The Myth of “Creative Freedom” in Game Dev

I used to believe that structure was the enemy of creativity. Like many developers, I thought constraints would stifle my ideas, that structural game development was for corporate drones, not artists. But after years of watching brilliant concepts fail because they couldn’t hold together, I realized the truth: creativity without structure is like painting on water. It might look beautiful for a second, but it disappears the moment you try to build on it.

The irony? Gameplay architecture doesn’t limit creativity—it unlocks it. When your systems are well-defined, you’re free to experiment without fear. Want to add a wild new mechanic? A solid structure lets you test it in isolation. Need to pivot based on player feedback? A modular design means you can swap parts without breaking the whole. The most innovative games—from Minecraft to Disco Elysium—aren’t structureless; they’re built on frameworks that let creativity run wild within boundaries.

These days, I start every project by asking: What are the rules of this world? Not because I want to box myself in, but because I want to know where the walls are—so I can paint murals on them. Building games from structure isn’t about control; it’s about giving your ideas a place to grow. And that’s the kind of freedom every developer deserves.