Idea Creation, Constructivism and Evolution as Key Characteristics in the Videogame Artifact Design Process

We provide a broad characterization of how videogame design results from individuals’ creative actions. Relying on qualitative data from a variety of sources including our own interviews and ethnographic work, and, a sourcebook on videogames, we are assured of the existence of three facets of creativity-based game design: idea creation, constructivism and evolution. The implications of a creativity-based framework for design are that game design features might result from conventionally known creative processes such as insight or inspiration, or from the form of creativity that ‘blends’ disparate concepts together in novel ways by adapting, adding or combining them. This latter form is what we term ‘constructivism’ or ‘constructivist thinking’ – something which increasingly digital or content-driven products (i.e., virtual) that are freeform in nature could require. A constructivist approach to game design suggests that games can be seen to be comprised of features from past games and other media or products, and thus as a consequence, the heritage of products are quite straightforward to discern. Furthermore, evolutionary processes can now be viewed as the outcome of these constructivist and idea creation mechanisms.