How can you ensure your creative ideas are inclusive and diverse?

It is undoubtedly important to know the target audience. Moreover, it's crucial to understand not just their age, location, and education but also their real interests. In fact, it's more important to decide whether you will tailor your idea to a mass target audience or define a target audience with specific preferences and adjust the idea accordingly. Understanding the target audience and aligning your product with its demands will assist in promoting the game in the market. For example, knowing what your target audience likes in games, what it dislikes, and what it definitely won't play — these questions will help you create a portrait of the target player. Such information will help the team better grasp the concept.

When creating the game "The Blood Ties," we utilize various resources to make our decisions non-standard. We study real historical data, visit museums, delve into information about the countries of the ancient Roman era to accurately recreate the lifestyle and culture. However, we also look at other resources and examples to incorporate elements of fantasy and magic, giving free rein to imagination. Every team member can express their opinions and add a touch of their creativity. This ensures diversity and creativity in our approach.

In our collaborative endeavors, ensuring that our creative ideas are inclusive and diverse is a core principle. By engaging in collective brainstorming and valuing the input of each team member, we foster an environment where diverse perspectives are not only welcomed but celebrated. We actively seek out varied viewpoints, drawing inspiration from different backgrounds and experiences. This collaborative approach allows us to create a tapestry of ideas that reflects a multitude of voices, ensuring that our creative output is rich, inclusive, and resonant with a broad audience. Embracing diversity in thought and perspective not only enhances the richness of our creative ideas but also contributes to a more vibrant and inclusive final product

Acknowledging that assumptions can unintentionally narrow our creative scope, we promote a culture of inquiry and exploration within our team. Instead of relying on preconceived notions, we actively seek to understand and appreciate different viewpoints and perspectives. To ensure inclusive and diverse creative ideas, build teams with varied backgrounds, encourage open and judgment-free communication, actively challenge assumptions, seek external input, set guidelines for inclusive brainstorming, foster cultural understanding, ensure accessibility for a broad audience, establish a feedback loop, and celebrate the strengths of each team member. Incorporating these practices contributes to a more vibrant creative process.

Inclusion, in my opinion, is best achieved when the game is so good that it’s played and beloved by people of all backgrounds around the world. I also don’t see inclusive game design being enabled only with the level of the diversity of the team working on the game. But rather in how much the team cares about the broad audience they are creating the game for. It is also important that the team is not sacrificing immersion for representation. The colorful cast of Street Fighter only makes the game better. But the same approach to Ghost of Tsushima would likely be less appreciated by the players longing to be immersed in the Japanese middle-ages.