Constraints

I’m getting old. I used to be able to sit, hunched over for 12 or 14 hours at a time, working on my art with only brief breaks. The ADHD in full effect and hyper fixated on my work.

These days, after an hour of shrimping, I have to take a break for a bit and do something else. I’ve been told I need to change my working conditions, but how do you undo 40 years of approach?

You don’t.

The way I see it, it is a constraint. Just like the limited palette I am using for these nine 3x7 pieces I am working on right now. I am intentionally forcing myself to work with only 4 colors of gouache, 3 specific brushes, and this acrylic ink pen. Force myself to take those tools and see what I can make of my detailed designs.

I've been pondering constraints a lot lately. In art. In development. In game design. How right now we live in a time of unprecedented abundance. How right now all three kinda suck entirely because of it.

We invented digital tools for art, which gave a lot of people access to painting-like tools. There was an explosion of work into the world. Many people who might not have otherwise of had the chance to make art, are now making art.

That’s the good part.

The bad part is the art sucks. There is nothing to constrain it because most of these folks didn’t go to school or take the time to learn the basics. They just copied things they liked without understanding why, and it shows.

It isn’t their fault. Unfortunately many are being rewarded for it with a bit of money. It reinforces a constraint free space so talent never flourishes and nothing good ever comes from it. Capital doesn’t give a fuck about good. Just fast and cheap.

Look at what it has done to design...

Why is it every app seems to get worse over time? Every website? Every physical object? Why does my receiver from the 70s work better than my TV from 3 year ago?

We have access to all of these development and design tools. We have an endless supply of materials to build with. We even have, I am told, a magic box that can make code better than all the developers that have ever worked for or with me. We are unconstrained.

And yet nothing works right. We have fast, cheap garbage that keeps filling up our space. We have all become the poor man in the boots theory analogy. We keep accepting this bullshit and the lies that these products, the life they give us is better than what we had in the past.

We have been told that the modern world that includes medical marvels is a result of the same genius that gives us Facebook and Amazon. It isn’t remotely true, but they have flooded the zone with it. A flood of lies to fill up our heads to join the flood of crap they fill up our homes with.

I mean, look at gaming...

In the gaming space it is hard to separate it from the rest of the consumerism nightmare that is fandom. The entire market is flooded with a parade of stuff by companies trying to out stuff one another. Everything attempts to be both a product and collectable, be it a table top roleplaying game, board game, or video game.

The Kickstarter-fication of gaming has broken the constraints. Everything has to be an escalation of more and more to capture attention. To demonstrate value. Not more quality, just more stuff.

I just can’t anymore...

I can't participate at all anymore. As a consumer find myself getting quietly particular. Then annoyed and loud about it.

As a creator I have opted out entirely. I’ve left it behind knowing what it will cost. I’d rather embrace the constraint. I’d rather do the hard thing.

We do have choices. I think we sometimes forget that. I think capital wants us to think that we have no choice. That the hard way is a bad thing. At some point we let them convinced us it was or we convinced ourselves.

I mean, we went to the moon successfully with the Apollo Guidance Computer. Constraints are what push us to do the impossible. To create wonders. To inspire.

And in an age of abundance, we have to find our own constraints.