https://www.raphkoster.com/2017/09/22/31098/ Skip to content Raph Koster Raph Koster Game designer, author, speaker * Blog + Blog Home + Recommended posts 1998-2012 + Recommended posts 2012-2017 + Recommended posts, 2017-2025 * Game Design + Game Design Home + A Theory of Fun site + Presentations + Essays + Interviews and panels + Snippets + Laws of Online World Design + The Online World Timeline + MMO History Links * Books + All the Books + Postmortems + Theory of Fun + Sunday Poems + Other writing o Fiction o Poetry o Lit Crit * Music + My Music + After the Flood o Amazon o iTunes o Spotify + Listen + Instruments and tunings * Art + Art Home + Pencils + Pen and Ink + Cartoons + Digital Art + Doodles * About Raph + About Me + CV + Contact Raph + Press kit + Hobbies o Emulation o Fish tanks Search Raph Koster Raph Koster Game designer, author, speaker Search Menu What old tennis players teach us September 22, 2017September 22, 2017 Game talk First, read this article on how older players have come to dominate the top ranks of tennis, and how the reason why is probably money. I found this utterly unsurprising, and here is why. These things are axiomatic: 1. In any system where rewards accrue to "winners," it results in those winners doing even better next time. 2. The result of this is always a power law curve. My favorite shorthand for this is "the typical person in the system ends up below average." 3. Meanwhile, the winners at the top compete and drive up costs of entry. 4. As this happens, the basic cost of entry to participate in the system rises, and the result is those without resources get closed out. 5. The curve eventually grows towards a cartel at the top, and eventually a monopoly. 6. The system as a whole stops growing -- customers, players, etc. 7. Attrition for a variety of reasons means the system dies. This is true in tennis. It is true in a game's PVP system. It is true in the indie gaming business. It is true in MMO subscriber acquisition. It is true with Amazon and WalMart versus small shops, and it is true with Facebook. Sometimes this means piling up money, sometimes users, sometimes connections. But the nature of the asset doesn't matter. It's about the size of the hub. Systems that don't destroy their kings on a regular basis end up destroying the kings and the citizenry. And life under a king is never advantageous to the citizens, either. There is a sweet spot for ecosystems, you see. A certain level of connectedness, a certain level of inequality, gives us teams and cities and competition and cooperation. But a level above that gives us stagnation and centralization and loss of freedoms. There are thresholds in systemic complexity that serve the system but do not serve the components of the system well. Having hugely paid celebrity tennis players serves them and the system of tennis that monetizes that celebrity well, but does not serve anything else in tennis well, just like having a music scene of only the major rock stars does not serve garage musicians well. This is game design: set up your system to cause ferment, not stability and inevitability. But it is also long-term thinking in business, and for that matter in social structures. Runaway hubs cause problems whether they are guilds controlling servers, tennis champions benefitting from big prizes, or companies that dominate online commerce. Share this post: * Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook * Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky * Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X * Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon * Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads * Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit * Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr * Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn * Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest * Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp * Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket * Click to print (Opens in new window) Print * Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email * Related Post navigation Previous Consent systems Next Ultima Online is Twenty Current project [svg] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Books (These are affiliate links) Postmortems cover Postmortems on Amazon Sunday Poems cover Sunday Poems on Amazon Theory of Fun cover A Theory of Fun on Amazon A Theory of Fun's website --------------------------------------------------------------------- Categories * Art * Game talk * Gamemaking * Mailbag * Misc * Music * Open thread * Reading * The Sunday Poem * Watching * Writing --------------------------------------------------------------------- Archives * [ ]2020s + [ ] 2025 o November o October o June o March o February + [ ] 2024 o December o August o July o June o March + [ ] 2023 o September + [ ] 2022 o September o August o June + [ ] 2021 o October o September o April o March * [*]2010s + [ ] 2019 o February o January + [ ] 2018 o November o September o July o June o May o April o March o February o January + [*] 2017 o December o November o September o August o July o June o May o April o March o February + [ ] 2016 o October o September o August o July o May o March + [ ] 2015 o December o November o September o August o July o June o April o March o February o January + [ ] 2014 o December o November o October o September o August o July o June o May o April o March o February o January + [ ] 2013 o December o November o October o September o August o July o June o May o April o March o February o January + [ ] 2012 o December o November o October o September o August o July o June o May o April o March o February o January + [ ] 2011 o December o November o October o September o August o July o June o May o April o March o February o January + [ ] 2010 o November o October o September o August o July o June o May o April o March o February o January * [ ]2000s + [ ] 2009 o December o November o October o September o August o July o June o May o April o March o February o January + [ ] 2008 o December o November o October o September o August o July o June o May o April o March o February o January + [ ] 2007 o December o November o October o September o August o July o June o May o April o March o February o January + [ ] 2006 o December o November o October o September o August o July o June o May o April o March o February o January + [ ] 2005 o December o November o October o August o July o May o April o March o February o January + [ ] 2004 o December o November o October + [ ] 2003 o September o April o March + [ ] 2002 o July o March o February + [ ] 2001 o September o January + [ ] 2000 o December o November o September o August o June o April o March o January * [ ]1990s + [ ] 1999 o November o October o September o August o July o June o May o April o March o February o January + [ ] 1998 o December o October o September o August --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3d web agdc art games china community management facebook flash game business game criticism game culture game design game grammar game history game industry game politics game studies gdc gdca gdco gdconline indie games metaplace metaverse metric verse muds Music playable worlds second life serious games sf social games social media speaking star wars galaxies swg theory of fun ultima online uo vw business vw design vw history vw law vw tech wordpress WoW Meta * Log in * Entries feed * Comments feed * WordPress.org Type your email... [ ] Subscribe Policies Disclosure and Privacy Policy Data Access Request * Blog * Game Design * Books * Music * Art * About Raph Find Raph Online (c) 2026 Raph Koster - WordPress Theme by Kadence WP * BlogToggle child menu + Blog Home + Recommended posts 1998-2012 + Recommended posts 2012-2017 + Recommended posts, 2017-2025 * Game DesignToggle child menu + Game Design Home + A Theory of Fun site + Presentations + Essays + Interviews and panels + Snippets + Laws of Online World Design + The Online World Timeline + MMO History Links * BooksToggle child menu + All the Books + Postmortems + Theory of Fun + Sunday Poems + Other writingToggle child menu o Fiction o Poetry o Lit Crit * MusicToggle child menu + My Music + After the FloodToggle child menu o Amazon o iTunes o Spotify + Listen + Instruments and tunings * ArtToggle child menu + Art Home + Pencils + Pen and Ink + Cartoons + Digital Art + Doodles * About RaphToggle child menu + About Me + CV + Contact Raph + Press kit + HobbiesToggle child menu o Emulation o Fish tanks Search for: [ ] [Search]