Demystifying Creativity
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.
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.