26. Zero-Sum Games Are Amazing!

As we get more into the story of Aether Guardian and the strategies behind how it was written, I want to take some time to talk about something called a "Zero-sum game."

What is a Zero-sum game? Happy you asked!

Consider this scenario: Our protagonist has a sandwich and our villain walks by and says "hey, I want that sandwich!" Well our hero looks over, smiles and says "fear not, I have two sandwiches! We can now both have lunch!" The End.

Such amazing story writing, I know. But what did you notice was missing? To answer that, Let's take a look at a second scenario: Our protagonist has a sandwich and our villain walks by and says "hey, I want that sandwich!" Our hero looks over and says, "I'm sorry, I only have the one sandwich. I need it for my lunch." Yet the villain reaches for the sandwich anyway and tries to take it.

Did you notice what was missing from the first scenario? This is an example of a Zero-sum game: When both the antagonist and the protagonist want the same thing, but they both cannot have the same thing. The thing that was missing from the first scenario was any sort of tension or conflict. Why? Well because they both can have the sandwich. But in the second scenario, there can be only one sandwich, and both characters need that sandwich.

So this creates tension because the characters belief they both deserve to have the sandwich and they both need to eat.

How does this translate into your writing? Creating situations where both the antagonist and the protagonist want the same thing, will drive the plot forward and create a tension that forces the opposing sides to come into conflict with one another. For example, let's say both sides want "peace within the realm" but your antagonist is a High Council that will control every aspect of life and society to achieve that peace. Your character sees the High Council as a tyrant who suppresses free will and enslaves the realm. But your antagonist sees them as the hero of the story who sacrificed their own humanity to keep the realm safe. They see the protagonist as the one who is going to disrupt the peaceful order of this world.

And you build off of that. Take Aether Guardian as another example: Both the High Council and Cecilia want to protect the city from Beasts. However, The High Council is willing to throw countless Sisters into the Wilds to fight off the hoard and give their lives for the many. Yet Cecilia and Lady Elise sees that as a horrible affront to the rights of human lives. They want to protect their city as well, but are willing to put their own lives on the lives because it is their choice, not because they are being ordered to do so. Lady Elise focuses on defensive fighting rather than brazen, aggressive fighting - in order to make sure Sister's do not waste their lives.

Next week, let's talk about how this can translate into amazing "no-win scenarios" that will keeps readers engaged throughout the entire story!