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[Evan Balster]

A recent moment of clarity brought me to a new conclusion on "art games":  Anything that can replace or augment 'fun' as an intrinsic motivator to continue using an interactive piece of software makes that software work like a game.  Not a big Eureka, but enough to put my own project in perspective.

There are a lot of these replacements, my personal favorites including narrative and exploration.  But I'm here to talk about creativity as a motivator.


In the games where it's present by design, creative mechanics tend to be used either as a means of solving problems (constructive puzzles) or as social interaction between small to large groups of players, as in games like Atmosphir or Playpen.

More common, though, are instances of software users formulating creative gameplay on their own, both in things like paint chats (drawing games) and in traditional online games, where some kind of constructive mechanism can be derived from physics, arrangement of player characters, bullet holes in walls, etc.


I think the appeal of creative games is disproportionate to their presence.  The fact that players construct them inside other games is evidence enough.  But on the other hand, it's somewhat clear why.  Actual creative activity isn't very appealing unless the product is shared with other human beings.  So, any game that does that has to worry about moderation.  And is it commercially viable?  My gut instict was "no" early on (and my game isn't commercial) but the recent success of Minecraft seems to be a rather loud response to the contrary.

If nothing else, creative "gameplay" is an easy add-on to other games when developers release their tools.  (Mod communities can get quite large, I understand.)  The line between creative game and creative program can get a little fuzzy.


A list of creativity-focused games I can think of:

- Minecraft (online)
- Playpen
- Atmosphir
- Everyone edits (though I know nothing about it)
- And, yes, mine too

(But I know there are a lot more and would like to learn about them)


What do you think of this business, TIGers?

[deathtotheweird]

You forgot Sleep is Death, Crayon Physics Deluxe. Also I think Captain Forever series would fit into this mold as well. With the exception of Imposter, which took all the original creativity the series had and thrown it out. While not a bad game, just very distant from what made me so in love with Captain Forever to begin with, the creativity.

Perhaps even Blueberry Garden with it's simulated eco-system.

Crayon Physics Deluxe is a great example, as you don't have to draw

things to solve the puzzle, it can all be done in any mundane way possible. But that would be boring, and it's much more interesting to solve a level with a very complex piece of artwork than a bunch of random lines and boxes.

All these games did pretty well, so you can tell they are definitely commercially viable. With what I already mentioned you have AAA games like Scribblenauts, Spore, Sims, etc. I could name so many if I really sat down and thought about it for awhile.

[s0]

Creativity also plays a big role in Dwarf Fortress.

Also, Banjo-Kazooie Nuts&Bolts which is conceptually very similar to Captain Forever (and a lot of fun too).

[Montoli]

That was the goal behind Haiku Hero, also.  The main motivating factors were intended to be the creativity, and the fun of showing off your creations.  (Not saying it was a flawless execution of this idea by any means, but that was certainly the genesis of it...)