4 Constraints

 

This chapter covers

  • A taxonomy of beneficial constraints
  • How to deal with intrinsic and imposed constraints
  • Leveraging self-imposed constraints to reach the creative sweet spot
  • The effects of naivety on creativity

The whispering whizz of mowing scythes startled sleepy birds nesting near the ancient Nile Delta. Workers harvested the papyrus plant quickly and efficiently, before the unbearable heat of the Egyptian sun turned the labor into an even bigger nightmare. The fibers of these plants were to be converted into a valuable writing material similar to paper by expert papyrus makers.

In the 2nd century bc, King Ptolemy V promptly ordered craftsmen to stop exporting one of their treasured national products. The reason was as simple and mundane as jealousy. A rival library in Pergamon, in Mysia (now western Turkey), had gained enough traction to greatly annoy the king, who wanted to protect the fame and power of his Great Library of Alexandria at all costs.

4.1 Constraint-based thinking

4.1.1 Greenfield or brownfield?

4.1.2 A taxonomy of constraints

4.2 Intrinsic constraints

4.2.1 Intrinsic hardware constraints

4.2.2 Intrinsic software constraints

4.3 Imposed constraints

4.4 Self-imposed constraints

4.4.1 Passionate pixel artists

4.4.2 Let limitations guide you to creative solutions

4.4.3 Game Boying into constraints

4.4.4 Limited (fantasy) consoles

4.4.5 Limited programming languages

4.4.6 Crack intros and the demoscene