Video games were very attractive to me when I was kid. This is because the possibilities in the virtual world is vastly greater than the real world, as least during my teenage years where most of my life was filled with school work that can’t be related to in the “real world”.

Once I got older, I became more interested in learning more about how the real world works. Why do people live very different lives? What is the 9-5 grind? Is it the only way out? Why do disasters happen? Can we predict them? How do you interpret what’s happening? The real world is still a game, with all the mechanics that a video game would have. The rules aren’t explicitly presented to you, since they are defined collectively by other players and humans tend to change from time to time.

When I used to play video games, I always start by exploring the game for a bit, trying out different things that I find interesting, at that moment, before resorting to “guides” created by other players. This is similar to how I play in the real world. I try things out for a while (teenage years), then when I reach adulthood, I start to read up on “guides” to see a different perspective. Not long after I start to read “guides” do I realize that “guides” are only helpful to a certain extent, since the real world is a lot more open-ended and subjective than video games. I also realize there’s a big gap between me and the more “experienced player” who wrote the “guide”. Specifically, the “guide’s” underlying goals and assumptions might not even be applicable to myself. I should take a grain of salt and do more exploration on my own.

Despite being an avid game player, this open-ended game is very different from all the games I’ve played in the past, and the possibilities are endless. Video games have predefined rules, the rules in the real world are much more subjective and only reflect the state of thing when they’re defined. Like a video game, the real world still prompts you with “bosses” to fight, obstacles to overcome at each level. You can also save your progress by going to a special location (e.g. bank). However, there are some mechanics I find very important to note in the real world (though not so true in video games):

  1. Risk vs Reward are positively correlated. When you see a high reward task, and not see a high risk consequence, don’t assume the risk doesn’t exist just because you don’t see it. The risk is definitely built into the task, otherwise lots of people would realize it and that opportunity will cease to exist because the world would have already adjusted to account for it.
  2. Time can be thought as money, but can also be measured as energy, depending on the level of your character. Perhaps at a lower level, we can exchange time for money (by working a job), this is because at a earlier stage in life, doing anything will open up possibilities for yourself. So it’s not just money that you’re getting, but you’re also gaining experience or crossing-out options. Once you’ve gain sufficient experience to start focusing on your passion, it becomes a “trade-off” game, where the time lost is equivalent to you losing energy. And without energy, we wouldn’t be able to do anything, even with lots of money.
  3. The power of compounding is dark magic, that can both give you power or ruin your life. This applies to skill development, relationships, and of course money. This means what aspect you decide to invest in early on, will determine your path later down the road. If you don’t realize you’re wasting time on unworthy things, the effect from the time lost will also compound, since peoples’ expectation towards you is a monotonically increasing function.
  4. You define the purpose of the game. Though there are a few typical progression paths, they can only get you from A to the next average-Joe. And the majority of the population follow this path, which can sometimes produce some social pressure. But remember that everyone’s purpose is different. Being different doesn’t mean good or bad, it just means you’ve decided to put skill points into “critical-thinking”.
  5. History can sometimes be your fortune teller. First principles and human psychology hasn’t changed much in the past few centuries. If you strip down historical events to its basic building blocks, you can see history repeating itself. Nowadays, we like to invent complexity as a way to create a barrier for the layman, this can also disguise events from similar historical events.
  6. The game speed is always increasing due to the advancement of technology. This forces us to make decisions quicker, to plan more steps ahead in the game, and to focus our vision on the long-term.

I’m currently in early game, still exploring. I’m sure by the time I reach end-game, my mental model would have changed a lot. I look forward to comparing it with what I have now.

Back to the grind! 💪