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Even highly liquid markets experience high volatility. Crypto market making is, therefore, an essential element for crypto token projects. This article will walk you through what things to keep an eye on when figuring out the optimal crypto market-making setup developed by us at . Autowhale We’ve been a strong partner for clients in the crypto space. Some projects they have supported are token projects, including Presearch, Locktrip, or Blackhat. Why market making is a crucial element for token projects The list below describes the most important points when applying market-making strategies on token markets: By providing liquidity on a crypto exchange, market makers can help to maintain a tight bid-ask spread (i.E. the difference between the price at which an asset can be bought and sold) which makes it easier for market participants to buy and sell an asset. Increased liquidity can also help to reduce the volatility of the token price. Increased liquidity: Market makers can also manage the for a token by using algorithms to automatically buy and sell the token at predetermined prices based on predetermined criteria such as trading volume and price. This can help to smooth out the price movements of the token and reduce volatility. Market-making algorithms can manage order flows by supplying liquidity to key price levels. It is essential to distinguish between placing limit orders (liquidity) at important price levels and paying for order flow or having some backdoor to an exchange to frontrun certain orders. Managing order flow: flow of orders Of course, the latter is highly unethical, if not illegal, and should be avoided by token projects. Market makers can offset the risk of their positions by using various , such as futures contracts or options, to mitigate the impact of price movements on their positions. More on that later in the article. Offsetting risk: hedging techniques Market making can also help to improve the accuracy of price discovery or the process of determining the fair value of an asset. By applying market-making strategies, crypto market makers can provide information about the supply and demand for the asset, which can help to inform the market about the asset's value. Enhanced price discovery: Offsetting Risks and the Alameda/FTX debacle Offsetting risks is a key part of crypto market making. Token projects need to be aware of how to manage the inventory of their tokens and be responsibly exposed to the volatility of their asset(s). Some crypto market makers, such as Alameda, allegedly were set up in a way that token projects provided them with tokens that did not have lockups. In such a setup, token projects are, on the one hand, at the mercy of the market maker to not dump their markets (therefore decreasing the overall inventory of the token project if risks are not offset correctly), and on the other hand, the incentives are not aligned. Token projects should hire a market maker that operates in their (selfish) interest. Crypto market makers like us work instead on a fixed price set up than taking a cut of the token supply. Crypto market-making strategies for token projects There are various strategies token projects can apply for crypto market making, depending on their goals and the characteristics of their token. Here are a few examples of crypto market-making strategies that token projects may use: Simple market making involves continuously buying and selling the token at a fixed spread, or the difference between the buying and selling prices. This strategy can help to provide liquidity to the market and reduce the bid-ask spread, but it may be less effective in volatile markets. Simple market making: Adaptive market making involves using algorithms to automatically adjust the market maker's buying and selling prices based on market conditions, such as volume and price movements. This can help to maximize liquidity and reduce risk in changing market conditions. Adaptive market making: Dynamic market making involves using algorithms - may they are based on statistical/quantitative models or machine learning based - to continuously optimize the market maker's position based on various factors, such as market conditions, order flow, and risk. This can help to maximize liquidity and reduce risk in changing market conditions. Dynamic market making: involves buying and selling the token so that the market maker's overall delta, or the sensitivity of the market maker's position to price movements, is zero. This can help to reduce the impact of price movements on the market maker's position and minimize risk. Regarding delta-neutral market-making for token projects, it is vital to consider the availability of derivatives of the respective token. If there are no derivatives, a crypto market-making firm may consider finding a basket of other derivatives – with a strong correlation to the tokens price - that may be used as a hedge for the token’s market. Delta neutral market making: Delta neutral market making Often a combination of various algorithms is needed to support token projects to achieve their market-making goals ideally. Other strategies, such as arbitrage trading strategies, may need to be considered - especially when looking to make markets across