesome way to flex creative muscles.

This one was on the words “Evil Robot” which is a word that kind of speaks for itself.

















Evil Robot


This next one was “Super Villain” which again is a word that doesn’t leave too much creative liberties in the subject, but I’ve had great fun with both of these. I think I’ve gotta try going for more open ended and challenging words so I can come up with more creative and individual ideas but these have been fun for developing brush strokes and stuff in Photoshop.














Super Villain

I think that certain constraints such as time limits and restrictions can really bring creative ideas out of people. For example, I find I can produce creative ideas easier when I’ve got a tighter time constraint to work too. I’ve find the drawing classes difficult this year just because I’ve had too much time that I wasn’t able to manage properly and I’ve ended not producing the best work that I could and rushing some ideas, so in future I’m gonna try working in a different context involving my own personal deadlines this term and see if it helps me to get more creative both with my ideas and techniques.

The speed painting has taught me that I need to get way more proficient at Photoshop. I often spend the first ten minutes just dawdling around looking for the right tools to use so my plan from now on is to do more and more speed paints to get to know that damn program all the better. Despite having to think about what on earth I’m doing in with all the different brushes and tools, I think the speed paints are a great example of pure creativity that people are able to create when they’re put under time constraints and everyone’s excellent work is a great example of this.

Creativity Constraints in Society

Creativity Constraints in Society

I felt prompted to write this after Ben Mathis had shown his character entry for the Dominance War and it made me realise how much popularity and public opinion can effect and restrain creative ideas. I thought that Ben’s character not only looked fantastic and unique, but was also supported by some brilliant and considered ideas such the prosthetic sprinting legs to get in and out of dangerous situations quickly and the luminous face paint under the eyes so he’d be able to snipe in the dark. I was disappointed to find out that it was negatively received by most people, and this draws me to the point that common opinions of what is “cool” can stifle the games industries’ creative potential. After hearing that the most popular designs appeared to be generic and overused genre archetypes such as girls with guns and guys with swords, I felt I'd have to look into why very few original concepts seem to be able to make it into the world of games.










There are examples of this saturation of the market due to uninspired games wherever you turn, legions of WWII shooters and re-hashed football games bear down on you from the shelves, each promising the “authentic” WWII shooting adventure and the “definitive” football experience. It’s disappointing that the market is so dominated by these kind of games and it’s more disappointing still to realise that as the industry grows and each game is a bigger risk d

ue to the massive increase of production costs, the less risks developers will be willing to take when it comes to creativity. It’s also sad to find out that most imaginative and creative games that try to do something different often don’t sell so well so it’s a tricky predicament.
The only option for solving a problem like this seems to be to bring down restrictions placed on games by massive profit-driven publishers like EA so that creative games are able to make it through into the market. The problem is, that even when a creative gem of a game gets through, they never get the recognition they deserve due to huge cleverly marketed games that cater to whatever sells well.

Now many people might argue against me but I feel that a lot of games considered creative are often quite shallow in terms of story development and are based on basic (and often excellent) ideas that draw in the player which is how they’re able to gain footing in the market. Katamari Damacy is an example of this, a casual gamer is able to pick and play with a unique control scheme utilising both analogue sticks which is new and exciting, but there’s no engaging story to really draw the player into the world. Games that try to do both, such as Psychonauts, often seem to do badly in terms of sales.

It seems like there’s a deadly cycle of popular yet overused genres that are holding the industry back. These days there are very few games that I actually want to play. Back in the day I’d wander into a game store, glassy eyed, all around me were seemingly fantastic games and I’d never be able to get all the ones I wanted. Especially with the price of N64 cartridges when it was in its very early days, about £70 if I remember… anyway, it always seemed like I was saving up for the next good game. Oh and on a kind of side note, anyone remember that awesome N64 fighting game, Rakuga Kids? Holy shit, it was awesome. There’s no way anything like that’d make it in todays market. The bear could turn into a submarine and it had snot bubbles and there was a girl with a chicken hat. So so cool.








It’s not just the game industry that’s suffering this lack of creativity too, it seems. A lot of modern films seem to go over old and safe money making genres and is it just me or does there seem to be a total lack of original IPs these days? Every film seems to either be a sequel, is based on a comic book, or a bad remake of a classic that butchers the original and sullies its name, all in the name of box office sales. Hopefully there’ll be a turning point at some point where the entertainment industry gets its creativity back and even more hopefully, maybe one day somebody will make a good movie based on a game or that genre will burn and die.

Anyway, I’m still awaiting the day when I can wander into a game store and be overwhelmed by a ton of games I want and blow all my savings on ‘em. Like it was back in the day. I feel so old.