artem-tkachuk.bsky.social
@artem-tkachuk.bsky.social
Finance & strategy background. Interested in games and media as systems: power, incentives, logistics, and long-term consequences. Thinking about how complex systems evolve, break, and resist change.
Agency isn’t the absence of constraints.
It emerges when a system grants room to act - but that room only matters if the actor can use it.
Will sets direction.
Understanding predicts consequences.
Responsibility absorbs cost.
Without that expectation, choice remains - but agency never forms.
It emerges when a system grants room to act - but that room only matters if the actor can use it.
Will sets direction.
Understanding predicts consequences.
Responsibility absorbs cost.
Without that expectation, choice remains - but agency never forms.
January 23, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Agency isn’t the absence of constraints.
It emerges when a system grants room to act - but that room only matters if the actor can use it.
Will sets direction.
Understanding predicts consequences.
Responsibility absorbs cost.
Without that expectation, choice remains - but agency never forms.
It emerges when a system grants room to act - but that room only matters if the actor can use it.
Will sets direction.
Understanding predicts consequences.
Responsibility absorbs cost.
Without that expectation, choice remains - but agency never forms.
Power shapes groups, space, and futures - but that alone doesn’t make it stable.
Once power concentrates, the question stops being what can be done and becomes who gets to decide, and why others accept it.
That’s where agency and legitimacy begin.
Once power concentrates, the question stops being what can be done and becomes who gets to decide, and why others accept it.
That’s where agency and legitimacy begin.
January 22, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Power shapes groups, space, and futures - but that alone doesn’t make it stable.
Once power concentrates, the question stops being what can be done and becomes who gets to decide, and why others accept it.
That’s where agency and legitimacy begin.
Once power concentrates, the question stops being what can be done and becomes who gets to decide, and why others accept it.
That’s where agency and legitimacy begin.
The furthest reach of power is shaping the future.
Any meaningful future requires constraints - otherwise it’s just drift.
The cost is that every structure closes some paths to open others.
Power isn’t choosing whether to limit futures, but deciding which limits are worth living with.
Any meaningful future requires constraints - otherwise it’s just drift.
The cost is that every structure closes some paths to open others.
Power isn’t choosing whether to limit futures, but deciding which limits are worth living with.
January 21, 2026 at 12:07 PM
The furthest reach of power is shaping the future.
Any meaningful future requires constraints - otherwise it’s just drift.
The cost is that every structure closes some paths to open others.
Power isn’t choosing whether to limit futures, but deciding which limits are worth living with.
Any meaningful future requires constraints - otherwise it’s just drift.
The cost is that every structure closes some paths to open others.
Power isn’t choosing whether to limit futures, but deciding which limits are worth living with.
Logistics is where power turns coercive.
Routes, supply, infrastructure don’t just enable action - they force alignment.
Dependency feels neutral, even helpful, until opting out is no longer possible.
Most coercion doesn’t look like violence - and often isn’t intended as such.
Routes, supply, infrastructure don’t just enable action - they force alignment.
Dependency feels neutral, even helpful, until opting out is no longer possible.
Most coercion doesn’t look like violence - and often isn’t intended as such.
January 20, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Logistics is where power turns coercive.
Routes, supply, infrastructure don’t just enable action - they force alignment.
Dependency feels neutral, even helpful, until opting out is no longer possible.
Most coercion doesn’t look like violence - and often isn’t intended as such.
Routes, supply, infrastructure don’t just enable action - they force alignment.
Dependency feels neutral, even helpful, until opting out is no longer possible.
Most coercion doesn’t look like violence - and often isn’t intended as such.
Leading a group is the first place power gets tested.
Preservation creates cohesion, then stagnation.
Change creates momentum, then instability.
Leadership isn’t choosing the “right” side - it’s accepting the cost of choosing at all.
Preservation creates cohesion, then stagnation.
Change creates momentum, then instability.
Leadership isn’t choosing the “right” side - it’s accepting the cost of choosing at all.
January 19, 2026 at 12:36 PM
Leading a group is the first place power gets tested.
Preservation creates cohesion, then stagnation.
Change creates momentum, then instability.
Leadership isn’t choosing the “right” side - it’s accepting the cost of choosing at all.
Preservation creates cohesion, then stagnation.
Change creates momentum, then instability.
Leadership isn’t choosing the “right” side - it’s accepting the cost of choosing at all.
Footnote:
The 300-character limit is doing something useful.
It forces you to decide what actually matters - not explain, not hedge, not document.
Less space, fewer abstractions. Sharper claims.
The 300-character limit is doing something useful.
It forces you to decide what actually matters - not explain, not hedge, not document.
Less space, fewer abstractions. Sharper claims.
January 18, 2026 at 1:51 PM
Footnote:
The 300-character limit is doing something useful.
It forces you to decide what actually matters - not explain, not hedge, not document.
Less space, fewer abstractions. Sharper claims.
The 300-character limit is doing something useful.
It forces you to decide what actually matters - not explain, not hedge, not document.
Less space, fewer abstractions. Sharper claims.
Power in games is usually framed as capability or numbers.
What matters more is how it concentrates.
Power to lead a group.
Power to reshape routes and dependencies.
Power to lock in futures others must live with.
Rebuilding is an instrument. Power is the outcome.
What matters more is how it concentrates.
Power to lead a group.
Power to reshape routes and dependencies.
Power to lock in futures others must live with.
Rebuilding is an instrument. Power is the outcome.
January 18, 2026 at 1:18 PM
Power in games is usually framed as capability or numbers.
What matters more is how it concentrates.
Power to lead a group.
Power to reshape routes and dependencies.
Power to lock in futures others must live with.
Rebuilding is an instrument. Power is the outcome.
What matters more is how it concentrates.
Power to lead a group.
Power to reshape routes and dependencies.
Power to lock in futures others must live with.
Rebuilding is an instrument. Power is the outcome.
When I say “games as systems,” this is the lens I mean:
- Incentives that shape long-term behavior
- Power that concentrates, not just escalates
- Change that persists, not resets
I’m less interested in perfect runs than in whether the world still looks different after you’re gone.
- Incentives that shape long-term behavior
- Power that concentrates, not just escalates
- Change that persists, not resets
I’m less interested in perfect runs than in whether the world still looks different after you’re gone.
January 16, 2026 at 6:23 PM
When I say “games as systems,” this is the lens I mean:
- Incentives that shape long-term behavior
- Power that concentrates, not just escalates
- Change that persists, not resets
I’m less interested in perfect runs than in whether the world still looks different after you’re gone.
- Incentives that shape long-term behavior
- Power that concentrates, not just escalates
- Change that persists, not resets
I’m less interested in perfect runs than in whether the world still looks different after you’re gone.
Thinking out loud about games as systems - incentives, power, and what actually changes over time.
January 16, 2026 at 6:12 PM
Thinking out loud about games as systems - incentives, power, and what actually changes over time.