multiple venues, including decentralized exchanges. Ultimately the choice is to be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the specific requirements of their business and the characteristics of their token. How We Do Market-Making for Token Projects We’ve tailored our solution to meet clients’ needs at scale – whether a token project is only getting started (by having their first secondary market listing) or is already established across multiple venues. Projects don’t even need specialized expertise or infrastructure. Clients, from token projects to exchanges or funds working with Autowhale, start the onboarding by providing the required documents and contracts. After figuring out the right setup (see “Offsetting Risks and the Alameda/FTX debacle”), the clients provide us with the required API keys for connecting to their exchange accounts. : We use the ( ) when it comes to API Keys. . For security and OPSec’s sake Principle of Least Privilege PoLP That means only what is needed is enabled by the client when configuring an API key Together with secure, encrypted storage of the API keys, we help keep confidential data as secure as possible. Clients use our crypto market-making software to benefit from increased liquidity, enhanced price discovery, and more stable and liquid markets for their tokens. Be careful while sharing API keys!! Avoid granting withdrawal rights whenever possible. Trusted crypto market-making firms would never ask for such rights unless needed. In light of the 3commas hack, API keys need to be treated responsibly and at no time be stored in plain text. Contact details If you are a token project interested in our market-making services can reach us at or via the . info@autowhale.net Autowhale website None of the content above is financial advice and is for educational purposes only. Find more content on algorithmic trading software, crypto market making, and market microstructure on our . blog

Crypto Market Making Explained: The Secret Keystone To A Token Project's Success

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How Nintendo Expanded Its Market Capitalization & Customer Base with Creative Positioning Introduction Nintendo has been an innovator in the video game industry for a really long period now, and its marketing strategy is no exception. For decades, the Nintendo marketing strategy has leveraged creative positioning to expand its market capitalization and customer base. In this blog post, we'll take a closer look at the Nintendo marketing strategy from prototyping to production staging and how it has evolved over time, helping the company architect a grand success story. Nintendo's marketing strategy is unique, from the way it approaches product segmentation to the innovative tactics it uses to engage its customers to its creative positioning ways in the highly competitive video gaming space. The Nintendo marketing strategy focuses on targeting new markets and leveraging new technology to expand its fan base. Consequently, Nintendo has grown prolifically, and all this while consistently being nothing less than bliss to video gamers over the years. Nintendo's market share has been growing primarily because of its consistent brand voice and the amazing experience that this valuable company provides. The branding and advertising strategies of the company are incredibly clear and focused on framing a customer intimacy model. The company has been ruling the video gaming world and, with time, has evolved and ascended to new horizons. Its consoles have always been characterized by new technology for enhancing both causal and serious gaming experiences across an array of devices by leveraging mobile gaming as well as desktop and P.C. gaming. An important part of the Nintendo marketing strategy is winning brand loyalists in the form of older audiences as well as GenZ. Nintendo: Brief History Nintendo is a Japanese multinational consumer electronics and video game company founded in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi. It originally produced handmade playing cards before branching out into other types of entertainment, such as toys, video games, and health & fitness products. In the 1980s also, video games were very popular. Atari was dominant in this market. Games designers around the world were scrambling to develop games for Atari V.C.S. systems. Similarly, arcade games flourished in Japan and the U.S., which encouraged Nintendo to start playing arcade games. Donkey Kong was such a success that it prompted Nintendo to escape financial difficulties and helped to expand its distribution network across North America. In 1982 Nintendo was selling 60,000 Donkey Kong consoles sales to consumers worldwide. It was as focused on dominating the video game market with creative positioning as it is now. Today, the Nintendo entertainment system is much more widespread than just playing cards, and the brand dominates the video game industry. It is one of the world's most recognizable brands globally and has become synonymous with gaming culture. In the early 1980s, Nintendo released its first home video game console, the Famicom, in Japan and later introduced it to North America as the N.E.S. (Nintendo Entertainment System). This system popularized gaming with titles such as Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Tetris. In 1989, Nintendo also released the Game Boy, which was the first hand-held video game console. The massive success of the N.E.S. and Game Boy led Nintendo to create other successful gaming hardware such as the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), N64 (Nintendo 64), GameCube, Wii, and Wii U. In addition to its own hardware, Nintendo has also developed highly acclaimed games for both mobile devices and home consoles. Some of their most iconic titles include Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon. Many people have enjoyed playing Mario from a very early age and continue doing so even now. According to companiesmarketcap.com, as of November 2022, Nintendo is the world's 312th most valued company and amongst prodigious gaming companies with a and a . current market cap of over $48.87 B total revenue of $14.06 B It continues to be an innovator in the industry, creating memorable experiences for gamers of all ages. Nintendo is also well known for its commitment to quality and customer service, which have seen it become one of the most successful video game companies in history. However, the massive success story of Nintendo is not without some misses. For example, the Wii was Nintendo's best-selling home console of all time, so of course, its successor launched with impossibly high expectations. And yes, the Wii U was an abject failure, despite having a number of excellent first-party Nintendo games. Today, Nintendo continues to produce some of the world’s most popular games and consoles, as well as developing new technologies to create even more engaging gaming experiences. With its large library of iconic games, strong reputation for quality and customer service, and ever-evolving technology, Nintendo has established itself as an industry leader and a pillar of the gaming world. Let’s explore more on how Nintendo's marketing strategy is way ahead of its competition; read on. Nintendo’s Global Footprint Nintendo sells its products worldwide as a major influencer amongst the major players in the game market. The European head office is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. The U.S. head office is in Washington and is headquartered in Melbourne, with operations throughout Oceania, New Zealand, etc. Nintendo's product is widely distributed in all major areas of the world and can be purchased across the market. Emphasizing the importance of being a global brand, the late Satoru Iwata, former C.E.O. and President of Nintendo, had said, "We are trying to capture the widest possible audience, all around the world." Their distribution network is powerful in that the products are available in gaming shops and hypermarkets. Nintendo: Vision, Mission & Values Nintendo, the Japanese multinational consumer electronics and video game company since its inception in 1889, has grown to become one of the most successful and influential companies in the world. Let's see how the vision, mission, and values of the company deliver remarkable customer value and have done wonders over the years: 1. Nintendo’s vision is to Innovate and Engage People Nintendo's unique consoles, and products, blended with the latest technology, are hyper-focused on innovation to engage people by creating unique entertainment experiences that inspire and entertain the world and deliver phenomenal customer experiences. 2. Nintendo’s Customer-First Culture Nintendo’s mission statement, “ ,” describes its commitment to providing innovative products, services, and experiences for its customers. we believe it is essential not only to provide products of the highest quality but to treat every customer with attention, consideration, and respect 3. Nintendo’s Values Focused on Mutual Reverence, Integrity, Quality & Safety Nintendo's values include quality, innovation, respect for others, integrity, and safety. These values are applied to all aspects of the company, from product design to customer support. They help guide the direction of the company and help ensure that the company remains focused on its goals. Nintendo’s commitment to quality is seen in its dedication to creating products that are safe, secure, and of high quality. This commitment to safety extends to all aspects of the company’s operations, including product design, manufacturing processes, customer service, and marketing practices. The company also has a strong commitment to innovation, with an emphasis on creating new experiences for customers. Nintendo strives to continuously improve its products and services while respecting the rights and opinions of others. The company's commitment to integrity is reflected in its corporate culture and how it conducts business. Nintendo has established a set of ethical standards that are embedded in its D.N.A., which helps the company ensure that it always acts with honesty and fairness. 