Creativity

When I was younger and watching TV and there was a scene of a group of people in a meeting  room trying to think of the next ground breaking product, everyone was umming and arring until suddenly one guy stands up and spouts out the most brilliant out the of box idea which everyone cheers at. That is how I used to view creativity - creative people can just come up with brilliant ideas all the time on the spot. I used to penalise myself for not coming up with that creative sparks in a few seconds like they did on the TV. Because of that i used to think to myself, maybe I’m not cut out for being in a ‘creative’. But as I’ve grown older (and hopefully a bit wiser) I’ve come to realise that creativity doesn’t work like that. When solving a solution to a problem it’s usually a series of little ideas which you can bounce of other people and get their view on it, which then as a team you have this creative solution. Very few people throughout history have been able to do this all by themselves, and if I, or anyone else can’t do that then I shouldn’t beat myself up, like I used to.

That lovely light bulb idea which rarely happens in real life

Being able to have these little creative ideas are not something people are born with though, it comes down to a few factors. Such as genetics and personal experience. Admittedly (and annoyingly) some people do have a knack for it just like their parents, but that doesn’t mean if you don’t naturally have you won’t have it at all. Personal experience is a major contributing to creativity. Try new things, even if it’s just a new dish at a restaurant. It allows you to experience different things which open your mind. For instance, if you wanted to cook a traditional English dish with an exotic twist, how would you begin to start if for your whole life you’ve just ate fish and chips, you wouldn’t have a clue what exotic food taste like. Whereas if you’ve tasted a wide range of food and flavours then it’ll be easier to see what works and what doesn’t, you’ll also have more knowledge on the subject, and as we all know, knowledge is power.

Talent has the same traits as above but has one major factor, and that is hard work. Your parents might have passed on their talent gene onto you and you might have a large amount of experience to call upon but if you don’t work then how are you going to be able to get better. I believe everyone has the same maximum potential, but how hard you’re willing to work and what you’re born with corresponds with how quickly you can reach your maximum potential.

How to manage talent

As technology has evolved over the years, development studios are being less limited by technology with what they are able to create.  Creativity and what people envision from these studios has really been the same since the beginning of games, but the way they can implement them into games has changed.

Creativity can be displayed in many ways with games. It can be a new graphical effect which was produced in an unconventional way. http://simonschreibt.blogspot.de/ This blog goes into detail on how certain effects in games new and old are produced. No matter what how advance game engines can go, developers will always want to create something unique so they will find a way to do it.
Gameplay can be another way a developer shows off their creativity, and is generally the way most people will recognise it as everyone can appreciate it. 

How 'gibbing' works in L4D2