"If all our airplanes keep getting japanese bullets in the wings and tail, don't put more armor there--that's were we don't need it. Put it where the airplanes that don't survive get shot." - Abraham Wald
Great comment (and quote!) -- totally agreed. But my having used a mediocre example doesn't counter the gist, that constraints can and do breed elegance. (shrug)
I do agree with your conclusion that constraints can lead to elegance. I just think that your point about old video games wasn't a good argument in favor of it.
I also think there is a better point to be made about what sorts of constraints produce elegance and which ones are just frustrating and produce hacky workarounds. I think in order to make that point, someone would have to do some engineering history research and some insightful thought to see how an engineer's mindset and a projects constraints interact to produce elegance. I suspect the development of those video games could be a fruitful place to look for that history.
"If all our airplanes keep getting japanese bullets in the wings and tail, don't put more armor there--that's were we don't need it. Put it where the airplanes that don't survive get shot." - Abraham Wald