Ever heard about power creep in games?
Game design phenomenon where the overall power level of content in a game gradually increases over time 🤔
For new content to be interesting, it must be more challenging. The more new content is challenging, the more older content gets easy and boring, even useless.
How is this of any meaning to you? Well, as with all in games, there is a parallel to real life 👇
Power creep implications
In order for you to care about new abilities in a game, they need to be better than what you currently have. Otherwise, what's the point? You would just lose interest after a while otherwise.
So, the game designers make a harder, better, faster, stronger ability to motivate you to chase it. And you like that, it gives you fuel and a new challenge.
Once you acquire the new shiny toy, your old ability becomes useless.
You strived and fought hard to gain that ability, but now you have a new one, and all that work is technically now wasted.
And, strictly speaking into the boundaries of the game, wasted is the exact correct word 🫠
Meaning, you wouldn't do that anymore if you started now, you would just go for the better ability.
Joy in the chase
See the trend here?
The motivation is in chasing better abilities 🏃♀️➡️
Actually getting the ability is mostly a short-lived spike, with a huge downfall after it.
If no "bigger and better ability" is available, the interest fades 🙌
Does it sound familiar? Well, it's the same in your life.
Every achievement marks the end. And also the start of a new journey (hopefully). But it must be something new and exciting, otherwise you are lost 😶
Mastery cannot be taken from you
Here is the key insight:
Power creep is only possible with material possessions 👈
When you get something, someone can always create a bigger and more valuable version of it.
But that's not true for mastery.
You can always get better in personal skills, the chase never ends 🫡
Growth and mastery are not ends, they are multipliers for richer present experience
Mastery Is resilient, but conditional
Mastery gives:
- Competence (you can do hard things)
- Autonomy (you can choose how to apply them)
- Satisfaction (it feels good to use them)
But those depend on meaning 👀
If one day you decide piano has no relevance in your life, you might keep the skill but lose the emotional payoff. The capability persists, but the value you attach to it changes.
All this can help to extract a few principles:
- Keep the chase going
- Have a vision for a new goal even before you reach the current one
- Don't chase money and rewards, power creep is real for them
- Mastery is never wasted because it unlocks new roads
And, for gamers out there, be aware that power creep exists, and it's here to stay.
See you next 👋