tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post113442969286530110..comments2023-11-02T15:47:29.001+00:00Comments on particleblog: Uncreativity and Generation ZeroTadhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763670950211297013noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-1137906878878727382006-01-22T05:14:00.000+00:002006-01-22T05:14:00.000+00:00Creativity always seems slower in the present than...Creativity always seems slower in the present than in the past, because you can see the entirety of the past's innovations at once but you can only see the present's innovations one at a time. Fewer new things are going to be invented in your decade than in all the decades that preceded it, but if you pick any given decade in the past, you'll notice that things progress at about the same rate.<BR/><BR/>A thing doesn't have to be <I>completely</I> new in order to be creative. There's rarely any need to reinvent the wheel. You criticize society for focusing on the past - but you run the risk of the things that are added to the past, things that are as creative as the original.<BR/><BR/>History progresses in patterns. The patterns of art history reveal that there are two stages in the development of art: one generation rebels against the orthodox of the previous generation, and the following generation refines the fruits of that rebellion so that there can be an orthodoxy for the <I>next</I> generation to reject. It's simply impossible to rebel all the time.<BR/><BR/>The current generation is one that prefers refinement to novelty - a generation that appreciates things that are <I>better</I> to things that are <I>newer</I>. The problem is that artists tend to want to rebel sooner than the rest of the society; you're left with people trying to reject the orthodox before the orthodox is even written, and sometimes you also end up with people trying to create an orthodox when the style to be refined hasn't been created yet.<BR/><BR/>Give your fellow man some credit. He may not know art, but he knows what he likes.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15243016271951485772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-1134579606591234032005-12-14T17:00:00.000+00:002005-12-14T17:00:00.000+00:00I've researched behaviour in individuals, companie...I've researched behaviour in individuals, companies, and society, and see no strategic difference between them. Collectively, we're anxious and depressed. Losers, to coin a phrase.<BR/><BR/>Hurt leads to fear, anger, and hate. The root, as you suggest, is fear. It's the hardest emotional response to change. However, if you understand fear and the tools to deal with it, it can be overcome.<BR/><BR/>Greed is another powerful emotion, and something that's grown in equal proportion to fear. It makes us grab for more while being insensitive to others. This creates hurt and feeds the cycle of fear.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-1134555244188439812005-12-14T10:14:00.000+00:002005-12-14T10:14:00.000+00:00Interesting read. Thank you. I could definitely ad...Interesting read. Thank you. I could definitely add lots of political and social commentary to this but I'll refrain from that for now and focus on the games industry.<BR/><BR/>It seems to me that this conservatism in the games industry is relatively recent. I remember the games that motivated me to try and be creative with this medium very clearly. And it's not so long ago. Ico (2001), Grand Theft Auto III (2002), Black & White (2001), The Sims (2000), Silent Hill 2 (2002, yes even sequels could be good in those days), Shadow of Memories (2002), Rez (2001). All those games expressed a desire to do something fresh, something meaningful with the medium.<BR/><BR/>But rather than inspiring a new generation, the sequels of many of these games have all been less exciting and more conservative. Black & White is the saddest example in the bunch. From the wildly creative abundance of the first to the stale and conservative straightjacket of the second is a sad sad evolution. Lionhead was showing so much promise with Black & White: a game with so many opportunoities for play and so many great interaction ideas. I was really looking forward to seeing that mature in Black & White 2.<BR/>And I guess to some extent it did. To the extent that maturing means growing old, playing safe, preferring repetition over enjoyment, preferring predictable boredom over surprising emotions.<BR/><BR/>I hope this is a temporary dip. But as you have pointed out, there is a strong social approval and perhaps even encouragement of conservative and defensive strategies like this. Is that what postmodernism has lead to? A dissaproval of innovation?<BR/>(Or is that we're all afraid?)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-1134522653245161972005-12-14T01:10:00.000+00:002005-12-14T01:10:00.000+00:00People love change, as long it's someone else that...People love change, as long it's someone else that has to do the changing. I was trying to show what your comments might look like from the other side. Try saying something nice and thank people once in a while.<BR/><BR/>Maybe I'm being a but unfair, here, but article after article is a top down elitist agenda, and you never give other people credit where it’s due. It's all about you and what you want. It doesn’t win friends or influence people.