Playing to Create: Video Games and Creativity
This presentation reveals the potentials of video games in the context of creativity. I will feature a curated list of video games designed to teach concrete and relevant creativity-related skills (e.g. drawing, playing a musical instrument, world-building, running an art gallery). Playing certain types of video games also foster complex creative and critical problem-solving skills. Game designers through level design and game mechanics scaffold the players learning and progression, thus creating a learning environment where the gamer learns creative problem-solving skills through play and without the need of a teacher or instructor. Through this presentation, I share how video games and specific game genres address creativity and how game designers inspire gamers to progress through levels and complete each challenge in order to reach the end of the game and learn new skills. During this workshop, I share a curated collection of games I have been engaged with in the past few years revealing my own personal experiences of how playing these games impacts and shapes my creativity.
What:
What 3 things might your participants learn or experience as a result of your workshop?
- You will learn how video games “teach” critical and creative thinking and problem-solving.
- You will be introduced to a variety of video games, and together we explore and reflect on how these games can be used in creative domains, and how these games can impact and enhance your everyday creativity and problem-solving.
- You will gain a new appreciation for video games and their creative potential.
So What:
What might be 3 ways that the content of your workshop changes your attendees’ perceptions, habits, ways of working, or view of the world?
- You will gain a new critical lens regarding video games and gamers and see video games in a new light especially when it comes to creativity.
- You will have a collection of creativity-relevant games that you can use in the service of your creative endeavors.
- You will integrate video games and play into your creative practice in service of your creativity.
Now What:
What are 3 ways your attendees might apply what they learn in your workshop?
- You will be able to apply strategies, skills, perspectives, etc., from a gaming experience to address a real-life (existential or creative) problem.
- Your quality of life may improve due to the benefits of mindful play.
- You will be able to use gaming to overcome creative blocks and barriers.