Why The Nerds Have To Go: The Need To Diversify In Our Industry

I posed a question on twitter recently - what would games be like if more developers listened to Miles Davis instead of Dragonforce?  A joke, perhaps, but one with a serious message.

Ideas are not magical.  Its not a concept that makes for very popular discussion, but ideas are not the product of some inexplicable miracle, merely the end result of our brains processing the stimuli fed into them.  Yes, we are all capable of having our own, unique ideas, but - in the end - our ideas are not as amazing as we think they are.

Why would I bring up such a negative concept?  Because a lot of people complain about the lack of originality and creativity in computer games, but often the same people fail to notice the lack of creativity and originality in their own lives.  If ideas are merely the product of our inspirational stimuli, then its no surprise that our swarms of anime-heavy-metal-and-games loving enthusiasts fail to make waves in the creative process.

Diversification of outside interests might be the secret solution to creating exciting new games.  Instead of playing Gears Of War or watching Naruto, go climb a mountain.  Instead of buying £300 pieces of limited edition movie memorabilia, buy a plane ticket to Nepal and check out the architecture.  Even if its not something you'd normally enjoy doing, think of the unique influence it'll have on your creative processes.

Even something as small as changing your choice of background music can make a huge difference.  Try designing a fighting game while listening to Mozart, or a puzzle game to the disjointed jazz of Jon Zorne.

In short, if we want to shake up our industry, we should start shaking up ourselves first.