{"id":43,"date":"2011-05-30T12:48:48","date_gmt":"2011-05-30T04:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/legionofheroes\/?p=43"},"modified":"2025-03-08T09:06:52","modified_gmt":"2025-03-08T09:06:52","slug":"life-the-ultimate-game-by-steve-pavlina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/2011\/05\/30\/life-the-ultimate-game-by-steve-pavlina\/","title":{"rendered":"Life- The Ultimate Game, by Steve Pavlina"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

“When designing a game, a good game designer will present the player with a solid collection of compelling choices.\u00a0\u00a0As long as the choices remain\u00a0compelling, the game has a chance of being fun.\u00a0 But if the choices are boring, confusing, pointless, or broken, it\u2019s\u00a0unlikely a fun game will\u00a0emerge\u2026 although you could still\u00a0end up with a\u00a0Zune<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\";)\"<\/p>\n

Consider classic games like poker, chess, and go.\u00a0 Compelling choices abound.\u00a0 Now consider tic tac toe.\u00a0 When you\u2019re a child, the choices may seem compelling, and the game can even be fun.\u00a0 But as you mature, the choices become boring\u00a0and\u00a0obvious, and the game quickly loses its appeal.<\/p>\n

Even skill-based games like golf or Quake involve compelling choices.\u00a0 There are tactical choices as well as training choices. <\/strong> What\u00a0skills will you seek to develop and when?\u00a0 How much time are you willing to invest?\u00a0 How will you leverage your strengths and\u00a0compensate for your weaknesses?<\/p>\n

In a game you may also have resources, a currency you can spend.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s gold, mana, or energy.\u00a0 Resources add new choices:\u00a0 How will you generate income?\u00a0 How much will you generate?\u00a0 How will you spend your income?\u00a0 How\u00a0will you balance your time\u00a0between\u00a0production vs. production capacity (i.e. generating income vs. increasing your earnings potential)?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having been a game designer myself, I found it easy to start seeing life as a game filled with compelling choices.\u00a0 For starters, real life includes all the properties previously mentioned.\u00a0 We\u2019re presented with a wide variety of choices for skill building, resource acquisition, relationships, and more.\u00a0 As we age our decisions tend to become more complex, since childhood priorities no longer hold the same appeal.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the purpose\u00a0of\u00a0a game?\u00a0 The purpose of a game is to enjoy the experience \u2013\u00a0to have fun.\u00a0\u00a0Another reason for playing games is to grow,\u00a0since games\u00a0can be\u00a0wonderful\u00a0teachers.\u00a0 Having fun and growing sounds like a nice way to spend real life, doesn\u2019t it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What makes\u00a0for a good\u00a0game player?\u00a0\u00a0To answer this question, you\u2019ll probably imagine someone who\u2019s a good sport, who makes an effort to play his\/her best while respecting that all players\u00a0need an opportunity to\u00a0enjoy the experience, including would-be competitors.\u00a0 A good player takes time to develop his\/her\u00a0skills.\u00a0\u00a0S\/he takes the play of the game seriously, but not so seriously as to become overly attached to outcomes. <\/strong> A person who\u2019s overly attached to outcomes is what we call a sore loser or sore winner.<\/p>\n

If life is a game, how good a player are you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you play full-out for the enjoyment of the experience?\u00a0 Do you care about your performance and take time to hone your skills?\u00a0 Are you a good sport?\u00a0 Do you embrace the whole game, or resist some part of it?<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t it silly that so many\u00a0of us get caught up in the subgames of life and totally lose sight of the larger game?\u00a0 Have you ever built\u00a0a level 50 character in some fictional world, overflowing with wealth and radiant superpowers, while your real life character wallows around level 5, apathetic,\u00a0out of shape,\u00a0and barely able to pay the bills?\u00a0 Lots of us have fallen into this trap at one time or another.<\/p>\n

