We’ve talked about creation, but we have yet to discuss how we handle things post-creation. Creations must simply be incubated. Let’s evaluate what Merriam-Webster defines incubation to be.
in·cu·bate: to maintain (something, such as an embryo) under conditions favorable for development
Just about every game you can think of is quite difficult to enjoy when you aren’t sure of how to play. Some hand holding and a safe space learn is all that’s needed to begin. I want you to close your eyes for 5 seconds and imagine being 2 years old, running around in your parents backyard again. Did you fall? Did you step in an ant-pile? I hope not!
One thing to reflect on is where you are. You’re outside where you can smell the earth, see the birds, and feel the grass beneath your feet. You also have a parent who is also outside keeping an eye on you, commanding that you not stray too far away from them, and a large fence to assure you’re contained and protected. This is your safe zone, or as RuneScape would call it, Tutorial Island. Your safe zones are designed to insulate and allow you to quickly discover the extent of your abilities.
Tutorial Island preserves life at all costs, sets boundaries to reinforce desirable behaviors, and so-on. On RuneScape’s Tutorial Island, gamers are provided with the necessary foundations to eventually become self-sufficient and this same connection can be made when raising young children. Safe zones aren’t just risk reducers, they are education systems. Quality education systems tend to gift students with enough knowledge and confidence to seek challenges and overcome them.
Within safe zones, you are given a tool kit, and tasks to complete using those tools. You may ask, “How do I know what to do, or which tool to use?” Receiving a starter pack means that someone or something has laid out the groundwork for you, learned when, and practiced how to use everything in that pack. If you do not have a teacher, you will have a manual, or even this book, to guide you on using your tools to create. Whether that be catching your next meal with a fishing rod, and cooking it over an open fire with piles of wood and a matchbox. Anything that you can do something with, is a tool that is not restricted to being purely physical.
- You can do something with effort
- You can do something with passion
- You can do something with limitations
- You can do something with all things, and create
Over time, you will recognize that many things you discover in life or throughout RuneScape can be added to your toolbox.
What makes RuneScape so unique, is that on Tutorial Island you have a different teacher to explain various aspects of the game and also challenge you to demonstrate your newfound knowledge in order to proceed to the next teacher. Having multiple teachers at your immediate disposal such as a survival expert, combat instructor, and a magic instructor — reflects a modern day education system.
As you near graduation from Tutorial Island concludes, you’ll have one final teacher to meet, yourself. You will be required to explore and provide answers to your own questions like, “why didn’t someone teach me that?” Every teacher you’ve encountered thus far serves as a guide, not a savior. If your instructors did not know something, neither will you for now, but that’s why life goes on. It will be your responsibility to rescue yourself from ignorance, and exploration begins with curiosity.