Sure, I agree, and it’s already figured out. The demoscene has been around for decades. That’s real programming.

But I think you’re on to something important: framing programming as a competition of intrinsic skill where rules are necessary to equalize. That’s certainly true in some cases, and more power to those who enjoy it.

I guess I’m just more of a product guy these days, where the equalizer is the market and the consumers rather than the implementation methodology.