Game in the Brain

In a resource Superiority contest (Time, Manpower, Material, Attention, etc…) – Organization skills like Admin or Profession (appropriate to a specific trade) determines How much Attention one can allocate. Attention is how much resources can be efficiently employed, beyond the attention is deployed poorly or with greater risk of ineffective. 

I noticed that We Split the Party against a Superior Foe in hopes to cause the Superior foe to SPLIT its attention. It only works if there is a TIME constraint and the superior foe has to Parallel its Tasks in PMBOK -Schedule Compression – it doesn’t work if the Foe can Take its Time. 

When the Superior Adversary has to sacrifice attention – then more empowered and High Agency individuals stand a chance. It’s like the Attention Economy. 

In ANY superiority contest – CONDITIONS AND TERRAIN – are another overlaying Factor of success. When resources are scarce – exploiting Conditions (Information, Difficulty and Easy of Movement and Visibility, Threat, etc…)  is where an Inferior force can win. 

The thing about it Chance plays a BIG part in all of this. Its like each side has a only marginal chance to win or lose – like 55% or 45% and if Time is a constraint they have to take that chance.  

Skills that are about Organization and Control determine how much resource there is Available per UNIT OF ATTENTION/AGENCY. 

In Asymmetric Warfare or Contests (if not about violence but Market or Social Contests).  Attention and Time are HARD CONSTRAINTS that GMS have to plan for, and Players have to monitor to Change their Strategy. 

As I slowly move towards HARD SCI-FI – I find myself thinking of Project management as a Way to be Engaging with the Players. I Fantasize talking about Project Scope, Accidents, problems that are Encountered, and Players applying their General Intelligence and Diligence in Approaching and Tacking this – like Novels of Seveneves, Delta-V, the Martian, etc… 

I know that Violence is one of the main sources of Agency in TRPGs because of the UNIVERSALITY of survival but I think one day GMS will be equipped in framing adventures as Win-Win and not Zero-Sum. I hope to contribute to that.