Hey, it's Nathan! You've acquired a lot of design tools in the first two levels of HS101. Before you start applying them, it's helpful to review how everything hangs together. I'll walk you through it.

Starting with the human at the top of the circle (🧑🏾 Malaika), and moving clockwise...

• 🧑🏾 Malaika has 🌳 personal values she develops from experience, reflection, inspiration, and admiration.
• These are often bundled with 📈 goals and 💍🛃 expectations in her concepts.
• Her concepts and the 👣 hard steps of her values encounter a ⚙️ structure.
• ⚙️ Structures make certain 📈 goals and 💍🛃 expectations more salient, and the 👣 hard steps easier or harder.
• ❣️Emotions arise as she manages to live by her values (or not).
• And so on...

Of course, there is a lot more to human life that just what is named in the wheel above. But these are the elements we'll work with in the Human Systems design method.

Humans Without Systems

When we don't recognise how humans are embedded in the systems around them, we tend to design bad stuff.

If we simply ask a person to practice their value by performing some action, we design in a "system blind" way and lose out on many opportunities to support this human in living by their value in this context.

System-Blind "Support"

Many well-meaning people design system-blind forms of "support" (i.e., behavioral pressure): "Did your taxes? Here's a gold star, hero!" / "Ate a second piece of cake? It gets the hose again!" This approach can seem helpful, but only serves to amplify existing goals and expectations.

David Goggins offering you some system-blind "support" about your attitude:

Note: This only works for David Goggins.

Again, we missed the chance to provide actual support to a human trying to live by her values.

Human Systems Design

You've mastered personal values, goals, expectations, and hard steps. Now you can apply that knowledge to create Space Jams that support meaningful living.

As you do, remember to ask yourself...

• Does my design actually support the hard steps of living by an articulated value?
• Does it's structure make value-aligned goals and expectations more sailient?

Work through the process below, and we'll review your design ideas together in 🥋 Dojo 3.

First check out some example 🎸 Space Jams

Note: These examples include ⚙️ Structural Features. You'll learn about that next week.

Then use ❣️ Emotions to Values to get started

Problem/Emotion Story:

🌳 Personal Value:

👣 Hard Steps:

Now You're Ready to 🎸 Space Jam

Space Jamming is when you create small games for people to practice living by their values. And it's HARD! Don't worry if what you make seems kind of terrible at first.

Simple Instructions

Space Jams are mini-games that help a person to practice their value. In its most stripped-down form, a game is a set of simple instructions. For example:

Write simple instructions that give someone a chance to practice living by the value above. At this point, we're designing in a "System Blind" way (see above), but it's just to get us started.

Simple Instructions:

Note: It's best to write instructions that only require the people who happen to be present. So your game might involve role play (e.g. someone is the "boss", and someone is the "worker).

Design around the 👣 Hard Steps

We want to support the value, but make sure not to skip the Hard Steps. Right now, your simple instructions (above) are just saying, "Do the thing!" But keep revisiting them and be creative around supporting someone in tackling the Hard Steps of living by their value.

Remember that games don’t necessarily involve scores, or even competition. Just make sure your game ends up being effective, interesting, and (at least some kind of) fun!

🌳 Personal Value (cut and paste from above):

👣 Hard Steps: (cut and paste from above)

🎸 Space Jam

🙋🏾‍♂️…BUT MY GAME STILL SUCKS!

Don't panic! You've developed all the technical skills, now it's time to get creative. Think about games you know well—Truth or Dare, Charades, Twister, Tag, Chess, Basketball—what makes them interesting, powerful, fun? These 8 ways your game could suck will help you understand what the classics get right and improve the games you’re making:

For even more gaming inspiration, visit the Human Systems Library:

📓 Notes:

Just can't get enough?