4. Building Intimate & Deep Sentimental Bonds with Customers Nintendo has been successful in creating a unique brand experience that is both entertaining and inspiring. Through its vision, mission, and values, it has been able to connect with people on a deeper level and build relationships beyond the transactional one. Nintendo has created an emotional connection with its customers that extends beyond just providing products and services. This strong connection allows them to stand out in the market by leveraging the customer intimacy model that transcends far beyond transactional value while also creating loyal and engaged fans who continue to support the company. How Nintendo's Brand Positioning Strategy Fetched Winning Edge Nintendo inspected American consumer markets for a while and found nobody wanted the latest video game electronics. Why are games so good that they're pathetic? In Japan, Famicom from the Nintendo Entertainment System was already well-positioned to replicate that success. However, to compete with an increasingly difficult global electronic market, Nintendo took a step backward. The Nintendo Entertainment System was projected as a toy, not as an electronic device; this was indeed a wise move. This instance is an overview of Nintendo's most significant positioning decisions for the 1985 release of the Nintendo N.E.S. The N.E.S. wasn't just an electronic thing, but merely toys. The first N.E.S. console had a robot called R.O.B. that would "help" players play a game. Nintendo hasn't looked back ever since. Nintendo's brand positioning strategy has been a key factor in its gaining an edge over its competitors. Here's how. 1. Branding & Advertising Campaigns to Create Strong Customer Relationships Their approach to marketing focuses on creating strong relationships with their customers rather than just selling products. This is done through various methods, such as creating unique campaigns that are tailored to their target audience and engaging with the gaming community through events and promotional activities. 2. Using Iconic Characters as Brand Evangelists Nintendo has also made use of its iconic characters, such as Mario and Link, to promote the brand and make it more recognizable. By creating a distinct visual identity that is easily associated with Nintendo, they have strengthened their position in the market. Nintendo has a unique marketing strategy that sets them apart from its competitors by leveraging iconic brand mascots and symbol advertising. Nintendo's success is driven by its recognizable characters and games, which act as ambassadors for the brand. For example, when promoting their latest product – the Nintendo Switch/Switch Lite – Nintendo's campaign used these mascots to create a strong emotional connection with consumers. Introduction of the Nintendo Switch Online (N.S.O.) subscription model allows users to play games online, voice chat & save on the cloud. Products like Nintendo Ds and Switch have focused on demographic segmentation. People ranging from the age 15-35 who are gamers. Using behavioral segmentation, it targets people who casually like to play games and are not hardcore gamers. The promotion of the Nintendo Switch focused on user interaction, showing everyday scenarios in which the product could be used to create an emotional resonance with viewers. Additionally, Nintendo's ads included sound effects that served as a consistent symbol of the product's features, further connecting with users on an emotional level. As a result of this creative and effective marketing strategy, Nintendo was able to achieve 55 million unit sales since its 2017 release and accounted for 60% of global unit sales in 2020 across current-generation video games. The iconic brand mascots and clever use of sound signals create an emotional bond between the product, the users, and, ultimately, Nintendo as a brand. 3. A New-Technology-First Brand Nintendo was one of the first companies to leverage new technologies, such as motion-sensing game controllers and virtual reality, to further differentiate itself from its competitors. 4. Blue Ocean Strategy Nintendo has also employed a "blue ocean strategy," which involves creating new markets rather than competing in existing ones. This enabled them to capture new customers that were not interested in the products offered by other companies, thus giving them an edge over their competitors. 5. Investing in Research & Development Nintendo has also invested heavily in research and development to ensure that its products remain ahead of the competition. This has allowed them to create innovative and unique products that have kept customers coming back for more. All of these efforts have combined to make Nintendo one of the most recognizable brands in gaming today, and its brand positioning strategy is a key factor in this success. By creating strong relationships with their customers and investing heavily in research, they have forged an unbeatable edge over their competitors. Nintendo's brand positioning strategy has been integral to its success in the gaming industry, which leads to its unique popularity in the mobile gaming and hand-held devices gaming space as well. It has allowed them to capture new markets, differentiate themselves from other companies, and create products that remain ahead of the competition. Nintendo's U.S.P. is Its State-of-the-Art Products Designed for Phenomenal Digital Gaming Experiences Nintendo has been the leader in the video gaming industry since it first released its iconic console, the Nintendo Entertainment System (N.E.S.), back in 1983. By creatively positioning itself as a family-friendly brand and creating innovative products such as the Wii U and Nintendo Switch, Nintendo has successfully outlasted other competitors like Sega, Atari, Microsoft Xbox, and Sony PlayStation. Nintendo's success has been due in large part to its marketing strategy, which is both creative and innovative. Their strategies are centered around the idea of “uniting generations,” aiming to bring families together by providing games that can be enjoyed by all ages. Nintendo always focuses on creating holistic, integral, and shareable, digital-first online gaming experiences by employing the below strategies: 1. Market Segmentation to Include Both Older and Younger Generations Nintendo was one of the first companies to recognize the importance of targeting both children and adults in its marketing campaigns. 