<BR/><BR/>The point, and I'll include myself in this, is you can get so hung up on change you can miss what's happening around you, and wind up being as much a part of the problem as the solution. And that's why self scrutiny is important.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-1134515172576529682005-12-13T23:06:00.000+00:002005-12-13T23:06:00.000+00:00>> "The article was a very long-winded and self-in...>> "The article was a very long-winded and self-indulgent ramble, with a dressing of sneering cynicism. Hows that for a challenge?"<BR/><BR/><BR/>A challenge to what exactly? You've lost me here.Tadhghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14763670950211297013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-1134503229010435232005-12-13T19:47:00.000+00:002005-12-13T19:47:00.000+00:00The article was a very long-winded and self-indulg...The article was a very long-winded and self-indulgent ramble, with a dressing of sneering cynicism. Hows that for a challenge? The point, here, is we all make a contriubution to events, how we deal with it matters, and we must continually be on our guard. Those who advocate the change, must become the change. It isn't easy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-1134495653783270162005-12-13T17:40:00.000+00:002005-12-13T17:40:00.000+00:00Buddha actually means "awake" --someone who has re...Buddha actually means "awake" --someone who has reached enlightenment, and, as you say, sees that the large majority of the population is actually "asleep," only fidgeting about in their daily minutiae. I can't say that I agree completely with the practices of Buddhism, but even I must admit that there are certain positive items in their philosophy. Because I would agree that the option to conform, to have an unremarkable but safe life of comfort without risk or change is a very enticing thing for all people, and that is why the persons who dare to change or actually change the status quo are very admirable.<BR/><BR/>People always complain that I talk about Jazz and nothing else, but I think an analogy is valid here in response to your entry: after the enormous amount of change in the late fifties and sixties, I always lament the fact that these days contemporary Jazz, as defined by Wynton Marsalis' music, is defined as "neoclassical," continuing on as if "free jazz" had never happened. As a fan of Coltrane, Dolphy, Ayler, etc. I dislike the fact that Jazz has become somewhat orthodox in practice and approach, but, at the same time, I also hear many other musicians that are driving the music forward.<BR/><BR/>Which is to say that I wouldn't necessarily agree that the current period of history has proven to be somewhat uncreative --after all, the process of looking back at history is always distorted by the present, and past achievements always obscure past uncreativity. I can see your point, however: the current political climate, state of the economy, etc. have created a model in which baby steps are preferred to giant steps --I would agree that something new is needed. In the past, creativity was fomented (sometimes) by a need to communicate something about your daily life, to comment critically upon something --and perhaps it's this critical commentary (without a specific source per se) that is needed nowadays.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-1134495505476278312005-12-13T17:38:00.000+00:002005-12-13T17:38:00.000+00:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001052780840348445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-1134495309513031742005-12-13T17:35:00.000+00:002005-12-13T17:35:00.000+00:00o/\oGreat post. I've been thinking along the same ...o/\o<BR/><BR/>Great post. I've been thinking along the same lines for the last year or two, although not nearly as eloquently as you, and my thoughts were directed by music mostly. The thing I think to myself mostly these days is don't (dis)like something for what it isn't; Judge it for what it IS. Like buddhism, you have to consciously try and adhere to these principles to begin with, and it's not easy. Too often you come to a piece of art with a mental checklist - if it does A, B and C then I will like it, if these things are not present, it's not for me. I've been trying hard to eradicate those thoughts, and it's great to see similar ideas being put so well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-1134493182305953862005-12-13T16:59:00.000+00:002005-12-13T16:59:00.000+00:00Since I first raised these fundamental questions o...Since I first raised these fundamental questions on Scott Millers blog, Game Matters, I've noticed a few worms coming out of the woodwork. This is very exciting but, also, very scary, as any improvement implies some challenge.<BR/><BR/>I think, you're correct to examine popular perceptions of creativity versus playing it safe. Both have their upsides and downsides but, as you comment, society isn't aware. However, I'm convinced more people are getting on the cluetrain.<BR/><BR/>As East crashes into West, and major events and natural disasters have given us opportunities for reflection, what we do and how we treat other people is has emerged as the hot topic in society. Perhaps, games may find a role.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com