#6 - Types of Creativity

I've started to design levels and assets for the game, which has, of course, caused a whole bunch of creative blocks. I've tried a few different approaches to creation though, and through that I think I've found an approach which helps. I've been conflating several different types of creativity, each of which are used for different purposes and require different approaches; 

• I had many cases where I had planned to spend the day 'coming up with ideas' for, say, enemy types. But when I tried to start, I just kinda sat there. Because I had no base to go off of, and I couldn't just come up with ideas from nothing. But I also noticed that the times I was coming up with ideas were never when I was trying to. It was always while doing something else, and maybe I see something which I think is cool and want to replicate; or it sparks a similar idea; or I just get an idea seemingly out of nowhere. So there's not much point trying to force this spontaneous creativity, or set aside time for it. However I'm a bit uncomfortable with this, because since I'm leaving it out of my control, I can have no confidence that I will continue to come up with ideas. So I've found two other approaches which can be deliberate and scheduled. 
• First, I can limit the scope of creation to a problem which needs to be solved. For example, my game has a grappling hook which has two modes; one which allows the player to swing, and the other which pulls the player towards a point. The latter has a limit of one use before the player has to land on the ground to refresh it. With this, I can now create challenges which force the player to use up this pull grapple, followed by a challenge which would have otherwise been made obsolete by the use of the pull grapple. Therefore I need to figure out the ways I can force the player to use up this single-use grapple. Given these constraints, I can just enumerate the now limited range of possible options by identifying the features which distinguish this case from the norm. In this case, many instances where the pull grapple can be used, the swing grapple could also be used, as the player can use the swing grapple, and then move up the grapple towards the grapple point. However where the player is already moving in a direction different from the direction to grapple, using the swing grapple will swing the player further in this direction; whereas the pull grapple will go straight in that direction. Therefore if, say, spikes are placed in this swing zone, the player is forced to use the pull grapple. We now have the totality of possible solutions to the problem – no creativity required. Although, I'm not entirely sure how I come up with these distinctions, but it seems like it comes more from a place of logic and problem-solving than creativity. 
• Second, stealing :). Or if you want to be boring, referencing. I've always struggled when doing art (drawing, painting, etc.) to draw without a reference. Again, I don't know how to create something from nothing. So I kinda just embraced this limitation, and make liberal use of references. With a few caveats of course; 
  • 1: I'm obviously not just going to copy a whole piece, but I might duplicate elements of it. For example, when drawing trees, I find it hard to choose directions, sizes, etc. for every single branch, and start to give up and just start scribbling. So I've been copying the branch structures of pictures of real trees so I don't have to worry about this and can focus on more interesting things.  
  • 2: Where possible, I want to at least consider variation on the original piece. For example, if I was drawing a battery, I might use a picture as a reference. But then I can try out different colours, or maybe combine some elements of one reference with those of another. This will overcome the issue of uncritically replicating, and also make me feel less like I'm stealing :)