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Self-imposed design limitations to stimulate creativity

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Villain Mastermind:
Have you ever set arbitrary limits on a design to stimulate your creativity?

One of the problems I've always had in the past was being overwhelmed with ideas and ways to implement and/or expand on them. Long story short, this always resulted in project failure for one reason or another. It wasn't until I set a limit on what I would allow myself to use on a project that I actually was able to finish it.

This may seem counter-intuitive, but it is not without precedent. Sometimes the limits imposed on a work are what makes it unique. A "Defender" port isn't too impressive, but if the port uses a favicon as the display, that is impressive. Setting a limitation or limitations can leave you with no choice but to innovate.

You can get the "Defender of the Favicon" here: http://db.tigsource.com/games/defender-of-the-favicon

I started writing a simple CYOA story in Twine for the hell of it and had a thousand ideas for it. Within minutes of typing out an design document, I was already confused and burnt out. As a result, the file lay fallow in my Documents folder for weeks gathering digital dust. After some soul-searching related to some other problems in life, I resolved to start the project up again to take my mind off my suffocating financial woes and the looming threat of homelessness.

Before resuming work on "You Awaken" (the working title of "Thank you for your cooperation"), I laid down a limitation on myself and swore to bearded psychopath in the sky that I would stick to that rule no matter what other clever thingies I came up with. And lo and behold, it worked.

Approximately 26,000 words and 99 passages later, I actually finished the damned thing.

You can view "Thank you for your cooperation" here: http://adventurecow.com/stories/726/thank-you-for-your-cooperation

There also is a "Workshop my game" thread for it elsewhere in the forums for discussion.

What I want to ask all of you out there is the following:

* Have you ever been inspired by an externally or internally generated limitations?
* Have you ever had a project fail because of too many options, ideas, etc?
* After reading "Thank you for your cooperation", what do you think the limitation I placed on myself was?
I thank you all in advance for your cooperation...

Chris:
Interesting thought. Limits are actually really common in art. Almost essential, even.

Twine itself an example of such a limitation. It starts with no art, no animation, and no sound. All that's left are the writing and the mechanics. Think of the act of making a game as itself a game. A simple, well-restricted game creator is like Mario: you only have a few buttons you can press, so you can focus on mastering them before expanding to other, broader realms.

I think I'd get a lot more done if I was more focused on finishing what I started, so I admire your dedication to finishing your story. Too many great games are only half-born (yet another reason to keep things small).

3. Was your limitation on the # of pages? I haven't figured it out yet!

Villain Mastermind:
Limitations are a commonly acknowledged element among those that study any sort of theory, but the unfortunate amateurs that dive in rarely learn the importance until they have crashed and burned at least a few times. 


--- Quote ---3. Was your limitation on the # of pages? I haven't figured it out yet!
--- End quote ---

That was one of the several limits I set for myself... Had to keep it under 100 passages total. I have an unfortunate tendency to overreach in my goals, so I had to give myself a hard limit or risk having it balloon out of control.

Chris:

--- Quote from: Vhillain Mastermind on May 26, 2013, 03:50:40 PM ---Limitations are a commonly acknowledged element among those that study any sort of theory, but the unfortunate amateurs that dive in rarely learn the importance until they have crashed and burned at least a few times. 
--- End quote ---

This reminds me of a quote by someone whose name I can't remember. It's like...I forget how it goes exactly, but it's like this; let me know if you remember it:

The best way to stop making mistakes is experience. The best experience is making mistakes.

Sound familiar?

Villain Mastermind:
It sounds familiar, but I can't put my finger on it... Completely agree with it though.

The important thing about learning from mistakes is actually owning up to them and fixing it (if possible).

“And a step backward, after making a wrong turn, is a step in the right direction.”
― Kurt Vonnegut

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