What other subgames have you mistaken for the complete game of\u00a0life?\u00a0 The education game?\u00a0 The career game?\u00a0 The financial security game?\u00a0 The family game?\u00a0 The physical fitness game?\u00a0 The spirituality game?\u00a0 There are endless subgames that can divert our attention from making\u00a0progress in the far more expansive game of life itself.\u00a0 These subgames are interesting and valuable in their own right, but they\u2019re only pieces of the larger puzzle.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What do you think of a world-class actor who turns to drugs and alcohol?\u00a0 What about a world leader whose own spouse despises her?\u00a0\u00a0How about\u00a0a massage therapist who never learns to manage his\/her finances?<\/p>\n

No virtual reality can compete with the compelling decisions that real life offers every single day. <\/strong>The choices before us are infinite, and\u00a0the consequences are interesting enough to motivate us to choose carefully.\u00a0 The game of life has a very strong design.<\/p>\n

Despite being presented with the most wonderful game imaginable, most of us decline to play.<\/strong> We sit on the sidelines, worrying about the complexities of the world instead of embracing them.\u00a0 We only dabble in parts of the game.\u00a0 Very few ever consciously\u00a0commit to mastering the whole game.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

Your current\u00a0level of engagement with life\u00a0depends on\u00a0how you evaluate yourself relative to the game of life.<\/strong> Are you bigger than the game, or is the game bigger than you?<\/p>\n

When you play a game that\u2019s bigger than you, you feel overwhelmed. <\/strong> It\u2019s too much to handle, and you soon give up.\u00a0 I remember when I tried to play chess when I was only 7 years old.\u00a0 I got frustrated because I couldn\u2019t understand it.\u00a0 The game seemed bigger than me.\u00a0 So I never wanted to play.\u00a0\u00a0Chess was someone else\u2019s game.\u00a0 If you think life is bigger than you, you probably don\u2019t want to play either.\u00a0 The game\u00a0becomes one giant inconvenience.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, when you play a game that\u2019s smaller than you, you remain in control.\u00a0 If the game is too much smaller, however, it becomes boring, like tic tac toe.\u00a0 Games that are too small have little appeal because the challenge isn\u2019t there. <\/strong> There just aren\u2019t enough compelling choices.\u00a0 Some people have fallen into this pattern, mastering the game\u2019s novice setting and never realized there are other difficulty levels to experience, including intermediate, advanced, and master.<\/p>\n

The sweet spot is when the game is nearly equal to you. <\/strong> It\u2019s the perfect match for who you are.\u00a0 You learn the rules, you take time to understand the gameplay,\u00a0but you know that mastery will be a lifetime process.\u00a0 Online role-playing games try to maintain this sweet spot, so their players will keep renewing month after month.<\/strong> They have to make the game easy enough\u00a0for beginners\u00a0while continuing to challenge the expert players.\u00a0 Social attachments play a key role as well.<\/p>\n

When you feel that you and real life are equally matched, you\u2019ll experience the sweet spot of human life. <\/strong> This is where the game is the most fun and rewarding.\u00a0 You become fully engaged, and life events are valued for the juice of the experience.\u00a0 You might describe this state\u00a0as being\u00a0in flow, the zone, wonder, or fascination.<\/p>\n

What happens in a game when you experience a setback?\u00a0 If you\u2019re a good sport, you\u2019ll see it as added challenge.\u00a0 Good players don\u2019t whine when the chips are down.\u00a0 When the game gets tough, good players rise to the challenge.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I perform at my best when I maintain the perspective that\u00a0life is\u00a0the ultimate\u00a0game, filled with compelling choices and interesting consequences.\u00a0 Instead of resisting seemingly negative events, I\u00a0treat them\u00a0as an added challenges. <\/strong> For example, if I experience a financial setback, it\u2019s not a big deal because\u00a0money\u00a0is nothing but a game world resource.\u00a0 It\u2019s just game gold, something that can always be replenished with hard work and creativity.\u00a0\u00a0And figuring out how to earn more gold is a\u00a0fun challenge,\u00a0full of compelling choices.<\/p>\n

