A Reflection on my Participation in a Creative Group - Part 2

Don't groan, this will not be like its predecessor (if you haven't read the previous post, read that first).

Seeing as whether I covered any relevant content in the previous post is a subjective and contentious issue (between all parties involved, namely myself), I decided to post again on my ACTUAL participation in a creative group.

I find the criteria itself is somewhat interestingly worded. Is the validity of the reflection of paricipation dependent on the creativity of the group? Is participation not as valuable if, despite best efforts, the group ended up rather uncreative? These are the problems I've been faced with in pondering this most ominous of topics. Hours of sleep have been lost.

I find group participation is just as often a hindrance to creativity as it is a help. Discussion with group members can allow ideas to be developed and taken in directions that a single person would not have thought to explore. However, the need to constantly appear at least slightly interested in what other group members are saying can restrict a mind from wandering to that place where creativity is given free reign.

Focusing on the proceedings of my own group for this subject, I believe my own participation has not been so much in the providing of creative inspiration, but rather in the more mundane role of refining and critiquing creative ideas found from other quarters (namely team-mate Dan). The following sections from our game-design document serve to somewhat outline the roles that have been played in my group this semester (knowing that a Pirate board game is being created may give some relevance to some of the content contained):

...Dan Jack has embraced the pirate within and turned his abilities to the development of quality games. His primary role has been as the creative inspiration and drive behind the project; indeed, four of the seven characters listed in this document are direct relatives of his...

and

...What he lacks in prison time, Jeff makes up for in his amazing ability to make the simplest and most mundane of grammatical structures appear as a convoluted and intrinsically detailed plethora of expressive idioms. Jeff brings refinement and detail to Dan’s creativity and passion...