Skills for Creativity: A Comparison Between Academic and Practitioner Conceptions of Creativity in Games Design

Abstract

In the United Kingdom, the development of the ‘creative industries’ has been a constant theme for government policy since 1997. However, whilst the focus on ‘skills for creativity’ is welcome, a number of concerns exist regarding an overly prescriptive interpretation of these skills. Notwithstanding, organisations with an emphasis on employers’ needs are concerned that higher education is not delivering graduates with the skills industry requires. With regard to researching skills for creativity, such concerns may, or may not, be valid; such concerns, arguably, are largely dependent on the extent to which practitioners’ conception of skills for creativity differ to those of academics. The aim of this paper is to highlight the results of an experimental study to understand further the extent to which academics may differ to practitioners in their conception of skills relevant to creativity within a specific design-related subject: in this instance, games design.