Good players\u00a0don\u2019t rest on their laurels when everything goes their way either. <\/strong>What happens when the game becomes too easy, when the choices start to seem dull and uninteresting?\u00a0 Then it\u2019s time to ramp up the challenge again by venturing into new territory.\u00a0 For example, financially things have gotten pretty easy for me, and I\u2019m earning far more gold than I need for my family.\u00a0 Sure it\u2019s nice to have some reserves, but spending the rest of my life stockpiling gold would be boring beyond belief, not to mention a waste of an interesting resource that could be put to good use.\u00a0 The fun thing about having gold is that you can buy upgrades and thereby take on bigger challenges. <\/strong> And that\u2019s exactly what Erin and I are planning to do \u2014 use\u00a0our resources\u00a0to build a larger team and take on bigger challenges.\u00a0 Find ways to provide even more value.\u00a0 Take the game to the next level.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unfortunate that people so easily forget that life is supposed to be interesting, challenging, and fun.\u00a0 If your life is filled with compelling choices, consider yourself blessed.\u00a0 Make some decisions, experience the consequences, and grow from there.\u00a0 It\u2019s all good.<\/p>\n

The only way to lose the game of life is not to play. <\/strong> When you actively play the game, you gain skill and experience (and hopefully gold as well).\u00a0 Keep playing, and you\u2019ll eventually build yourself a level 10, level 20, level 30 character.\u00a0 Just make sure that when you hit level 30, you aren\u2019t still fighting level 10 monsters.<\/p>\n

What would an experienced player say to a character who sits on the sidelines, complaining incessantly about how hard it is to earn gold, how evil the monsters are, how unfairly experience points are doled out, how nobody is a good teammate, etc?\u00a0 I imagine the response would be something like, \u201cNooooooooooobbbbb!\u00a0 Quit whining and go play!\u201d<\/p>\n

If you find yourself in a human body, you came here to play the game of human life.\u00a0 Don\u2019t sit on the sidelines whining like a noob.\u00a0 The truth is that if you lose all your gold, if your teammates dump you, or\u00a0if your character gets infected by the plague, it\u2019s all\u00a0part of the game.\u00a0 Every setback initiates another round of compelling choices.\u00a0 The game isn\u2019t supposed to be fair \u2014 it\u2019s supposed to be fun and interesting. <\/strong>Whether or not you have a fun and interesting experience largely depends on what kind of player you are.<\/p>\n

Did you think you were supposed to succeed in every attempt to battle monsters, secure gold, or find good teammates? <\/strong> Of course not.\u00a0 That isn\u2019t how the game works.\u00a0 On plenty of occasions, you\u2019ll charge onto the battlefield filled with motivation and positive intentions, and you\u2019ll get slammed.\u00a0 That\u2019s supposed to happen.\u00a0 It\u2019s part of the game.\u00a0 The game is supposed to be challenging.<\/p>\n

How boring life would be if all of your attempts succeeded the first time\u2026 and instantly! \u00a0A game that includes setbacks, delays, and randomness is a lot more fun.\u00a0 It keeps you playing longer and with greater motivation.\u00a0 Thank goodness our desires don\u2019t manifest immediately, or we\u2019d be bored to tears.\u00a0 It\u2019s the effort and uncertainty that makes life so rewarding because the ultimate reward is the experience of playing, not the gold we collect.<\/p>\n

The game of human life may eventually end when you die, but in the meantime enjoy yourself while you\u2019re here.\u00a0\u00a0Life is\u00a0supposed to be fun.\u00a0 Get out there and go play!\u00a0 Tackle some of those compelling choices you\u2019ve been avoiding, accept the consequences, and grow from there.<\/strong>“<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“When designing a game, a good game designer will present the player with a solid collection of compelling choices.\u00a0\u00a0As long as the choices remain\u00a0compelling, the game has a chance of being fun.\u00a0 But if the choices are boring, confusing, pointless, or broken, it\u2019s\u00a0unlikely a fun game will\u00a0emerge\u2026 although you could… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[582],"tags":[570,399],"class_list":["post-43","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reference","tag-inspiration","tag-resources"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5gxNz-H","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14654,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43\/revisions\/14654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}