Creativity

Creativity has some element in everything around us. Architecture, films, games .... their all products of creativity. Even a cup was someone being creative in ways of holding water. But what is creativity? where is it? and where is it in games?

In games creativity both can and cant hindered and by technical constraints, it depends on the medium. Concept art isnt nesseceraly hindered as a painting or a drawing can go as far as an artists imagination and creativity. But creating this world in a game can have its constraints. Ben Mathis' speech lay fine example to this as he compared Fallout 3's concept artists vision of an atmospheric Apocalyptic Washington DC to its actual gameplay vision. Not to shun the game but i would agree with him and say the constraints of actually making the game didnt add up to the artists vision and creativeness. But this is in just some aspects. AI and modeling can have these restrictions as the designs need to be plausible and able to work in a real time environment but plots and narratives on the other hand can house as much creativity as an artist desires.
But during the production of a game no one specific person 'does' creativity, as creativity is a thought process its always expressed in each individuals work through the medium they are working in. Creativity is not a final outcome nor can it present itself pyhsically, its more the thought process to accomplish the final outcome. Same as the final products themselves arent neccesseraly creative. Inventive or beautiful they may be, the creativity is in our own heads, a passageway, we express creativity through the product. Someone in charge of producing a character isnt making creativity, he is making a character, and the final outcome is a character. But the methods they use to make it can be creative and can be expressed through the design of the character. This is probably why College/Uni interviews like to see sketchbooks and rough drawings because they are the parts where your creativity is showing through being applied to reach the final outcome. Everyone has ideas and creativity in their heads, and people such as lecturers are curious to see everyones own creativity processes, but channeling creativity into a usefull format is sometimes the problem. But why does everyone think this has to be channeled as art?

Creativity, although usually stereotyped with art, can be expressed in literally any form of medium, clothes we wear, the nicknames and words we invent for each other ... any form of self expression can be creative. And as for art its also strongly present in nearly every other form of work. I mean the Aeroplane was a creative invention, showing scientists are being creative in producing final products. But it doesnt always have to be something thats never been done before. In this day and age if you have thought of it, it probably has already been done (rule 34 of the internet). So creativity can be taking of something old or used and manifesting it into something new, and this isnt neccessaraly plagarism. Not if the final outcome of your creativity is an original idea from ways of looking at and exsisting or old issue differently. Look at university or college projects, same breif (Organic Character etc) but yet 50+ different and creative outcomes.

The Plays The Thing

Gameplay .... thats a tricky one. Gameplay for me are the factors that are responsible for a player enjoying or not enjoying their gaming experience. Their very personal factors aswell because what one person can love another can hate, so gameplay experience varies through players. I rather enjoy a game which involves lots of guns so a fast paced gameplay goes quite well with me, whereas my brother is a football fanatic so the latest Fifa see him with a good gameplay experience.

Gameplay is extremely important in our world. First of all it makes us unique by seperating us from other forms of media. Films have cinematography and acting to worry about, music has recording and rythm, we have our gameplay. not that we dont have music and characters to worry about in games but music and film doesnt have gameplay which is what makes it so important. Plus gaming gameplay gives us the ability to actually control and be our character idols unlike films where you look at your actors from outside the circle. We are the circle in games and directly control aspets which can essentially make us write our own story.

But still gameplay cant be defined into one single sentence ot answer, theres simply too many factors that influence it...replay value, graphics, soundtrack, plot...you get the picture. it just cant be defined. I agree It cant be designed into a game, its more the random convergence of several interacting factors. Its all the aspects in the game combined but its not as simple as box ticking to make sure you have everything. So just ticking all the boxes isnt the answer neither, to get a good gameplay experience its more ticking the correct ones that the specific game needs to make it flow and feel right. Some games like halo have a deep plot or narrative which needs to tick the both with good characters to carry out the plot for a good gameplay experience, but yet other games like Maio Kart have no plot or narrative which leaves it unticked, but its multiplayer aspect is ticked meaning it still can have the same good gameplay. Mario Kart is actually a good example of an influencing factor of gameplay, the people you play with. When you go online the computers usual response is 'game experience may change during online play' this is because factors such as AI players compared to real players can effect gameplay. This relates back to how gameplay is everything a game has to offer and one aspect being changed or unticked can change gameplay experience.

Ive made this blog lack some facts becuse as i said gameplay is a persons personal responce to a game so writing about what i personally think it is would be better that plastering facts across the screen..but i guess that aint for me to decide...