You might have heard the old adage about people being right-brain or left-brain dominant. As the saying goes, if you are left-brain dominant, you are a more analytical or logical thinker, while if you are right-brain dominant, you are more of a creative or artistic thinker.
The idea that people who think logically are not creative and those who are creative do not follow logic has been proven many times over to be completely inaccurate. Despite that, the scientific method is often associated with analytical thinking, perhaps due to the bias that the field of science is traditionally considered an analytical field. But the scientific method can be equally applied to creative applications as well.
The Creative Process
Calligraphy artist and writer Joy Deneen wrote an article entitled “The Scientific Method for Creativity” for creative design magazine Uppercase in 2021. In the article, Deneen states that “artists and scientists are driven by inquiry”, as such, the scientific method can equally be applied to creative endeavors.
According to Deneen, just like with the scientific method, the creative process begins with a question, followed by research. The research explores other creative works for inspiration. The hypotheses in the creative process are referred to as the concept, which often entails coming up with many different possible solutions to our question.
Experimentation takes place by selecting the best concept and further refining it to a presentable state. This could be a rough sketch of a drawing, a toile of a dress, a mock-up of a graphical layout, or even a prototype of a game. Afterwards is the critique, which in the scientific method equates to analysis, reviewing if the experiment does in fact provide an adequate solution to the original question, or if revisions need to be made. Conclusion in the scientific method is where the final results are published; similarly, in the creative process, the selected design is finalized and produced.
Scientific Method for Creativity
Deneen’s full article on the “Scientific Method for Creativity” can be read on page 22 of issue #50 in Uppercase magazine, or view it online here https://issuu.com/uppercaseyyc/docs/uppercase_50_issuu
The 5 Stages of Creativity
While the creative process and the scientific method share many similarities, the creative process itself is often broken into stages.
In 1926, educator and psychologist Graham Wallas introduced the 4 stages of creativity. Over the years, others have elaborated on Wallas’ initial stages, expanding it to 5 to 6 stages. The following lists the 5 stages of creativity.
- Preparation – you have to be in the right mindset to be creative
- Incubation – some ideas need time to fully form and may take years to develop
- Insight – the “aha” moment of how the idea comes together·
- Evaluation – testing the idea for feasibility
- Elaboration – bringing the idea to fruition
Creative Process vs Stages
In many texts, when describing the stages of creativity, the term “creative process” is often used. However, it is important to keep in mind that the stages are points in time, while the process is the steps in the activity. The steps are typically broken out during the stages.
Applying the Creative Process to Game Design
While game design is inherently creative, good game ideas don’t just appear out of thin air. The creative process provides us with a repeatable structure to explore ideas:
Question – What kind of experience do we want players to have? Should it be tense, cooperative, strategic, or playful?
Research – Study similar games, mechanics, and player feedback to see how others have approached the problem.
Concept – Brainstorm multiple possible mechanics, themes, or systems. Maybe the tension comes from limited resources or from time pressure.
Critique – Prototype and playtest the most promising ideas, looking closely at what works, what confuses players, and what falls flat.
Conclusion – Refine the strongest concept into a coherent design, ready for further development and iteration.
Like the scientific method, this process is rarely linear. Designers often loop back from critique to concept, or even back to the original question, whenever feedback shows a new direction worth exploring.
The creative process and the scientific method are closely intertwined; both approaches help to ensure that ideas are meaningful, functional, and engaging. In game design, the creative process frames what we want to explore, and the scientific method confirms how it works in practice. Together, they form a single iterative cycle of developing, testing, and refining concepts from question to playable game. In the next section, we’ll explore project management approaches that keep both creativity and testing organized as we move from rough concepts to finished games.