1st Edition
Demystifying Creativity On Originality in Game Development
This book is a study of the psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy of creativity, originality, and inspiration viewed from the lens of a seasoned game developer. It introduces the concept of creative sobriety—a practice that advocates better understanding our own sources of inspiration so that we can intellectually drive our creative voice closer to originality.
The creative process is an improvised dance between the conscious and the subconscious mind, where knowledge, experience, intuition, observation, imagination, and projection meet in ways that are completely unique to each person. Presenting practical and theoretical approaches to originality and game concept generation, this book explores the notion of creative sobriety before moving to chapters that blend theory and practice, covering topics such as innovation, the creative process, auteurship, collaboration, and creative vision.
This book will be of great interest to students of game design and creative professionals working within the industry as well as those looking to learn more about the creative process.
1 Defining creativity
2 Inspiration
3 Creative sobriety
4 Innovation
5 The creative process
6 The creative dilemma
Biography
Fawzi Mesmar is an award-winning creative director, game designer, leader, author, and public speaker who has been in the gaming industry for more than two decades. His career has spanned the Middle East, New Zealand, Japan, and Europe, working for companies such as Ubisoft, EA, Activision Blizzard, Gameloft, and Atlus to name a few. He has worked on more than 20 titles that have been enjoyed by millions of players worldwide, including entries in the Mario + Rabbids, Battlefield, and Star Wars franchises.
“Demystifying Creativity is a call to action for designers, artists, or anyone else looking to innovate in a project or organization. In this remarkable book, Fawzi Mesmar challenges us to expand our influences, sharpen our methods, and become more deeply and profoundly creative - a state of mind he calls “creative sobriety.” While he hails from the video game industry - and offers fascinating insider case studies - Mesmar’s ideas and techniques are relevant to just about any field.”
Eric Zimmerman, Game Designer and Arts Professor, NYU Game Center.
"Fawzi's book helped me when I was feeling like down in a creative slump, and the methods and science behind creativity helped re-spark some of the love I had for games, why I got into this industry in the first place and concrete tools to pick myself back up.”
Jenny Xu, Creative Director and CEO at Talofa.
"Mesmar places a kaleidoscopic lens on the concept of creativity, seamlessly delivering a powerful mix of actionable ways to nourish your own creative practice & philosophical musings on this often elusive topic. No matter your experience level in creative leadership, you'll find something here to expand your mind, challenge your views, or take with you into your next project."
Rami Ismail, Industry Ambassador.
“This book presents the reader with a deep understanding of what creativity is and how to assess and measure it. If that weren't enough, it also provides a framework for the act of creating. A must-have for creatives in any industry.”
Osama Dorias, Game Design Director, and Professor.
