The Creative Challenge

What It Means to be Creative

Creativity is the point where one reaches a phenomenon manifest itself physically into something tangible for people to view and/or hear. Back in 2002, I was 15 going on 16 attending middle school I am reading this magazine article of PlayStation Magazine interviewing Hideo Kojima. If you are familiar with Hideo Kojima he is the creator of the Metal Gear Series and Zone of the Enders and owner of Kojima Productions. I cannot remember what said, but I remember it influenced me to get into game development as a career. Since then I remember I would look at schools that offer some kind of training courses for game development. Long story short, I graduated and I now work as a simulation designer for a E-learning company. On the side though, I try to make it a point to do my own projects. Most of these projects happen to be one of creative endeavors. I have written a small novella, a small music project, and a game project. This brings me to my point Being Creative is about going after our dreams.

 

Creative Encouragement

At my job, I work with some people who majored in graphic design and I been encouraging them to go into doing some small graphic projects then post them on websites. My professor David J. Sushil who is a dear friend to me, went and created a game called Vanessa Saint Pierre Delacroix and Her Nightmare. After Sushil created the game he submitted it to various contest; he has blown up like a balloon filled with dynamite. Sushil, has always encouraged me to go after things that are creative. When I had an idea for the book The Departing Tale of Christopher Lamont and the Hereafter, so when November rolled around I hoped on the NaNoWriMo and wrote over 50,000 words. He is now encouraging me to develop a game idea I have had since 2009. Bringing me to my next point: encourage creativity. Surround yourself with other creative people, make time to sit down and just have a small brainstorming session. If you have friends that you know do creative hobbies, but feel they are just "hobbies" encourage to go after it! I have a friend who wants to do more things in art, so I been motivating this person to come out to local art shows to surround herself local artists to give her advice and encouragement. You should never let creativity die out because we will miss out on something that will probably be amazing in the future.

 

The Creative Disadvantage

I had read a few articles that being creative comes with a disadvantage of being mental disorders such as clinical depression, bipolar, and schizophrenia. It has been known throughout moments in history the most creative people have suffered through major mental issues such as Sylvia Plath, Vincent Van Gogh, and Hunter Thompson. Apparently there is a link between being creative and depression. Is this a disadvantage or an advantage? Are creative geniuses doomed to show mankind beautiful projects and then collapse on themselves like a dying star? By the way, I would like to point out that I do suffer from Clinical Depression. This runs in my family and as do other mental illnesses. However, I am lucky to have friends who know about it and are willing to be there for me when I have my little "moments," but at the same time these are the same friends who encourage me to be the creative me. This is the final point of this post: being creative a double edge sword. I ask my fellow people who are creative who do suffer from any mental illnesses to be sure to inform those around you. Life is short enough as it is, but I know we have a lot of new things to see before our lives end.

 

I am Andrew Christopher Dieppa and I thank everyone for reading. There is more to come in the near future about my life in technology, indie project, and artistic endeavors.