What if several groups of Integrally minded people (in Human Development, Political think tanks, Spiritual evolution, Education, etc…) created a game that could use the nuances of a game like “Go;” the symbol like tiles of “Mahjong,” and the life metaphor analogies information like in the “Tarot” cards, and an interactive games program for gamers online…as a means to inform the individual to become aware of their altitude (and others) while expanding their opportunity to move along the "conveyor belt’ from red to turquoise stages and beyond? And ideally inform a wider swath of the public on integral methodology to evolve consciousness.
a) For quadrants, 1st 2nd and 3rd + perspectives you could use symbolic tiles
b) For stages seven decks of colored cards (infrared/ red/ amber/ orange/ green/ turquoise/ white) each color would contain the rules for that level/stage and include both the healthy and shadow versions. To move from stage to stage one would have to fulfill certain requirements of a needs hierarchy and ability to take perspectives from all 4 quadrants. Oh, and everyone would have to start at stage 1.
Does anyone else think this might be an interesting game? And would you be willing to play? Anyway, just a thought.
If the game were true to life, the reds would wipe the greens off the board. Greens just don’t do hierarchies/conflict! Orange would take all the tiles and blues would treat reds as criminal and everyone else as cheats. Teal would be the referee who no-one at all listens to.
Thanks for responding Andrew. If we only started to play the game from the rules of Green postmodernism your outcome is most likely true.
The beauty is you’d have to start at red rules, becoming aware of both it’s strengths and shadows. To move to the next level you would have to be able to take a second person perspective, Amber. Then play the game with rules from that perspective. To “witness” areas in your life where that perspective is still resonating could give you a clue as to the next area of growth needed to move to the next level. Seeing the world from a new structure perspective (ladder/climber view) becomes part of the motivation to continue, that and 100 light crystal energy units one would acquire daily. (Got this idea from listening to Shane McDermott and Jeff Salzman, The Daily Evolver). This is where one could make those units crypto currency and create the game on a blockchain.
Clint Fucs group and course at Core Integral created some beautiful symbols for quadrants, levels, lines and types that would make excellent prototypes for the tiles.
We are living the consequences of both positive and shadow aspects of the “Green” altitude, (and of course all the levels prior and beyond) a Conveyor Belt game could be a very interesting way to gain a deeper understanding into oneself and others, the world and Kosmos. Using the AQAL map as the board…it would take a lot of talents, skills and minds to create such a game. Must say I’m having fun just considering it.
There is some precedent here for games to help evolve/develop. I’ve read SuperBetter by Jane McGonigal which uses gaming as the structure for personal progress. The interesting thing for me would be how to translate a boundaried perspective - Green, Blue etc - onto a level in a game where the level too is retaining its boundaries. Otherwise you’d just end up using your Teal perspective as a ladder to get you to the top of the board avoiding the steps on the way.
Good question. I’m redoing Ken Wilber’s online course Full Spectrum Mindfulness. It contains 1st and 2nd Tier structures and stages. You start with Infrared and then move through each structure with “mindfulness.” The mindfulness exercises require the ability to transcend and include awareness’s achieved at each level. Using Robert Kegan’s “The subject of one stage becomes the object of the subject of next stage” as a way to shed light on ‘addictions or allergies’ you may be dragging along with you to the next level. And there are plenty of shadows to keep you challenged all the way up the spectrum regardless of which altitude you are flying at in the present. Doing Ken’s course on The Religion of Tomorrow really brought that home for me.
Anyway, I believe there is more than enough material/content in the Integral archives to make a game worth playing for anyone interested in their own growth not to mention becoming more aware and clear in the other 3 quadrants. How I see the game, even if you are at teal, you would have to solve problems or find solutions for those problems from a red perspective, then amber… and so on. There are healthy and shadow areas even in Indigo and beyond. The goal of the game is not to destroy an enemy it would be to find a way through the maze consisting of all the spectrums. And of course there would be lines to explore, such as morals, spiritual, cognitive and so on. Using the AQUAL to explore quadrants, lines and levels and types with symbols, characters and ‘gifts’ could be an interesting way to ‘play’ with others, while becoming aware of ‘real life’ solutions along the way. A conveyor belt for the masses to Integral and beyond. Whether we are aware or not, we are already in the game.
Dear @Angelika_Ouellette. I love that you have an angel in your name. Your idea is very sound in that young people today would rather game than read a book. Another chat here is about what memes or media will be developed around and within the integral community. I expect as numbers grow there will be a whole range of art, movies, fiction and indeed computer games which are now bigger business than movies. My 31 yo son plays a card role play game called Magic which is becoming popular with the Dungeons and Dragon set. I’ve tried it but I guess I just missed out that skillset. I prefer 500 or Poker. I think what you describe is somwhat like this Magic game. The cgi graphics of the latest computer games could also work to create ancient primordial lands or futuristic planetary scenes equally well. I think your idea is a winner and you should develop it and pitch it to the game companies. Are there any 20-30 yo gamers here?