2. Reward Programs to Promote Brand Loyalty They also developed strategies to increase their brand loyalty, such as allowing customers to upgrade older consoles when new ones came out or creating a rewards program for loyal players. This approach has enabled Nintendo to keep its dedicated fanbase and entice new customers. 3. Innovating Groundbreaking Products Focused on Ease of Use In terms of product innovation, Nintendo has consistently released groundbreaking products such as the Wii U, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo D.S. systems. These have been designed with a focus on comfort and ease of use, allowing for hours of entertainment without tiring out users' hands or eyes. 4. A Wide Variety of Games for Capturing Audiences with Diverse Interests Nintendo also ensures that its systems offer a variety of games, ranging from educational titles to sports and RPGs. The above strategies are the keystone to Nintendo's creative positioning in the video gaming market. Its innovative approach to marketing, product innovation, and loyalty programs have helped Nintendo stand apart from its competitors while still providing an enjoyable experience for players of all ages. Mobile games are especially popular among people of all ages, and with Nintendo, they can lay their hands on a wide array of genres. The company has continuously provided gamers with products such as Nintendo Switch and Nintendo D.S. that offer exciting experiences while still focusing on comfort and ease of use. They have also developed strategies to stay ahead of their competitors, such as providing options for customers to upgrade consoles when new systems come out. Nintendo's creative positioning and unique approach have enabled them to remain the leader in video gaming for decades and will undoubtedly continue to shape the industry for years to come. As the gaming industry continues to expand, it will be interesting to see how Nintendo's marketing tactics will evolve further in the future. Nintendo’s Roadmap for 2023: Delight Customers with Some Highly Anticipated Switch Games In 2023, Nintendo is expected to make a splash in the gaming industry with some of its most famous upcoming games and titles. The company has already announced several forthcoming releases for the Nintendo Switch that year, which should delight customers. Persona 3: Portable, Fire Emblem Engage, Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & The Secret Key, and Kirby's are just some of the anticipated titles to be launched in 2023. More excitingly, Nintendo might also be planning a new generation of hardware — the Switch Pro — which is rumored to have higher specs and improved visuals compared to its predecessor. The Switch Pro could potentially give gamers an even better gaming experience than what they’re used to while playing the current version of the gaming console. In addition, Nintendo could be preparing a new set of accessories such as controllers and Joy-Cons that will be compatible with the Switch Pro. This would give gamers additional features and options for their gaming experience, allowing them to customize their experience even further. The company has also been rumored to be developing an augmented reality headset, which could make for some exciting new gaming possibilities. Nintendo might also introduce cloud gaming to the Nintendo Switch in 2023. This would allow gamers to stream games from a central server, giving them access to more titles and better graphics than the current gaming console can deliver. Overall, it looks like Nintendo's plans for 2023 will be sure to thrill fans. This valuable company is planning a wide range of titles, hardware, accessories, and services that could potentially revolutionize the gaming industry. With so much on offer, Nintendo Switch owners can expect plenty of thrills when Nintendo's plans for 2023 unravel. Conclusion Nintendo's marketing strategy is rooted in its focus on providing quality games and protecting its intellectual property. While transcending beyond mobile gaming, it may be appealing to enter the cloud gaming markets, and the company also seems to be experimenting with the idea; this could come at the cost of brand dilution. As such, Nintendo has to carefully consider the risks versus rewards of competing with incumbents in those spaces like Google Stadia, Microsoft xCloud, Facebook, and Nvidia GeForce NOW. Ultimately, Nintendo will need to decide if it is ready to enter the ring and face off with the industry's giants. Only time will tell how this decision will turn out for the company. However, regardless of the outcome, Nintendo has established a strong track record in gaming and has become an iconic brand that will continue to be successful.  ​

