Cross-Pollination and Echo Chambers

"The most creative and fertile game designers working today tend to be the ones who make a point of not focusing too much on other games for inspiration. Creativity comes from cross-pollination, not the reiteration of the same ideas. By making gaming their hobby, game designers are making the echo chamber of their own work. Because of this, it is critical that games be placed in context with the rest of human endeavor so that game designers can feel comfortable venturing outside their field in search of innovative ideas"

-Raph Koster on game design