Game Mindset: Unexplored maps only light up when you walk through them

In games

The map always starts dark.

Open it up, and aside from the safe zone and the tiny patch where you’re standing, everything is covered in fog of war. You can’t see what enemies, terrain, or treasure chests lie ahead.

The only way to light up the map is to walk through it.

No shortcuts. No one can explore for you. You have to go step by step, and the fog clears as you move.

Once you’ve explored an area, it never goes dark again. Even if you die and respawn back in town, those paths are still yours.

No player stands at the edge of the fog thinking, “Let me wait until I can see what’s inside before I go.” You’d be standing there forever.

You just walk into unexplored territory. Fight the enemies you encounter. Open the chests you find. Turn back at dead ends. Every step is exploration. Every step, the fog recedes.

If you don’t explore, the map stays dark forever.

In reality

In real life, we always want to see the full picture first.

Want to write? First research how to set up a website. Want to learn a new skill? Compare ten different courses. Want to start exercising? Research the optimal training plan.

It feels like preparation. But really, you haven’t taken a single step.

The map doesn’t reveal itself.

Worse, we want to know the “correct route.” Which path is fastest? Which path has the best XP-to-effort ratio? Which path guarantees treasure?

But the map is dark. How can you possibly plan the perfect route on a dark map?

We’re especially obsessed with long-term plans. 1-year plans. 5-year plans. 10-year plans. As if you can’t set out without knowing exactly where the destination is.

But who knows what will happen a year from now? You don’t. Your boss doesn’t. The people selling you “life planning” courses don’t either.

Do a little necessary preparation, then go explore. Quest markers and signposts are nice when you have them. But when you don’t, treat it as exploring the map. Wrong paths don’t need to be walked twice. That alone is a reward.

Hitting a dead end isn’t a waste. You at least know it’s a dead end now, and another patch of fog has cleared. Taking the long way around isn’t failure. You saw scenery that people who took shortcuts never will.

Often, the best discoveries aren’t at the destination. They’re along the way.

And you’ll find that once you actually walk in, things are usually less scary than you imagined, and often rewarding. Turns out there were a few small enemies and a treasure chest here. Turns out there’s a teleport point over there, so you’ll never have to walk this path again. Turns out there’s a hidden quest up ahead.

You don’t need to see the full picture before setting out. You don’t need to know what’s ahead.

And think about it this way: isn’t it precisely because you don’t know what’s ahead that exploring is fun?

Unexplored maps only light up when you walk through them.

Player notes

Before writing this book, I spent ages planning in my head. How many chapters? What structure? How to publish? How to make an ebook? How to make a print edition? How to market it?

I planned for a long time. I wasn’t writing a book.

I was standing at the edge of the fog, trying to see everything clearly before setting out.

Eventually I gave up planning and just wrote the first piece. It was terrible. The structure was a mess. But after finishing it, I suddenly knew how to write the second one. After the second, I knew the direction for the third.

Every piece I wrote revealed another patch of the map. Oh, this mindset is better expressed this way. Oh, these two mindsets are actually about the same thing. Oh, readers resonate more with this point.

None of these “oh” moments were visible when I was standing at the edge of the fog, planning. Only after exploring could I look back and truly understand what I wanted to write.

Blogging was the same. I used to agonize over the best platform, the coolest design, the perfect topics. I wanted to build the ideal base camp while ignoring the most important step: writing. After procrastinating for far too long, I finally just started walking and figuring things out along the way. And I ended up finding a path that the version of me who hadn’t started would never have found.

Wanting a clear route from the start is just because an unexplored map makes us uncomfortable.

Instead of overthinking, just walk in and explore.

Leveling tips

□ Accept that “not knowing” is a normal state. You don’t need answers before you can start exploring
□ Next time you catch yourself spending too much time “researching” and “planning,” ask yourself: am I preparing, or am I waiting for the fog to clear on its own?
□ When you hit a dead end, remind yourself: you just explored another patch of the map. That’s not a waste
□ Give up searching for the “correct route.” The map is dark. Nobody knows the correct route, including the people who look like they do

Alex Hsu

Indie developer, AI music miner, aspiring writer, ADHD.
Documenting my journey of personal growth and the pursuit of simplicity.