This is a pretty awesome read on life in general, and it has surprising parables in Conan Exiles.
Now… Conan Exiles seems to be the only exception to the second law of thermo dynamics if you set decay to “off”, but in a multiplayer setting, this article is profound.
One quote reminds me of what i’m doing on CE:
“The ultimate purpose of life, mind, and human striving: to deploy energy and information to fight back the tide of entropy and carve out refuges of beneficial order.” —Steven Pinker
And this excerpt makes it clear why I love Conan Exiles specifically, and explains why games are addictive in general:
Why Optimal Lives Are Designed Not Discovered
You have a combination of talents, skills, and interests that are specific to you. But you also live in a larger society and culture that were not designed with your specific abilities in mind. Given what we know about entropy, what do you think the odds are that the environment you happen to grow up in is also the optimal environment for your talents?
It is very unlikely that life is going to present you with a situation that perfectly matches your strengths. Out of all the possible scenarios you could encounter, it’s far more likely that you’ll encounter one that does not cater to your talents.
Evolutionary biologists use a term called “mismatch conditions” to describe when an organism is not well-suited for a condition it is facing. We have common phrases for mismatch conditions: “like a fish out of water” or “bring a knife to a gunfight.” Obviously, when you are in a mismatch condition, it is more difficult to succeed, to be useful, and to win.
It is likely you’ll face mismatch conditions in your life. At the very least, life will not be optimal—maybe you didn’t grow up in the optimal culture for your interests, maybe you were exposed to the wrong subject or sport, maybe you were born at the wrong time in history. It is far more likely that you are living in a mismatch condition than in a well-matched one.
Knowing this, you must take it upon yourself to design your ideal lifestyle. You have to turn a mismatch condition into a well-matched one. Optimal lives are designed, not discovered.
… I mean… Dayum.