Everything You Must Know About Nintendo's Marketing Strategy

268 Stories To Learn About Trading

On War by Carl Von Clausewitz, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . Attack on the Enemy’s Army in its Cantonments Book VII: Chapter XIX. Attack on the Enemy’s Army in its Cantonments We have not treated of this subject in the defence, because a line of cantonments is not to be regarded as a defensive means, but as a mere existence of the army in a state which implies little readiness for battle. In respect to this readiness for battle, we therefore did not go beyond what we required to say in connection with this condition of an army in the 13th chapter of the 5th book. But here, in considering the attack, we have to think of an enemy’s army in cantonments in all respects as a special object; for, in the first place, such an attack is of a very peculiar kind in itself; and, in the next place, it may be considered as a strategic means of particular efficacy. Here we have before us, therefore, not the question of an onslaught on a single cantonment or a small corps dispersed amongst a few villages, as the arrangements for that are entirely of a tactical nature, but of the attack of a large army, distributed in cantonments more or less extensive; an attack in which the object is not the mere surprise of a single cantonment, but to prevent the assembly of the army. The attack on an enemy’s army in cantonments is therefore the surprise of an army not assembled. If this surprise succeeds fully, then the enemy’s army is prevented from reaching its appointed place of assembly, and, therefore, compelled to choose another more to the rear; as this change of the point of assembly to the rear in a state of such emergency can seldom be effected in less than a day’s march, but generally will require several days, the loss of ground which this occasions is by no means an insignificant loss; and this is the first advantage gained by the assailant. But now, this surprise which is in connection with the general relations, may certainly at the same time, in its commencement, be an onslaught on some of the enemy’s single cantonments, not certainly upon all, or upon a great many, because that would suppose a scattering of the attacking army to an extent which could never be advisable. Therefore, only the most advanced quarters, only those which lie in the direction of the attacking columns, can be surprised, and even this will seldom happen to many of them, as large forces cannot easily approach unobserved. However, this element of the attack is by no means to be disregarded; and we reckon the advantages which may be thus obtained, as the second advantage of the surprise. A third advantage consists in the minor combats forced upon the enemy in which his losses will be considerable. A great body of troops does not assemble itself at once by single battalions at the spot appointed for the general concentration of the army, but usually forms itself by brigades, divisions, or corps, in the first place, and these masses cannot then hasten at full speed to the rendezvous; in case of meeting with an enemy’s column in their course, they are obliged to engage in a combat; now, they may certainly come off victorious in the same, particularly if the enemy’s attacking column is not of sufficient strength, but in conquering, they lose time, and, in most cases, as may be easily conceived, a corps, under such circumstances, and in the general tendency to gain a point which lies to the rear, will not make any beneficial use of its victory. On the other hand, they may be beaten, and that is the most probable issue in itself, because they have not time to organise a good resistance. We may, therefore, very well suppose that in an attack well planned and executed, the assailant through these partial combats will gather up a considerable number of trophies, which become a principal point in the general result. Lastly, the fourth advantage, and the keystone of the whole, is a certain momentary disorganisation and discouragement on the side of the enemy, which, when the force is at last assembled, seldom allows of its being immediately brought into action, and generally obliges the party attacked to abandon still more ground to his assailant, and to make a change generally in his plan of operations. Such are the proper results of a successful surprise of the enemy in cantonments, that is, of one in which the enemy is prevented from assembling his army without loss at the point fixed in his plan. But by the nature of the case, success has many degrees; and, therefore, the results may be very great in one case, and hardly worth mentioning in another. But even when, through the complete success of the enterprise, these results are considerable, they will seldom bear comparison with the gain of a great battle, partly because, in the first place, the trophies are seldom as great, and in the next, the moral impression never strikes so deep. This general result must always be kept in view, that we may not promise ourselves more from an enterprise of this kind than it can