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Player Driven
Become a member

Free. Earn credit for the games work you already do, and build a public operator profile.

────── THE SHORT VERSION

Get credit for the work you already do here.

What it is.

Player Driven tracks what you read, watch, and attend, and turns it into a record of what you actually know, across nine operator disciplines.

Why it's worth it.

As more of the busywork gets automated, the scarce thing isn't output, it's judgment: knowing which lever to pull on a live game and why. This is the artifact that shows yours, accumulated in public, verifiable, and impossible to fake overnight.

What you do.

Sign up, pick a discipline that interests you, finish one article. That's it. You're already on the ladder, and everything below explains how far it goes.

Want the full mechanics? Here's exactly how credits, levels, and badges work. ↓

↳ PREVIEW · This page shows what the credit + levels system will look like. Some pieces ship today, others land in the next few weeks. See what's live now ↓

──── HOW IT WORKS

You're not a viewer.
You're an operator on a track.

Every article, episode, and workshop earns you credits — and levels up the specific operator skills you care about. Pick your specialty. Unlock the Discord channels you want. Stack credits toward the Academy.

See how to earn credits ↓
↳ Sample character sheetFICTIONAL
MR
@maya-r
Live Ops · L05 Conductor★★
Live OpsL05★★
73%
CommunityL03
42%
Trust & SafetyL03
18%
Player PsychologyL02
60%
Game DesignL02
35%
+ 4 more pillars
↳ Earned badges (4 of 28)
Founding MemberLive Ops SpecialistPolymathLive Regular
──── EARN CREDITS

Get credit for what you already do.

The system rewards actual engagement, not page views. Finish a piece → click Mark complete at the bottom → credits land instantly. Idempotent — you can't double-claim, gaming wouldn't get you anywhere.

ActionCreditsCadenceStatus
Sign up+25one-time✓ Live
Finish an article+5per piece✓ Live
Finish a podcast episode+8per piece✓ Live
Subscribe to the newsletter+3one-time✓ Live
Complete your profile+10one-time✓ Live
Attend a Player Driven Live (30+ min)+10per showSoon
Link your Discord account+15one-timeSoon
Complete a workshop+25per cohortSoon
Refer a friend who signs up+25per friendSoon
Daily streak — 5 days in a row+10weekly capSoon

New-member welcome bonus = +25 credits the moment you sign up. Hit your first article and Discord link → already 25% of the way to L02.

──── YOUR CHARACTER SHEET

9 pillars. Level each one independently.

Most leveling systems flatten you into one number. Player Driven gives you nine — one for each operator discipline. Your Main is where you go deepest. The rest grows as you wander. Maya below is a Live Ops lead with serious depth in her main and broad reach across community + safety. That picture is what tells the network who she is.

Sample · @maya-r · Operator profile
Live Ops·L05 Conductor★★
MAIN PILLAR · Tier 2 Prestige
Live OpsL05★★
73%
CommunityL03
42%
Trust & SafetyL03
18%
Player PsychologyL02
60%
Game DesignL02
35%
MonetizationL01
88%
UGC & CreatorsL01
25%
AI in GamesL01
12%
Industry & BusinessL01
0%

Pillar level rules: 10 levels per pillar. An article tagged with two pillars credits both — no splitting. Your Main is the pillar you've earned the most credits in (you can override it), and its color becomes the tint on your avatar frame and Discord role.

──── THE ACADEMY LADDER

Three doors. Three keys.

Pillar levels are your specialization. The Academy ladder is your overall standing — sum of all credits → one of three tiers. Each tier unlocks something real in the community.

LEVEL 01Default

Foundations

Learn.
Unlocks
  • Full library access
  • Member-only Discord channels (#intros, #general)
  • Profile + avatar customization
LEVEL 02250+ credits

Operator

Connect.
Unlocks
  • @Operator Discord role + private channels
  • Monthly AMA invites
  • Operator-only comment threads
  • Priority on Live show Q&A
LEVEL 031000+ credits

Lead

Level Up.
Unlocks
  • @Lead Discord role + leads-only channels
  • Academy cohort priority enrollment
  • Sponsor intro pipeline
  • Printed certificate, mailed
  • Public Lead directory (opt-in)
──── COLLECT BADGES

28 to find. A few are very hard.

Badges are a parallel collectible system on top of levels. Some auto-award at milestones (hit L10 in any pillar). Some are time-bound (founding member, cohort 01). The rarest are editorial — manually awarded by Greg or Lewis for outstanding contribution.

