I first played the game Starcraft while visiting my family on Reunion Island. A cousin, who shared my love for games, introduced me to it. Back then, the Internet was still emerging, and we used old Windows operating systems like Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Millennium. Thinking about that time feels nostalgic. If you’re fortunate enough to grow up in a caring family without major issues, childhood becomes a time where you can fully immerse yourself in your own fantasy world without pressure.
Ideally, this sense of freedom and creativity should carry into adulthood. However, the overwhelming burden of money—a “one-trick pony”—often makes this difficult. The need to secure basic physiological needs forces most of us to focus on survival rather than imagination and growth.
The Game that Changed Strategy
Starcraft, released by Blizzard in 1998, is a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game. Its expansion, Brood War, is the one I’ve spent the most time on. A sequel, with several expansions, came years later. The game’s story is set in a future where humanity and alien races like the Protoss and Zerg coexist and compete for supremacy.
- The Protoss, inspired by Predator, are a technologically advanced civilization with values rooted in honor and respect.
- The Zerg, influenced by Alien, are a primal species controlled by a single entity capable of communicating with all Zerg units.
Naturally, the clash of these civilizations leads to conflict and a quest for dominance.
The Rise of Competitive Play
A few years after its release, competitive Starcraft play exploded, particularly in South Korea. Players like Slayers Boxer became as famous as actors or musicians. This marked the dawn of professional gaming, eventually evolving into the e-sports industry we know today.
Balancing Micro and Macro: Lessons for Life
Starcraft’s gameplay hinges on mastering macro and micro strategies, concepts that resonate deeply with real life.
Macro in the game involves managing resources, exploring, building infrastructure, and planning upgrades while growing your army. Micro, on the other hand, focuses on controlling units in battles to maximize their strengths and counter enemy weaknesses. The key challenge? Balancing both. Over-focusing on one risks failure in the other: neglecting macro leaves you under-resourced, while ignoring micro can lead to devastating losses in battles.
This balance mirrors life at various scales:
At the Individual Level
- Macro: Setting long-term goals and focusing on important but non-urgent activities.
- Micro: Building daily habits that support these goals, like exercising, learning, or maintaining relationships.
At the National Level
- Macro: Designing infrastructure to meet the basic needs of the population.
- Micro: Ensuring the well-being and growth of individual citizens.
At the Global Level
- Macro: Creating a world where countries thrive collectively.
- Micro: Fostering cultural growth and prosperity within individual nations.
The Path to Unity
In Starcraft’s storyline, an existential threat forces the rival civilizations to unite. This idea—a common cause—offers a lesson for humanity. Today, rather than focusing solely on national interests, we could achieve far more by working together toward shared global goals.
While we don’t need a common enemy to unite us (though such a threat might accelerate collaboration), we do need to prioritize common human values. What if unity could be achieved not through fear, but through a shared vision for a better future?
Over to You
How do you think we can balance the “macro” and “micro” in our lives and societies to build a better, more unified world? What values should humanity prioritize to move toward a brighter collective future?
Share your thoughts in the comments!
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