Gaming to Bolster Creativity

Abstract

This thesis discusses the declining trend in creative thinking and an exploration in game development to enhance creativity. K.H. Kim’s research has quantitatively shown that there has been a steady decline in creative thinking scores as measured by the Torrence Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) since 1990. Larger implications are made that illustrate the impact creative thinking skills have on students through adulthood. Do games have the potential to be developed as a tool for reversing the diminishing trend in creative thinking abilities? Raph Koster’s A Theory of Fun for Game Design explains that by their nature, games are capable of modeling complex situations, and have the capacity to teach us complicated information and how to perform life skills. There is a direct relationship between game play and creativity. The goal of this thesis is to explore the relationships between creativity, empathy, and communication by developing a game that relies on all three.