Hey Designers!

I have a love-hate relationship with video games.

My earliest memories of gaming are playing

Ratchet & Clank or Jak & Daxter, Spyro and way more.

Every single game I got my hands on I 100% completed it

as fast as possible, researched and dug into all the lore,

Learned all the cheat code and hidden locations.

Nothing else in my life made me as fascinated as games did.

And it's obvious why we both felt this way.

The progression, the structure,

the way they keep you hooked on grinding, improving, and leveling up

—it’s masterful.

And that’s exactly why I used to lose myself in them.

Because when you compare video games to real life?
Life is probably the worst-designed game ever.

No Tutorial.
No Quest Markers.
No HUD or Stats menu.
No clear progression system.

And when I looked at successful people—people who had actually figured out how to play the game of life—it just made it worse.

Instead of playing my own life,

I’d binge-watch their content, admire their progress, and go right back to playing someone else’s game.

That cycle lasted for years.

Until I found someone who told me exactly what I needed to hear.

Even if he was wrong...

I used to watch a YouTuber named Hamza

One of the loudest voices in self-improvement.

His message?

❌ “Video games are ruining your life. Stop playing them and start improving yourself.”

And you know what?

He wasn’t entirely wrong.

His content helped thousands of young guys get their lives together.

But the gamers he taught had to work 100x harder for it because of what he missed.

Remember when we were younger?

Sitting in a dark room, laser-focused, grinding for hours on end.

Not because someone told us to. Not because we were “disciplined.”

But because we wanted to.

We weren’t just "playing" or "having fun".

We were crafting the perfect build.
Pushing through brutal challenges.
Grinding for that one piece of legendary gear.

And we were willing to put in every ounce of effort to get it.

Our parents had to force us to stop.

We didn’t want to “go for a walk outside.”
We wanted to level up.

And now I think about the "advice" self-improvement bros like Hamza love to give:

❌ “Sit in your room and do deep work for 4+ hours every day.”
❌ “Put every ounce of effort into achieving your goals.”
❌ “Work hard, grind, and stay focused.”

Wait… you mean the exact same thing we already did in video games?

Before I studied the psychology of game design,

I never realized just how similar gaming and self-improvement actually were.

But the problem?

These same self-improvement bros are still giving terrible advice to gamers.

They’re telling us to “forget everything about gaming”

—to erase years of intuitive knowledge about progression, strategy, and mastery.

And that’s why every gamer struggles after quitting gaming.

Here's a sneak peek at what I've been working on!

I have 0 talent with notion formulas

But I am gamer

so I learnt how.

I never thought I could pull off something this complicated.

But to be honest - I've learnt way more complex systems in the 100's of RPG games I've played

I delayed the new Focus Room Game release to include this leveling system inside!

You guys will love it !

💙 Love From Michael

🚀 Get The Full Leveling System in LGD Pro / Ultra

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