Sticks and Ropes — written by → Dave Rupert

Dave Rupert quoting game director Hideo Kojima:

In this short story, Abe states that the first tool mankind created is a stick, he states that the stick is the first tool that mankind created to put distance between himself and bad things – to protect himself. He states that the second tool mankind created is a rope. A rope is a tool used to secure things that are important to you. Most of your tools in action games are sticks. You punch or you shoot or you kick. The communication is always through these sticks, I want people to be connected not through sticks, but through what would be the equivalent of ropes.

Dave goes on to say:

I’ve started thinking about sticks and ropes a lot in regards my online interactions. Regretfully, I see places where I’ve acted more like a stick when a rope was the better tool for the job. I am not perfect at this, but I’ve been working on tempering some of my reactions and criticisms before becoming a stick. Trying to be more mindful about what I get upset about and feel the need to criticize, but that’s hard in a world where our real-world society is being divided.

And…

Am I a “stick” or a “rope”? Am I one that binds people together or one that creates division and bruises?

Gosh. Reading this caught me totally offguard and has got me looking at myself. Am I a “stick”… or a “rope”?