Arena Kickoff Call – 001

We had our kickoff call today for The Arena 🙂

Here are my notes for the session:

• Arena Kickoff Call
• Welcome
• What’s Arena?
  • Arena is a community for educators, designers and futurists want to help futureproof humanity through game-based learning experiences.
  • Free community to futureproof humanity using game-based learning experiences
  • End goal: You use game-based learning to futureproof humanity
• Why are we here?
  • Why this?
    • Playing games
      • builds real world adaptability.
      • builds emotional resilience.
      • builds stress handling capacity.
      • builds the habit of learning from failure.
      • turns uncertainty into a playground, not a threat
      • shifts perspective from avoidance to exploration
      • helps people thrive in chaos and complexity.
  • Why now?
    • World is changing
      • AI & Automation driving disruption
      • Economic & Geopolitical uncertainty
      • New frontiers are emerging
      • Traditional learning hasn’t prepared us for what’s coming
        • Strong but brittle mindsets
        • Traditional models are rigid
        • Very little experiential learning
      • Cost of fragility is increasing
        • Traditional careers are becoming obsolete faster.
        • People struggle to cope with uncertainty
        • Systems are breaking under rapid change
    • Special Mention: The WEF Report
  • Why me?
    • I see the world as a game. I have lived and tested this philosophy.
    • I’ve made games, done workshops, helped people. (6 & counting!)
    • I have a unique blend of skills one that blends psychology, education and gaming.
• What’s inside?
  • The Three Legs
    • Game Design
    • LxD
    • Futureproofing
      • 8Cs
        • Creativity
        • Communication
        • Community
        • Craft
        • Command
        • Charisma
        • Courage
        • Change
      • List of Non-Technical Skills from the WEF Future of Jobs Report (2025-2030)
        • Analytical Thinking
        • Creative Thinking
        • Resilience, Flexibility and Agility
        • Curiosity and Lifelong Learning
        • Leadership and Social Influence
        • Collaboration and Teamwork
        • Emotional Intelligence
        • Motivation and Self-Awareness
        • Teaching and Mentoring
        • Environmental Stewardship
      • Would you like to see how to expand the 8Cs to cover gaps or combine any skills for simplicity?
  • Design Journal
    • Capture Ideas
    • Record experiments
    • Help you find your unique approach vector
  • Quests
• Vibes
  • Run towards the monsters
  • Experiment
  • Share
  • Gamer’s mindset. AKA The scientific method
• What’s in this for you
  • Knowledge
  • Skills
  • Collaboration
• What we’re gonna do
  • Weekly
    • Log stuff in the Design Journal
    • Do the weekly quest
      • Join the weekly call
        • Group Discussion
          • Predefined Topic
        • Education Session
          • Game Design
          • Game Mechanics
          • Future Trends
          • LxD
        • Quest Reflection
  • Quarterly
    • Offline Game Jam
• FAQs
  • Is game-based learning and gamification the same?
  • Do I need to make my own games?
  • Can mechanics be copyrighted?
• What’s next?
  • Your First Quest
    • Play a board game or video game like a detective.
    • Make your first entry in your Design Journal
      • What you liked or didn’t like
      • What skills or proficiencies can be developed and for whom

My Tasks For Next Week

• Design the skill tree for The Arena

Quest 001

Play a board game or video game like a detective. As you play, observe how you feel. What do you like? What do you not like? What can this game teach? Who can it teach?

Write all of that down into your Design Journal. (It doesn’t have to be a book. It can be digital or offline, even index cards. But keep it safe – we’ll need to refer to it in the future.)

The Recording

You can view the recording here.