week 20 assignment

When the word creativity springs to mind i would define the word as a constructive process that doesn't necessarily have to be an original idea, which would contribute to a finished result. Therefore i believe that anyone has the capacity to be creative. It is therefore interesting to me that the definition for creativity has changed over the years and that there still is varying views on the meaning of creativity.

I also believed that creativity is something that people are usually born with, however according to Jeffrey Baumgartner there are 10 steps to increasing creativity. which would include steps like listening to Bach, writing ideas in notebook, don't watch TV, exercise, reading etc. Whether or not any of these conclusions are true or not i cannot say, however when it comes to steps like writing ideas in notebooks i think that this concept is more about maintaining your creativity ability and collecting your ideas. Along with steps like reading i believe that this doesn't necessarily boost creativity, but rather fuels creativity with the production of new ideas.

Even when considering technical constraints in games, there are still ways of being creative. For instance lets think about old games like sonic and compare them to games like Halo. both games are popular and have their creative differences. whereas one game relies more on its gameplay for creativity like sonic reliance on speed, then you have games like halo which also has a creative gameplay by its use of equal effect of damage by use of weapons, melee combat and grenades. but Halo is also creative by taking advantage of the console that it was designed for making the game more visually effective, at least when considering its latest instalment. So even though one game has one technological advancement over another they are still both creative for different reasons.

it is also interesting to find that creativity has a close relation to mental disorders like schizotypal, which shows that even though some people can't function properly in society that they make up for it through their creativity, proving that people with mental disabilities are just as valuable to society as well as everyone else.

However i'm starting to think that for one to be creative the ideas that they generate have to be original. Beforehand my thoughts on creativity would lead me to believe that a child playing with coloured brick creating interesting shapes and patterns as a creative process, even though any child can create interesting patterns with coloured bricks but the question of, is this process creative still eludes me. So i started to think about this question from points of perspective.

I know that anyone can place coloured bricks in the same pattern as a child would and from an adult perspective this wouldn't really be considered as creative, as many people have witnessed children playing with coloured bricks creating shapes and forms that they may have seen before. I’m starting to believe that because adults have gained more knowledge and been influenced by their surrounding environments, that some of the processes they witnessed aren't original from their perspective. Whereas with a child their knowledge and influences are very limited and the shapes and patterns generated may be a new concept from their perspective may be an original idea.

so therefore creativity may just depend on perspective and thinking of an original idea that you personally never thought of and exploring that concept further down other avenues.

week 19 assignment

There shall always be advantages and disadvantages on the varying educational systems for students in the gaming industry. like for instance a trained graduate entering the game industry would be in a position where they are more industry ready, as they have been trained to handle the situations that employees of the game industry face all the time like working in teams.

Whereas someone with a liberal arts background of education wouldn't necessarily be an industry prepared candidate, as the education they would of received is more generalised. This then means that a liberal arts education candidate has an advantage of diversifying the work that they commit to in the industry. An example of this in the industry is that some companies look for artists that can also do programming, With an education background that includes mathematics, computer sciences and design, this strongly suggests that a liberal arts program is more suited to this diversifying of work.

However like I mention before these courses also have their disadvantages. the biggest drawback for the liberal arts candidate is that this person hasn't actually been trained to work in the industry, this would therefore mean that companies would have to spend money on training these new employees to integrate these candidates into their new working environment. Then when it comes to trained graduates who have basically become trained specialists in their field, it becomes a lot harder for them to diverse into other areas like programming.

I feel that it depends on the company that is hiring and what they are looking for. Just like many other businesses and franchises, companies will always try to find ways of beating the competition. Whether its finding specialists or generalists or even both, you will always find that parts of the industry will be in different positions. Say for instance that one company has difficulty in producing ideas, then they may be advised hiring an employee with a liberal arts background as in the games industry it is common for producers in the industry to have this type of education. Whereas another business may not have a strong enough workforce to cope with the demands of the industry and may look for trained graduates. Therefore ultimately i believe the industry is composed of a mixture of the educational backgrounds to become successful.

Week 18 assignment

Sound has always been a factor that has been present in computer games. Even when considering the earliest of games like pong. However sounds used in computer games today have evolved vastly in comparison to pong where sound would be used to indicate an action or effect, also the sounds created would be basic one or two tone sounds showing that at this time only simplistic sounds were implemented into games. Whereas in games of this generation music and sound is essential to gameplay as sounds are not only used for an action, but music is also incorporated into games to set the mood of the game.The film director Danny Boyle has even quoted that 70% of a film relies on sound and music to become successful, which just goes to show how much films rely on sound, and as more and more computer games of today come closer to simulating films the more they shall rely on sound to create a mood making a more effective gaming environment.

Even looking at the credentials of composers like Bill Brown you can see that their music varies over to different genres of games much like they would for films. Like for instance Bill Brown has composed horror music for 'return to castle wolfenstein' and then composed more action based music for C & C Generals. However i noticed that this composer has also crossed over into film and composed dramatic music for the film Ali, which just goes to show that professional composers are used in both film and games of today.

It is also interesting how music also influences other artists, like the song good times has been an influence to artists like queen, sugarhill gang, grand master flash and even Duran Duran. Showing that music can be taken and evolved into new forms and used for other mediums like games and films.

moments in my own gaming history where sound has played a vital role has been in the game Alien Vs predator as the marine class. This class of the game was easily the scariest and most exciting role, as the sound of the movement sensor that the marine has usually panics the player especially when nothing can be seen visually. these occasions would usually occur when battling aliens in a dark corridor!