Open Research Online The Open University’s repository of research publications and other research outputs Creativity and Learning in Digital Entertainment Games Thesis How to cite: Hall, Johanna (2021). Creativity and Learning in Digital Entertainment Games. PhD thesis The Open University. For guidance on citations see FAQs. c 2020 Johanna Kathryn Hall https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Version: Version of Record Link(s) to article on publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21954/ou.ro.0001248e Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. oro.open.ac.uk Creativity and Learning in Digital Entertainment Games Johanna Hall Thesis submitted to The Open University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Institute of Educational Technology (IET) The Leverhulme Trust June 2020 Johanna Hall The Open University Abstract Creativity has been investigated in areas such as education, the workplace and psychology. However, there remains little in the way of a unanimous definition of what it means to be creative – with various conceptualisations illuminating different aspects of this multifaceted phenomenon. However, it is for the most part agreed that creativity contributes to a wealth of positive outcomes such as openness to experience, cognitive flexibility and emotional wellbeing. Furthermore, creativity is instrumental in facilitating a meaningful learning experience as learners can actively formulate and experiment with ideas in an authentic context. In this way, the creative process leads to ultimately the creative expression itself and subsequent positive effects such as learning. With such a wealth of positive effects, it is surprising that creativity has not been more extensively investigated within the area of digital entertainment games. Digital games provide an authentic and active context which fosters intrinsic motivation and offer numerous opportunities for players to be creative. As such, this thesis attempts to address this gap by presenting an account of current literature on creativity in digital games, and the results from three empirical studies. The first study comprised of 24 semi-structured interviews and 14 narrative surveys and identified three unique forms of creative expression, along with three different player constructed conceptualisations of what it means to be creative in games. Further circumorbital constructs related to creativity were also identified, including creative transfer, affordances for creativity and learning outcomes from being creative. The second study consisted of an online survey completed by 251 respondents and resulted in the development of the Creativity in Gaming Scale (CGS), in addition to providing a quantitative examination of what players learn from engaging in the different forms of creative expression, and what aspects of creativity are most likely to transfer. The third study focused on affordances for creativity in digital games and utilised the reflexive photographic method alongside photo-elicitation interviews with 9 participants to identify eight types of affordances to support the different types of creative expression. This research provides an extensive account of creativity in digital entertainment games; presenting the construct from the standpoint of the player. As such, the findings not only contribute towards presenting a holistic definition of creativity, but also highlight that creativity is an important aspect of player experience. The role of creativity in the learning process is extrapolated, with findings drawing a link between different forms of creative expression and what players may learn from being creative. Similarly, the transferable nature of creativity is investigated, with findings pointing to the different aspects of creativity which may transfer, and what areas of life they may transfer to. Finally, by identifying the specific affordances for creativity i Johanna Hall The Open University in games, the final contribution of this research is towards informing the design of games which may actively promote creativity in players. ii Johanna Hall The Open University Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been able to be completed without the support of a number of people. Most notably, I would like to thank my supervisors: Ursula Stickler, Christothea Herodotou and Jo Iacovides. Their constant support and encouragement were instrumental in all stages of this project, and their knowledge a valuable source of learning. The participants themselves who gave their time and shared their experiences deserve special thanks. It was uplifting to talk to so many people who felt passionately about games and believed in their importance in providing opportunities for creativity. I would like to thank the PhD students of IET who have helped in various ways throughout the course of this project; providing assistance with advertising studies, recommending resources and giving words of encouragement. Finally, I would like to thank my mother, Kathryn Hall, and partner, Gordon Donald for their love and support in helping me undertake this project. iii Johanna Hall The Open University [This page is intentionally left blank] iv Johanna Hall The Open University Declaration of Authorship I declare that this thesis has been composed solely by myself and that it has not been submitted, either in whole or in part, in any previous application for a degree. Except where otherwise acknowledged, the work presented is entirely my own. References to relevant work: Hall, J., Stickler, U., Herodotou, C. and Iacovides, I. (2020). Expressivity of Creativity and Creative Design Considerations in Digital Games. Computers in Human Behavior, 105 (106206). Hall, J., Stickler, U., Herodotou, C. and Iacovides, I. (2019). Player conceptualizations of creativity in digital entertainment games. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies (Early Access). v Johanna Hall The Open University [This page is intentionally left blank] vi Johanna Hall The Open University Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ iii Declaration of Authorship ................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................... xi List of Tables ..................................................................................................................................... xii List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................ xiii 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Rationale ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Contributions ............................................................................................................................ 3 1.3 Thesis Structure ........................................................................................................................ 4 2. Literature Review ............................................................................................................................ 7 2.1. Constructivism ......................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Creativity ................................................................................................................................... 8 2.2.1 Approaches to Creativity.................................................................................................... 9 2.2.2 Creativity in Digital Games ............................................................................................... 14 2.2.3 Creativity Defined ............................................................................................................ 27 2.3 Learning from Creativity ......................................................................................................... 30 2.3.1 Informal Learning in Digital Games .................................................................................. 31 2.3.2 Transferability of Creativity.............................................................................................. 35 2.4 Affordances for Creativity ....................................................................................................... 41 2.4.1 Affordances in HCI............................................................................................................ 42 2.4.2 Affordances in Digital Games ........................................................................................... 44 2.4.3 Game Design for Creativity .............................................................................................