What part does creativity play in game design? Novice game designers often have a confused idea that game design is all about creativity, which is very far from the truth. Creativity is important, but a small component of game design. Most of the work involved in designing the game is fairly straightforward thinking and problem solving. This is not to say that it's easy, but it does not involve a great deal of creativity.
The general point I want to make here is that you don't need to be a terrifically creative person to design a good game. Creativity can be misunderstood. In game design it is mostly not about getting ideas, is not brain fever, is not wild imagination. Anybody can come up with nutty off-the-wall stuff. For me, creativity is about finding unusual ways to solve problems, not necessarily unique, not necessarily flashy.
Too many people think creativity is all there is to game design, and it has to be said, the sexy part of game design is the conception and elaboration of an idea that may turn into an enjoyable game. The rest of it is not sexy. It takes a long time to test and modify a game, and it often gets to be un-fun toward the end of that time. I think a lot of so-called game designers want the equivalent of a convenient relationship with the most fun parts without the work that makes relationships last. You can try and do this in games, but what you'll end up with is a lot of half-done, and usually half-baked, games that will not be published unless you publish it yourself.
It's also not unusual for people who call themselves designers to complain that constraints limit their creativity. That's actually the opposite of the truth, in art generally as well as in game design. Constraints promote creativity because you work harder to find solutions to your problems--and you have specific problems.
It's really hard to decide what to do when there are no constraints. You need to consider the constraints and that will help you make a better game. You always have a target audience, for example, whether you know it or not. You may not think of it in your head, but it's there. Constraints breed creativity.
Creativity vs. Execution
While you can be creative in lots of different ways, if you don't execute the overall game, if you don't have a willingness to stick with it until the end when you're bloody sick of it, then you will not come up with a good game. Maybe somebody else (called a game developer) will do that work, and the game will be great in the end, but it will be your work plus somebody else's. The whole process is more an engineering problem than a creativity problem.
Adams and Rollings in Game Design Fundamentals suggest that creativity or innovation by the game designer amounts to 5% of a game. My formulation is a modified form of something Thomas Edison said, and that is success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Edison said 1% and 99%, but he was famous for using trial and error. In other words, he guessed at a solution and checked the results, and that's why he perhaps discounted inspiration.
Talented Game Designers
Some people certainly have a talent for designing games and some people certainly don't. Inborn talent may make the difference between a decent game and a good game but game design is also a craft that can be learned, not something that only a few lucky individuals can do. The necessary creativity is in most of us. We just need to bring it out, or bring it back in Maslow's terms.
Execution counts for far more in game design than creativity. If there is no creativity then you're probably not going to get much of a game, but creativity is not the major part of the equation.
The Misunderstood Creative
The general point I want to make here is that you don't need to be a terrifically creative person to design a good game. Creativity can be misunderstood. In game design it is mostly not about getting ideas, is not brain fever, is not wild imagination. Anybody can come up with nutty off-the-wall stuff. For me, creativity is about finding unusual ways to solve problems, not necessarily unique, not necessarily flashy.
Too many people think creativity is all there is to game design, and it has to be said, the sexy part of game design is the conception and elaboration of an idea that may turn into an enjoyable game. The rest of it is not sexy. It takes a long time to test and modify a game, and it often gets to be un-fun toward the end of that time. I think a lot of so-called game designers want the equivalent of a convenient relationship with the most fun parts without the work that makes relationships last. You can try and do this in games, but what you'll end up with is a lot of half-done, and usually half-baked, games that will not be published unless you publish it yourself.
It's also not unusual for people who call themselves designers to complain that constraints limit their creativity. That's actually the opposite of the truth, in art generally as well as in game design. Constraints promote creativity because you work harder to find solutions to your problems--and you have specific problems.
It's really hard to decide what to do when there are no constraints. You need to consider the constraints and that will help you make a better game. You always have a target audience, for example, whether you know it or not. You may not think of it in your head, but it's there. Constraints breed creativity.
Creativity vs. Execution
While you can be creative in lots of different ways, if you don't execute the overall game, if you don't have a willingness to stick with it until the end when you're bloody sick of it, then you will not come up with a good game. Maybe somebody else (called a game developer) will do that work, and the game will be great in the end, but it will be your work plus somebody else's. The whole process is more an engineering problem than a creativity problem.
Adams and Rollings in Game Design Fundamentals suggest that creativity or innovation by the game designer amounts to 5% of a game. My formulation is a modified form of something Thomas Edison said, and that is success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Edison said 1% and 99%, but he was famous for using trial and error. In other words, he guessed at a solution and checked the results, and that's why he perhaps discounted inspiration.
Talented Game Designers
Some people certainly have a talent for designing games and some people certainly don't. Inborn talent may make the difference between a decent game and a good game but game design is also a craft that can be learned, not something that only a few lucky individuals can do. The necessary creativity is in most of us. We just need to bring it out, or bring it back in Maslow's terms.
Execution counts for far more in game design than creativity. If there is no creativity then you're probably not going to get much of a game, but creativity is not the major part of the equation.
