I'm good at doing this Academia thing, but I do not enjoy the bajillion microdecisions aspect of it. Especially when it's other people cognitively offloading onto me.
July 21, 2026 at 12:01 AM
I'm good at doing this Academia thing, but I do not enjoy the bajillion microdecisions aspect of it. Especially when it's other people cognitively offloading onto me.
they’re trying to distill the Puzzle out of Action. they don’t know Action is inherently cerebral. they don’t know that execution is microdecisions
June 2, 2026 at 4:18 PM
they’re trying to distill the Puzzle out of Action. they don’t know Action is inherently cerebral. they don’t know that execution is microdecisions
We make hundreds of microdecisions, talk to maybe 50+ people a shift, and you want us to come home and be complete and functioning humans?
No.
No.
January 2, 2025 at 2:46 AM
We make hundreds of microdecisions, talk to maybe 50+ people a shift, and you want us to come home and be complete and functioning humans?
No.
No.
this is why the best vampire survivors-like is Death Must Die, by the way. It doesn't take the 'microdecisions' away from you.
I'm not sure I buy the argument in the screenshot
I'm not sure I buy the argument in the screenshot
to put on my game design propeller beanie for a moment, i think systems feel the "richest" to me when the micro/macro decisions feed into each other, like shmups have micro (dodging, killing, scoring) and macro (resource management over the run) and you adjust your approach to one based on the other
August 22, 2026 at 11:17 PM
this is why the best vampire survivors-like is Death Must Die, by the way. It doesn't take the 'microdecisions' away from you.
I'm not sure I buy the argument in the screenshot
I'm not sure I buy the argument in the screenshot
I didn't appreciate how much of being an academic is a bajillion microdecisions and fending off requests for hour-long chunks of my scarce time for "brain picking" or "brainstorming"
October 28, 2024 at 1:12 AM
I didn't appreciate how much of being an academic is a bajillion microdecisions and fending off requests for hour-long chunks of my scarce time for "brain picking" or "brainstorming"
This. It's so hard making hundreds of macro and microdecisions all damn day, have your brain on level 100 for 12 hours straight, care for others then come home and care for yourself or anyone else.
June 2, 2024 at 2:07 AM
This. It's so hard making hundreds of macro and microdecisions all damn day, have your brain on level 100 for 12 hours straight, care for others then come home and care for yourself or anyone else.
Every piece is a combination of hundreds of microdecisions created from years of lived experience. A misjudged line, a slightly oversaturated green, that scar you forgot that you added but were too lazy to pull up the ref. But that curve looks so good, even if it's not accurate, it feels just right.
May 7, 2026 at 3:21 AM
Every piece is a combination of hundreds of microdecisions created from years of lived experience. A misjudged line, a slightly oversaturated green, that scar you forgot that you added but were too lazy to pull up the ref. But that curve looks so good, even if it's not accurate, it feels just right.
There are a thousand microdecisions someone unconsciously makes before they assign you a gender and all you can really do is account for a handful of them
February 6, 2026 at 1:19 PM
There are a thousand microdecisions someone unconsciously makes before they assign you a gender and all you can really do is account for a handful of them
VS is a terrible example for this article. Automating weapons doesn’t remove the verb of shooting; it just turns into a mechanic constrained by rhythm instead of being on-demand. It’s balancing position and timing where the microdecisions that VS is “missing” are made
August 20, 2026 at 3:46 PM
VS is a terrible example for this article. Automating weapons doesn’t remove the verb of shooting; it just turns into a mechanic constrained by rhythm instead of being on-demand. It’s balancing position and timing where the microdecisions that VS is “missing” are made
This means a lot, thank you :') I'm always overthinking my microdecisions in my art
September 30, 2025 at 5:03 PM
This means a lot, thank you :') I'm always overthinking my microdecisions in my art
Apropos of nothing, you gravely underestimate the amount of fun I had typing 9999 − 1 in my calculator, then mashing the ＝ button.
