If you studied Sociology, you should've come across Social Relativity. It states that each society is relatively different from each other, but none is superior or inferior to any. For example, Japanese people tend to be collectivistic, while Americans tend to be relatively individualistic. There are good and bad points to either of them.

With that in mind, I believe that each society has a specific "creative identity". For example, Japanese games tend to be relatively psychologically extreme. You get Kirby and Resident Evil. American games tend to be physically extreme, going from the ultra-mild The Sims to the ultra-violent GTA. That's just a specific issue from my personal, subjective observation. I won't pretend to know where the true creative identity lies for each society, but for mine, I don't have to guess. I'm part of my society, afterall. ;)

So, what's special about Thai (yes, I'm Thai, if you haven't been following my blogs) artwork? At first glance, it doesn't seem to be anything special. In fact, we are not inventors. We're lazy opportunists who are neutral not because we don't take sides, but because we take ALL sides (there's some Thai international politics for ya). We never come up with any groundbreaking ideas. In fact, before Vietnam overtook us in 2004, we had the largest blackmarket in the entire world (relatively). At one point, 99.4% of all the software we used were pirated. It seems that we excel in copying other people's ideas, which sucks.

That is, until you look deeper and connect it with older Thai traditions. This is embodied in Thai culinary arts - in other words, Thai food. Absolutely nothing in Thai food originates from Thailand itself. Nothing. Every single dish is fusion between stuff we've once "copied" from our "neighbors", such as China and India. That "fusion" is the first key to understanding the potential of Thai creativity. At first, we may seem to be excellent at stealing ideas, and we probably are. However, we're not JUST excellenting at stealing ideas, but we're also great at twisting, bending and mixing them into something new and different.

However, that's not the whole story. We not only combine elements together, but we inject melodrama and exaggerate them into something that's often bizarre. Thai food is often very spicy, and that's because we like to add this "craziness" and try to amplify that fused creation. This is where Thai creativity shines. This is how it differentiates itself from other societies, in terms of creative identity.

In short, Thai creativity involves taking very different elements, forcing them together into one big mess, and scorching it with a flamethrower. We're masters of fusion.

Of course, that isn't to say that certain groups within other societies aren't as good in fusion. I'm merely pointing out a strong, relative tendency.

I'm very pleased that our team, Sapphire Blood Studio, is living up to this philosophy, without even realizing it at first. In retrospect, all our games are unlikely fusions of incompatible genres. MBF is a combination between a hardcore in-your-face side-scrolling flying-shooter and an experimental/abstract exploration-based action-platformer, with a interpretation-centered storyline (oo, a new revelation for Eo visitors!). Immunocide is a mixture of a Real-Time Strategy and a Turn-Based Strategy (thanks to Srehpog for leading me to realize this, even if unintentionally :D), which is probably theoretically absurd. Our programmer's solo fan-game, "Ojamajo Shoot 2: Majokai Crisis", is a fusion between a flying-shooter and a traditional RPG. The same goes for my very own "VouSei Advent", though with less of the RPG part. Our new, upcoming team project is also a fusion. This time, edutainment meets simplified space-sim within the context of a vertical shooter.

It's unfortunate that we're forever doomed to the cycle of fusion, but we know our strengths and weaknesses. Even if we try, we probably will never develop anything that is completely new and groundbreaking. Neither invention nor innovation are our strengths, and we are aware of that. Instead, we're going full blast with fusion and "amplification", working on what really sets us apart from others.

Our biggest flaw must be our lack of attention to detail when it comes to electronic media. It's ironic, considering that we're pretty good with tactile visual arts. This is painfully clear in our movies and games, so far. We don't seem to be very good at that, and our team is no exception. That's definitely where we should be careful about.

Anyway, I bought a Thai game yesterday from a friend, who spent a year developing it (two-man team). "Fluffy and the Gang: Shuffle Puzzle Battle" is a neat puzzle game that features very cute sheep characters, wacky animations and superb voice-overs. The gameplay itself is pretty mundane though, but the characters are charming enough to keep you playing. This game was developed with RPGMaker XP (registered). Check out the CD cover (commercialware):
http://community.thaiware.com/index.php?showtopic=302000

This blog can go on forever, with me talking about the ridiculously cheap price of Wii and how I'm probably getting it for my little brother this spring break. And then I'll start ranting about critiquing etiquette and how I want to start practicing (and preaching) it. Then there's my plans of venting a million pages of steam about the notorious "GMG hissy-fit" (why is it STILL down?) and how I'm stuck in the dark void of Eo.

But I'll leave those for later. ;)

a thought provoking and interesting read.

thanks.

however, just be careful to always remember:

creativity is useless unless it is sculpted and nurtured to a degree in which the end-user/viewer can fully enjoy, understand, interact, and appreciate it to its highest degree.  otherwise, what is the point of creating?

oh, that, and knowing is half the battle :P

I looooove Tom Yam Soup and Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce with my Fried Chicken.

Thanks for the advice, CosMind. I'll keep those in mind. :)

Good to see another Thai, ( I'm Thai too , adopted by an English family, so I hold no traditions )

Oooo, sweet.

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