The manifesto "14 Ways to get Breakthrough Ideas" is an excellent document that is brimming with wisdom. It can be found here. Each of his 14 suggestions has great merit attached to it. A few of them hit home particularly strongly with me. Approaching idea-generation is something that is, as Mitch Ditkoff succinctly describes, one part art and one part science. The more artsy, intuitive philosophy of Eastern cultures that involves tuning into the "powers that be" is just as valid as the cool logic of Western thought that encourages one to have mental discipline. However, as with many things, the strongest solution comes from a melding of the two. Taking techniques from each school of thought and figuring out when they are most effective is the best way to approach idea creation.
The first suggestion Mitch Ditkoff gives, "Follow Your Fascination," is an amazingly simple insight. In our world, I think that often times fascination is suppressed in favor of doing work. I think it's important to note, though, that often times this work is less productive than taking time to actually be fascinated with something. Checking email and rereading office memos rarely is as important as we make it when we check them seven times in an hour. At the very least, taking the time to think about what really fascinates us gives us some time away from the project we are struggling with in the moment. Ditkoff talks about this specifically in his 8th suggestion. At the most, thinking about what fascinates us can give us new insight into a problem that we would not have found otherwise. Having a healthy balance between work and play in your thought life is necessary to maintain effectiveness and to actually be productive.
The concept of fantasizing the way Ditkoff presents it is one that resonates with me deeply. As I stated in my previous post, I am a visionary and an idea person. The opportunity to sit back and fantasize about possibilities in life is one that I relish. The ability to fantasize is one of the things we can do that separates us from all other animals on earth, and we should be proud and excited about having that ability. However, often when I talk to others about ideas that I have, their immediate reaction is rejection. I can see in their eyes that thinking about things that break the status quo and challenge the rules they rely on is scary to them. They are letting their primal instincts dictate their lives and keep them in the safe realm of the known. This fear is paralyzing to the creative person. We must learn to conquer that fear and embrace the unknown if we have any hope of changing what exists currently into what could exist in the future. We must gather our courage and leap into the void where the rules we are familiar with are no longer rigid. This void is where the possibilities of the future come side by side with reality, but only if we are there to build the bridge to connect them.
When seeking to build these bridges, it is far more effective to work with others. Taking a nebulous idea and making it into reality is no easy task, and it is very helpful to approach it with a group brainstorm session. Brainstorming, when done right, can be the key to the success of the project. In a good brainstorming atmosphere, ideas are not critiqued or discriminated against until after the session is over. This allows for the propagation of numerous ideas, and the final ideas that are eventually chosen from this group will be stronger and more well-formed because of it. This phenomenon can be accredited to synergy. Synergy, as I see it, is the key to successful creative processes, and brainstorming is no different. Synergy describes the outcome of a group of people who tune into the same wavelength for a period of time and create something that is greater than the sum of what each person could create on their own. Synergy takes the best of each person and amplifies it in such a way that the output is even better. This is why brainstorming is effective and extremely useful, when done the right way.
To take this next step myself, I will focus on suggestion 6, which focuses on framing the question. One of the most inspiring, and most challenging questions that I face in my career as a game designer is this:
How can I create a game that is truly valuable to those that play it?
How can I determine what gamers want?
How can I determine what is valuable to people that play games?
How can I determine what is valuable to people who I want to play my game?
How can I determine what is valuable to humanity and how can I encapsulate it in a game?
How can I determine what is innately valuable to humanity and how can I encapsulate that into a game?
I think the real question is the last question. If I can determine what is valuable to humanity regardless of circumstance, then I have discovered what can bring my game to life in a way that resonates with gamers, hardcore and casual, wherever they are in life. That, in essence, is the quest I seek to complete.
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