Like maybe I'm the weird one, but I thought the gameplay was pretty awesome, and I was too busy roleplaying to be disappointed at the lack of strategic microdecisions.
Like maybe I'm the weird one, but I thought the gameplay was pretty awesome, and I was too busy roleplaying to be disappointed at the lack of strategic microdecisions.
August 21, 2026 at 12:28 PM
Apropos of nothing, you gravely underestimate the amount of fun I had typing 9999 − 1 in my calculator, then mashing the ＝ button.
Like maybe I'm the weird one, but I thought the gameplay was pretty awesome, and I was too busy roleplaying to be disappointed at the lack of strategic microdecisions.
Like maybe I'm the weird one, but I thought the gameplay was pretty awesome, and I was too busy roleplaying to be disappointed at the lack of strategic microdecisions.
I can’t believe how much more bandwidth I have for doing life stuff now that I’m not making 1000 microdecisions every day.
Today: made coffee, did a 3d printer training, transcribed interview, had class, went rock climbing, walked home.
Teaching is brutal.
Today: made coffee, did a 3d printer training, transcribed interview, had class, went rock climbing, walked home.
Teaching is brutal.
November 12, 2025 at 3:01 AM
I can’t believe how much more bandwidth I have for doing life stuff now that I’m not making 1000 microdecisions every day.
Today: made coffee, did a 3d printer training, transcribed interview, had class, went rock climbing, walked home.
Teaching is brutal.
Today: made coffee, did a 3d printer training, transcribed interview, had class, went rock climbing, walked home.
Teaching is brutal.
from what I can read of the article, it seems to establish a false dichotomy between games that focus on macrodecisions vs microdecisions that seems flawed to me as it would suggest longstanding genres like rts would be "self-playing" while deriding vns and many rpgs for their gameplay systems
August 20, 2026 at 3:12 PM
from what I can read of the article, it seems to establish a false dichotomy between games that focus on macrodecisions vs microdecisions that seems flawed to me as it would suggest longstanding genres like rts would be "self-playing" while deriding vns and many rpgs for their gameplay systems
to put on my game design propeller beanie for a moment, i think systems feel the "richest" to me when the micro/macro decisions feed into each other, like shmups have micro (dodging, killing, scoring) and macro (resource management over the run) and you adjust your approach to one based on the other
August 20, 2026 at 6:40 PM
to put on my game design propeller beanie for a moment, i think systems feel the "richest" to me when the micro/macro decisions feed into each other, like shmups have micro (dodging, killing, scoring) and macro (resource management over the run) and you adjust your approach to one based on the other
That was a really interesting read. The idea of microdecisions really being where the art is made resonated with me.
February 27, 2025 at 7:31 PM
That was a really interesting read. The idea of microdecisions really being where the art is made resonated with me.
"Self-playing games take microdecisions away from you in favour of macrodecisions. You don't need to choose where to aim your gun every second, but you will need to decide what ammo upgrade to select for the next level."
This directly doesn't apply to your example being vampire survivors. [1/2]
This directly doesn't apply to your example being vampire survivors. [1/2]
August 23, 2026 at 8:03 PM
"Self-playing games take microdecisions away from you in favour of macrodecisions. You don't need to choose where to aim your gun every second, but you will need to decide what ammo upgrade to select for the next level."
This directly doesn't apply to your example being vampire survivors. [1/2]
This directly doesn't apply to your example being vampire survivors. [1/2]
I know you know this already but in this specific example it's the exact thing Isabel Fall was talking about in that one passage of I Sexually Identify As An Attack Helicopter where she said as a woman the protagonist instantly knew all the microdecisions of womanhood, as they now know helicoptering
November 17, 2025 at 5:54 PM
I know you know this already but in this specific example it's the exact thing Isabel Fall was talking about in that one passage of I Sexually Identify As An Attack Helicopter where she said as a woman the protagonist instantly knew all the microdecisions of womanhood, as they now know helicoptering
Dans la démarche ergologique on appelle ça la renormalisation. À chaque instant de notre vie et de notre activité nous prenons des microdecisions "hors norme".
