Fostering Creativity Through Game-Based Approaches: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Given the increasing emphasis on game-based approaches (GBAs) and the critical importance of cultivating creativity, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive examination of this emerging interdisciplinary field. The present study employs a scoping review methodology to provide an overview of the existing research that utilized GBAs as a means to foster creativity. Specifically, this article presents a scoping review of 61 studies published between 2000 and 2022 in English focusing on the use of GBAs to enhance creativity across various contexts. The results indicate an increasing trend in publications over the past two decades, with research clusters predominantly located in the United States, Taiwan, and Spain. Target groups primarily studied include adults in higher education, followed by children in K-12 settings, with the majority of studies conducted within classroom environments. A diverse array of GBAs have been employed in these studies, including video games, game-based learning, gamification, serious games, escape rooms, board games, and more, across both digital and non-digital media. These approaches were either developed by the researchers themselves or utilized pre-existing ones. Furthermore, GBAs have been found to foster various aspects of creativity, including creative thinking and problem-solving, flow and mastery experience, various aspects of the creative self, among others, pertaining to cognitive, motivational, affective, and sociocultural foundations. As such, this scoping review acts as a stimulus for ongoing research and refinement of game-based approaches aimed at enhancing creativity within both research and practical domains.