When the Coyotes Slept, They Could See Stars, Liquor and Smoke: Creativity, Engagement, and Play in Recombinatory Writing Games

This study examines how recombinatory writing games affect creativity, engagement, and play among upper-secondary students, drawing on a mixed-method investigation of 100 Norwegian students. Its central question concerns whether games that deliberately recombine textual elements, moving from open freewriting toward rule-based constructions such as cut-up stories and word-bank exercises, can foster divergent thinking while sustaining student motivation. The work is situated at the intersection of creativity research, game design, and creative writing pedagogy.

The findings reveal a notable tension between engagement and creative output. Freewriting proved the most engaging activity overall but scored low on divergence and play, whereas the more recombinatory games raised divergent awareness for most participants. The cut-up story, the most recombinatory format, was rated both highly creative and highly engaging, though engagement dropped among students who self-identified as less creative. The word-bank game "wb" performed strongly on recombination and was most favored by students who identified as non-creative, though it sometimes hampered fluency because of demanding vocabulary and rushed word selection. Divergent awareness peaked for the 3w and cu games at 39 percent, with wb close behind at 38 percent, and the author attributes an important role to convergence in developing creativity.

The study also identifies a language-related dimension. Students writing in their native language scored lower on divergence across every game, and second-language students found the most recombinatory game harder and less enjoyable, although they produced more significant narrative turns in their products. Highly recombinatory formats generated both the highest engagement and the highest disengagement, indicating that the benefits of recombination are unevenly distributed across learners.