Exchange of Realities

What value is the image that people want others to see?

You’d be amazed.

That image has caused otherwise clever people to fall into stupid traps because to do otherwise would risk damaging the image, and caused otherwise stupid people to do clever things because they feel that is what’s expected of them. It’s caused otherwise intelligent girls to pretend to be idiots, and otherwise understanding guys to act like they have absolutely no ranks in Decent Human Being. On the other hand, it’s made lowlifes into heroes, and made the cowardly learn to be brave.

The image can be a powerful motivator. For its sake, cartoonists and bloggers alike will defy the laws of the universe to make sure they update according to their schedules, students to make sure their work gets in on time, workers to defeat their deadlines—and while this is powerful as a motivator, sometimes it goes too far, and they harm themselves in the long run in order to keep to the image. The work is subpar, or sloppy; mistakes are made that wouldn’t have been made if they gave themselves an extra day. Those whose image is of helping people might accomplish miracles for others’ sake—but might also work themselves far past their own limits for someone else’s sake or neglect themselves in the rush to help others.

Sometimes, the image gets reflected onto others. In pursuit of it, someone does the improbable, and then turns around and wonders why others cannot follow her example—or does unto others according to her image, and cannot understand why they do not do likewise unto her when she needs it.

The Image is not the primary motivator for everyone—but neither is money or power, nor sex, nor the need to do good. But it is a motivator, and those who value it will do things for it that they will not do for money or power, nor sex, nor the need to do good.

I know image. I have seen people do the impossible for the sake of their self-images, and who have nearly destroyed themselves for the same. Image drives me to update daily, whatever the cost and no matter how improbable the circumstances, while working as a librarian, while trying to serve as both the CEO and half the art department of a game design company, while shoving language study in there somewhere at least once a week to keep the account open, while running one game and playing in two. There have been miracles; there has been self-destruction. Would there be one without the other?

If you’re running a game, you’re not immediately going to figure out whose concern is image. That comes later. But you can offer it to a group, praising them for their skills on the one hand, or on the other hand for qualities that don’t (in some systems, anyway) have stats attached, from courage and loyalty to punctuality and an even temper. You can let people see them as things they aren’t, and see if they try to cultivate that image or fight it; you can see if they’re trying to give off an image of their own, and offer reinforcement of it or threaten it, give it advantages or disadvantages.

Image. There are many things it does and many it doesn’t do, many ways it can help and many by which it can harm, but remember one thing about it—never underestimate it.