I really didn't want to watch this... How the hell do I begin to even explain the concept of
creativity?
I suppose we should start with a definition. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as "Relating
to or involving the use of the imagination or original ideas to create
something". Unfortunately that description hasn't made this any easier
to write. In fact, John Cleese's words ring more true when it comes to this post; "The reason why it is futile for me to talk about creativity is that it simply cannot be explained"
But lets talk about it anyway.
A common misconception about creativity is that it is just about
drawing or dancing or making music. There is SO much more to being creative.
Like the definition that Oxford Dictionary gave us, it's also about imagination and original ideas and
those are not just limited to painting a picture. Problem solving requires
creativity and a lot of what we do as game artists is about solving problems.
Coming up against boundaries and figuring out how to get past them, as well as
creating beautiful assets and stunning visuals.
Being creative has always been something that I've taken
pride in. In primary school I was always the girl people would come to for
drawings. I can still remember when I would sit on a potty in my front room
with a little table, a crayon and some paper. However, when I got to secondary
school, that creativity was pulled out of me, and pulled out of me hard. My school
completely disregarded art, barely any funding was given to our department and
we weren't taken seriously. Because I was "clever" I had always been
encouraged to do essay subjects or maths and sciences but any kind of creative
subject was discouraged and written off as not useful. The worst part was, even
in my art class, my creativity was stifled. Unless the art you were producing
was the type of art that the teachers liked then you were screwed. There wasn't
a lot of room to look at stuff like Game Art then. When I'd announced to my
teachers that I was going to study Game Art Design I was told multiple times I
was making a mistake, it wasn't English Literature so it was looked down upon.
After watching Sir Ken Robinson's TEDtalk on schools killing
creativity, I completely agree with him. He made some fantastic points. My favourite
quote from this talk is "The consequence [of our current education system]
is that many highly talented, brilliant creative people think they're not
because the thing they were good at in school wasn't valued, or was actually
stigmatised". This talk happened in 2006 and these words are still true.
How much does that say about the state of our system? Game Art, in particular,
has been stigmatised because video games themselves have such a huge stigma
surrounding them. People seem to assume that you spend all your time playing, but
they don't realise, like all creative subjects, it's a huge amount of hard
graft that you need to put in.
The thing about creativity is it's about NEW IDEAS and
IMAGINATION and using those to create something. Looking at the Games Industry right now... innovation isn't
everywhere, especially in AAA titles like Call of Duty. In fact, in my opinion,
sequels are a big problem in the industry. (Well... I say that, while still
gushing all over Dragon Age Inquisition... ) My biggest problem with sequels is
the lack of innovation. Innovation is the product of creativity and titles like
Call of Duty haven't really added anything new other than improved graphics. There
isn't a lot of creativity there because you're missing part of the creative
process and you're missing the innovation. New IP however, titles that are
trying to bring new ideas into the industry are barely given any publicity.
There are a few different reasons for this
"sequelitis" that the games industry has at the moment. A lot of it
has to do with making money because, hey, that is the purpose of business. A lot of it, however, has to do
with the players. Gamers demand sequels to their favourite franchises and show companies
that beating a dead horse is acceptable because they will vote with their
money. Don't get me wrong, though. Sequels aren't always bad. Some games are
written with a trilogy planned out, or they visit something different and
interesting. A lot of games are popular because of their interesting stories,
like Dragon Age (I am really excited for Inquisiton). The difference is some
sequels are able to actually innovate and introduce new ideas to their games,
where as others just rehash the previous game in the franchise. Those kinds of
games are killing a lot of the originality and creativity the industry had.
However, there are a couple of things that might be able to
pull us out of the reboot era that we seem to be in. The first one is the next
generation of consoles. Mike Williams wrote a really interesting article about
this on gamesindustry.biz. Mark Nilsson, the producer on the Need For Speed
franchise, made a really interesting point about the power of the new machines.
"It makes us think differently," "Every time there is a
transition we start thinking about what would be possible. We are not locked
into old boundaries anymore. From that we get great innovations like AllDrive.
The systems are giving us power to do more, more AI, more particles etc. Just
turning everything up really."
As I touched on earlier, boundaries are an interesting
concept when it comes to creativity. Some people argue that they improve your
creativity, others argue that they restrict you and, I suppose in some ways
they are both true. In terms of the technological boundaries that you have to
take into account when designing a game, they can really reduce your
creativity. Like Jonathan Blow said "Creatively, we build and we assume
that we have enough power in rendering." Creatives just create so when
you've made something you just assume it'll work and if it doesn't, you've got
to break down that thing you made and occasionally reduce it in technology. The
technology might not have the power to do what it is you want.
HOWEVER, these boundaries can pave the way for some
incredibly creative solutions to these problems. Creativity is about new ideas
and these new ideas often come in the face of adversity. Problem solving is
just as valid of a creative skill as being able to paint a picture. Engineers
will create new game engines that can handle more advanced and detailed models
or effects, and will create new consoles with improved abilities to handle the
graphics. Overcoming problems with new ideas, which can, in turn, leads to new
ideas within the games. The same rings true when I look at my briefs that are
set for at University. The more defined the brief, the more creative you have
to be because you need to overcome the boundaries that are set to create
something unique. It's a big, beautiful, creative circle that leads to new and
interesting changes within the industry.
The problems come when people don't want the change and
that's when we get stagnation. However, Indie developers are saving us there.
With services like Steam Greenlight and Kickstarter, new companies are able to
come into this industry or reboots and sequels and bring us new IP with
refreshing approaches to gameplay, stories and visuals. They will take risks,
unlike many bigger developers who are willing to just carry on down the same,
stagnant path and, let's be honest, creativity is all about taking risks.
So, to sum it all up, creativity is weird. It encompasses so
much. It's hard to write about and it's hard to define. Within the industry,
the reboot era that we are stuck in is stifling the creativity that made many
of these AAA developers so successful. But with the introduction of new
consoles, the ability to explore new ideas and techniques, and the Indie Games
market becoming more and more popular, I think there is still hope for us.
Then again, this is all just my opinion. Like John Cleese
says "Telling people how to be creative is easy, it's only being it that's
difficult"
Just, watch it.
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