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Jasen Robillard's avatar

In my world, curiosity and obsession are closely linked. My slight variant on CORE is CARE, where A is for Agency. In the craft of experiences, I design to provide a catalyst for meaningful action within a compelling arena of play.

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Justin Gary's avatar

I like this variant for design thinking! For me, the distinction between Curiosity and Obsession can also be thought of exploring widely over many subjects and strategies vs. exploring deeply on a single subject or strategy.

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Adrian Nguyen's avatar

Thank you Justin.

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Joshua Guthrie's avatar

This is very helpful Justin! Here are my current scores:

Curiosity: 5+3+2+5 = 15

Obsession: 2+4+4+4 = 14

Resilience: 2+2+5+5 = 14

Empathy: 2+2+4+5 = 13

Interestingly, each category has at least one statement that I am weak in and at least one that I am strong in... Not sure what that says about me, but it does show where I have room to grow!

Regarding Obsession, have you ever heard the term "slow motion multitasking"? Its a term coined by Tim Harford, who has this to say about it:

“I have a lot of projects on the go and switch between them. Kierkegaard called it crop rotation. You work on something, you put it to one side, and then you pick something else up. I gave a Ted talk on this. I called it slow-motion multitasking. I think it’s striking how many very successful people practice this and have these multiple projects on the go. They provide relief. When you’re stuck on something, you just do something else and don’t get stressed about it because you’ve got something else productive to do.”

I think you, Justin, referenced this concept a bit in TLaGD regarding game designs: you might work on one for a while, then rotate to another one if you get stuck, then rotate back later. From the outside looking in, it would appear that such a person rates very low in obsession (that's why I scored myself low on that statement); however, in the long run they can actually accomplish alot. Would you say that someone who does practice "slow motion multitasking" is low in obsession (which you present as a negative thing) or is it actually just a different manifestation of obsession? A different... tempo, as it were? The obsession is drawn out instead of short and intense? Curious to hear your thoughts on this.

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Gnomable's avatar

C: 5, 5, 2, 4: 16

O: 3, 3, 3, 3: 12

R: 3, 4, 5, 5: 17

E: 3, 4, 4, 3: 14

Cool system! I definitely stumble on focus when I don't care about the subject. Finishing a big project is still my white whale.

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Justin Gary's avatar

Thanks for sharing! I'm curious, what do you think stops you from finishing a big project?

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Gnomable's avatar

I tend to get ambitious with the design, then the lack of direction and deadlines tends to leave things in limbo, which leaves me chasing the next shiny new idea.

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Justin Gary's avatar

This is very common. The most powerful tool here is to find a way to force a deadline with consequences. I often say "Deadlines are Magic." because they have an incredible power to push us to accomplish things that we otherwise would fail to do. I'd suggest a very short term accountability session like scheduling a playtest with friends in two weeks, signing up for a design competition or unpub event within the next 30 days and/or coming to GenCon show me your game Aug 1 :)

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