✓ Earned
Founding Member
Joined in the first 90 days
event
✓ Earned
Live Ops Specialist
Hit L05 in Live Ops
pillar
✓ Earned
Polymath
L02+ in 3 different pillars
polymath
✓ Earned
Live Regular
Attended 10 Player Driven Lives
event
Locked
Trust Specialist
Hit L05 in Trust & Safety
pillar
Locked
Daily Driver
7-day visit streak
habit
Locked
Marathon
5 articles in one day
habit
Locked
Renaissance Operator
L05 in 7+ pillars (hard mode)
polymath
Locked
Guest Star
Featured on a Player Driven show
editorial
Locked
Quoted
Your comment featured in the newsletter
editorial
Locked
Trustmaster
Hit L10 in Trust & Safety
pillar
Locked
Live Lord
Hit L10 in Live Ops
pillar
──── YOUR LIVING PORTFOLIO

The credits write a portfolio you own.

Every credit you earn quietly assembles into a living profile — a manifesto in your own words, a skills radar across the nine pillars, and the badges you've collected. It updates itself as you go. You never "build a portfolio"; you just do the work and the portfolio keeps pace.

It's anonymous by default. Nothing about you is public until you say so — and even then it's your handle and your record, never your real name, email, or employer unless you add them yourself. Flip one switch and it becomes a single shareable link you can put on a résumé or hand to a hiring manager.

↳ WHY A RECORD, NOT A RÉSUMÉ

A résumé is a claim. A living portfolio is a record — what you actually read, watched, and shipped, tied to specific operator disciplines and dated as you earned it.

As more of the busywork gets automated, the scarce thing isn't output — it's judgment: knowing which lever to pull on a live game and why. This is the artifact that shows yours, accumulated in public, verifiable, and impossible to fake overnight.

↳ SEE ONE FOR REAL

@maya-r is a real, content-backed operator profile on the network — manifesto, pillar radar, and badges, all generated from genuine activity. This is exactly what yours becomes.

View @maya-r's live profile →

Manage your own under /account → manifesto

──── THE PRESTIGE LOOP

Max it out? Start again.

Hit L10 in any pillar and you can Prestige — reset the track to L01 and earn a permanent star on your profile. Up to 5 prestiges per pillar; the badge gets ornate at P3 and gold-foiled at P5.

Prestige doesn't reset your global level, your badges, or your Discord access. It's purely a mark of dedication — and a reason to keep climbing once you've maxed out.

↳ Live Ops · Maya's prestige history
  • P0 — first L108 months in
  • ★★P1 — second L1014 months in
  • ★★★P2 — third L1020 months in · YOU ARE HERE
  • ★★★★P3 — fourth L10future
  • ★★★★★P5 — fifth L10the operator equivalent of mastery
──── DISCORD CHANNEL ACCESS

Level unlocks rooms.

Link your Discord account once and your level + main pillar automatically map to roles. Roles gate which channels you see. The Discord stops being a wall of noise and starts looking like the room you actually want to be in.

L01 Foundations
#announcements#intros#general
L02 Operator
+ #live-ops-room+ #dashboard-help+ #monthly-ama
L03 Lead
+ #leads-only+ #sponsor-intros+ #cohort-coordination

Hit L05 in Trust & Safety? You also get the @T&S-Specialist role and access to its pillar channel. Hit L10 → @T&S-Master. Same per pillar.

──── WHAT'S LIVE NOW · WHAT'S COMING

Built honestly. Shipped in waves.

✓ Live today
  • · Sign up → instant +25 credits
  • · Profile editor + pillar interests
  • · Newsletter opt-in → +3
  • · "Mark complete" button on articles + episodes → +5/+8
  • · Live /account dashboard with credit count + level + recent earnings
  • · Auto-written manifesto + skills radar + earned badges
  • · Opt-in public portfolio at a shareable /m/<handle> link
  • · Page-view tracking (signed-in members only)
  • · Member directory queryable by us (not public)
↳ Coming next 4-6 weeks
  • · Per-pillar level tracks (the 9 bars above)
  • · Live attendance auto-credit (+10)
  • · Discord OAuth linking + auto role assignment
  • · The full 28-badge set + milestone auto-awards
  • · Level-up moment + animation
  • · Avatar customization + pillar-tinted frames
  • · Prestige loop (after first L10s land organically)

Want a say in the design? Lewis Ward and Greg Posner are actively reviewing the system. Specific calls — track names, badge ideas, level thresholds, Discord channel layouts — are still open. If you want to push back on anything you see here, jump in the Discord or reply to the next Operator's Briefing email.

Start your character sheet.

+25 credits the moment you sign up. Pick a pillar that interests you. Finish an article. You're already on the ladder.

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