March 14, 2026 at 7:30 AM
Dans la démarche ergologique on appelle ça la renormalisation. À chaque instant de notre vie et de notre activité nous prenons des microdecisions "hors norme".
you're already pretty good at expressions and poses and a balance between style and "realism" but everything landed exceptionally well here. art is made of a million microdecisions and i feel the force of every one of them here, aligned in unison
September 30, 2025 at 8:56 AM
you're already pretty good at expressions and poses and a balance between style and "realism" but everything landed exceptionally well here. art is made of a million microdecisions and i feel the force of every one of them here, aligned in unison
29. Dynamic rotations - so that your skill in a class isn't how well you play *this* rotation, but how well you pilot the class overall.
One of my pets calls this microdecisions - what is the boss doing, what's my DoT uptime, etc etc. Tbh, one of the best things about healers atm!
One of my pets calls this microdecisions - what is the boss doing, what's my DoT uptime, etc etc. Tbh, one of the best things about healers atm!
May 27, 2026 at 2:50 PM
29. Dynamic rotations - so that your skill in a class isn't how well you play *this* rotation, but how well you pilot the class overall.
One of my pets calls this microdecisions - what is the boss doing, what's my DoT uptime, etc etc. Tbh, one of the best things about healers atm!
One of my pets calls this microdecisions - what is the boss doing, what's my DoT uptime, etc etc. Tbh, one of the best things about healers atm!
I Wish I Didn't Expend All My Mental Energy At My Job I Have One Million Microdecisions A Minute Through A Layer Of Performance But Bills Need To Be Paid.
June 6, 2026 at 8:54 PM
I Wish I Didn't Expend All My Mental Energy At My Job I Have One Million Microdecisions A Minute Through A Layer Of Performance But Bills Need To Be Paid.
At some point soon we're all going to realise that the complete lack of provenance behind even "open weights" LLM training is working against us. How can you trust the microdecisions or macrodecisions they produce when there are large companies funding and more insidiously influencing LLM trainers?
July 29, 2026 at 7:50 AM
At some point soon we're all going to realise that the complete lack of provenance behind even "open weights" LLM training is working against us. How can you trust the microdecisions or macrodecisions they produce when there are large companies funding and more insidiously influencing LLM trainers?
The fact that it just goes "macrodecisions bad, microdecisions good"
I've played Loop Hero, if you *don't play* your run is over pretty fast cause surprise it's not about moving or attacking it's about the build you make and that's fine
I've played Loop Hero, if you *don't play* your run is over pretty fast cause surprise it's not about moving or attacking it's about the build you make and that's fine
August 20, 2026 at 4:56 PM
The fact that it just goes "macrodecisions bad, microdecisions good"
I've played Loop Hero, if you *don't play* your run is over pretty fast cause surprise it's not about moving or attacking it's about the build you make and that's fine
I've played Loop Hero, if you *don't play* your run is over pretty fast cause surprise it's not about moving or attacking it's about the build you make and that's fine
The endless microdecisions needed for spoon allocation (available energy) are themselves exhausting.
If I do these two student meetings, will I also be able to finish writing this exam question? (No; because you also did the dishes, this will mean a nap).
If I do these two student meetings, will I also be able to finish writing this exam question? (No; because you also did the dishes, this will mean a nap).
May 22, 2024 at 1:25 AM
The endless microdecisions needed for spoon allocation (available energy) are themselves exhausting.
If I do these two student meetings, will I also be able to finish writing this exam question? (No; because you also did the dishes, this will mean a nap).
If I do these two student meetings, will I also be able to finish writing this exam question? (No; because you also did the dishes, this will mean a nap).
yeah, and you're constantly making microdecisions weighing time & effort against cost... exhausting !
September 19, 2025 at 1:41 AM
yeah, and you're constantly making microdecisions weighing time & effort against cost... exhausting !