How about: Spiral maze. Unlocking one door takes you to the shadow side: deal with that, one door takes you deeper into the level, explore that, one door takes you up to the next level, experience that. And, of course, the door that takes you back down. How you unlock the door determines what’s on the other side.
HearteveryonePeter, much appreciate you seeing value in pursuing such a ‘game.’ I have a friend that plays Magic the card/ role play game. It certainly takes huge interest and memory in the qualities of the characters to remember how to use them to score points. I think I’m with you on Poker being easier. But one could use qualities used in Magic…
As for pitching the idea…I think the Integral Life platform is good a place as any to start with. Not sure I have enough EUC (Energy Units of Consciousness) to manifest the thing into the UR and LR quadrants.
The ‘angel’ in my name has been incredibly useful as a theme for passwords. Some I’ve been fond of are golddustfeathers and slightlytarnishedhalos.
I like it. One of the ways of unlocking the door could be a developmental test, lets say from Susan Cook Greuter (using her groups research “level tests” might inspire them to donate it to the game and they could reap the benefits of having huge anonymous data at their disposal to further their research). For Spiritual Intelligence Cindy Wigglesworth has some amazing questions/level mover to answer. Dr. Keith Witt’s material would be fabulous for relationships. And of course there is the Enneagram. The list of possibility is endless.
Im a software engineer with game programming experience. Really interested im making integral games that promote/trains integral thinking, but im honestly stuck. Its unclear exacly how to make an engaging game that accomblishes this, the details.
I would love if we could brain storm ideas or mind map together as a community. If anyone has resources that can point me in the right dirrection, that would be great!
Remember integral theory is just a model - it is not reality itself. The map is not the territory.
Being postmodern doesn’t mean you cannot function within authority structures, or even commit illegal acts.
The whole entire point as I see it is the ability to [integrate] whatever colors and what they represent whenever appropriate. So yeah, part of the game of life should be to integrate whatever methods are appropriate and not prejudge any method as inappropriate without carefully evaluating where that action or lack of action will take us.
I don’t see any need for such a game to force players to go through all the stages. If they are stuck in a certain stage, they just won’t break through. Kind of like Kiyosaki’s game “Rat Race” but the end goal and methods would be different. If someone gets there in one hour, so be it - a discussion can take place as a learning experience for those who got stuck.
The first and most difficult problem though as I see it is describing the end goal - the objective of the game. The reason being is that although it’s easy to say the end goal is to operate within teal - I actually don’t think many people have teal “right”.
What does winning a competitive game mean to teal?
I have watched Corey’s video on computer games. It seems to me that an Integral game would be about exploring lines, levels, states , quadrants etc. The purpose of the game would be the journey and you would “win” if you took part.
I think it depends on whether you are going for teal content, theme, or gameplay mechanics!
We might see something like levels, lines, quads, polarity management, etc. explicitly if we are going for teal content. But if we are going for teal theme, or even teal gameplay, all that might be more implicit and humming along under the hood.
After all, it seems to me that it might be difficult to make an explicitly AQAL game to be, you know, fun. Same problem most “high minded” games have. Interesting and provocative concepts, but not a whole lot to keep you hooked and playing.
For now, I guess I’ll just keep on trying to enact games integrally, while I wait for a new wave of integral games
I have to smile - it reminds me of the “Heaven and Hell” game where Hell was a lot funner to play.
That begs a huge question that I think many people struggle with in their journey - is teal “fun”. For that matter, is enlightenment “fun”? I think most people would agree that in most traditional religions and going to Church every week is “not fun”.
I might just not be at a high enough level yet, but my meditation practice is quite enjoyable, relaxing, peaceful, and even blissful at times - but I wouldn’t describe it as fun.
Q1: Is fun a necessary or desirable aspect of Teal?
Then the other aspect of an integral computer game that I wonder about is the monetization. The trend in this decade seems to be to design game profitability around microtransactions linked to addictive behavior, impulse buying, designed scarcity leading to competitiveness, peer pressure, exclusivity, and so on. The life cycle of games in this decade seem to be they are fun in the beginning, but unprofitable for the company. Then as the life cycle of the game continues and they have a core group of customers “hooked”, they then begin to monetize more and more - nurturing the shadows of their customer base for profitability. The results are that most gaming communities are extremely toxic in ways that are difficult for non-gamers to even comprehend.
Q2: Is the monetization of this “Teal” game already worked out, or is it just an assumption that it will be worked out because Teal people designing it will be smarter than other game designers?
I’m not saying this is the case for everyone, but in my experience and in observing the experience of many others, physical and emotional well being deteriorates in direct proportion to hours spent interacting with a computer screen.
Q3: Is there something in the nature of computer interaction itself that is undesirable and impedes “Tealness”? If not, what is the optimum play time for a game?
But one could use qualities used in Magic…