give. Many hold it to be the non plus ultra of offensive activity; but it is not so by any means, as we may see from this analysis, as well as from military history. One of the most brilliant surprises in history, is that made by the Duke of Lorraine in 1643, on the cantonments of the French, under General Ranzan, at Duttlingen. The corps was 16,000 men, and they lost the General commanding, and 7,000 men; it was a complete defeat. The want of outposts was the cause of the disaster. The surprise of Turenne at Mergentheim (Mariendal, as the French call it,) in 1644, is in like manner to be regarded as equal to a defeat in its effects, for he lost 3,000 men out of 8,000, which was principally owing to his having been led into making an untimely stand after he got his men assembled. Such results we cannot, therefore, often reckon upon; it was rather the result of an ill-judged action than of the surprise, properly speaking, for Turenne might easily have avoided the action, and have rallied his troops upon those in more distant quarters. A third noted surprise is that which Turenne made on the Allies under the great Elector, the Imperial General Bournonville and the Duke of Lorraine, in Alsace, in the year 1674. The trophies were very small, the loss of the Allies did not exceed 2,000 or 3,000 men, which could not decide the fate of a force of 50,000; but the Allies considered that they could not venture to make any further resistance in Alsace, and retired across the Rhine again. This strategic result was all that Turenne wanted, but we must not look for the causes of it entirely in the surprise. Turenne surprised the plans of his opponents more than the troops themselves; the want of unanimity amongst the allied generals and the proximity of the Rhine did the rest. This event altogether deserves a closer examination, as it is generally viewed in a wrong light. In 1741, Neipperg surprised Frederick the Great in his quarters; the whole of the result was that the king was obliged to fight the battle of Mollwitz before he had collected all his forces, and with a change of front. In 1745, Frederick the Great surprised the Duke of Lorraine in his cantonments in Lusatia; the chief success was through the real surprise of one of the most important quarters, that of Hennersdorf, by which the Austrians suffered a loss of 2,000 men; the general result was that the Duke of Lorraine retreated to Bohemia by Upper Lusatia, but that did not at all prevent his returning into Saxony by the left bank of the Elbe, so that without the battle of Kesselsdorf, there would have been no important result. 1758. The Duke Ferdinand surprised the French quarters; the immediate result was that the French lost some thousands of men, and were obliged to take up a position behind the Aller. The moral effect may have been of more importance, and may have had some influence on the subsequent evacuation of Westphalia. If from these different examples we seek for a conclusion as to the efficacy of this kind of attack, then only the two first can be put in comparison with a battle gained. But the corps were only small, and the want of outposts in the system of war in those days was a circumstance greatly in favour of these enterprises. Although the four other cases must be reckoned completely successful enterprises, it is plain that not one of them is to be compared with a battle gained as respects its result. The general result could not have taken place in any of them except with an adversary weak in will and character, and therefore it did not take place at all in the case of 1741. In 1806 the Prussian army contemplated surprising the French in this manner in Franconia. The case promised well for a satisfactory result. Buonaparte was not present, the French corps were in widely extended cantonments; under these circumstances, the Prussian army, acting with great resolution and activity, might very well reckon on driving the French back across the Rhine, with more or less loss. But this was also all; if they reckoned upon more, for instance, on following up their advantages beyond the Rhine, or on gaining such a moral ascendancy, that the French would not again venture to appear on the right bank of the river in the same campaign, such an expectation had no sufficient grounds whatever. In the beginning of August, 1812, the Russians from Smolensk meditated falling upon the cantonments of the French when Napoleon halted his army in the neighbourhood of Witepsk. But they wanted courage to carry out the enterprise; and it was fortunate for them they did; for as the French commander with his centre was not only more than twice the strength of their centre, but also in himself the most resolute commander that ever lived, as further, the loss of a few miles of ground would have decided nothing, and there was no natural obstacle in any feature of the country near enough up to which they might pursue their success, and by that means, in some measure make it certain, and lastly, as the war of the year 1812 was not in any way a campaign of that kind, which draws itself in a languid way to a conclusion, but the serious plan of an assailant who had made up his mind to conquer his opponent completely,—therefore the trifling results to be expected from a surprise of the enemy in his quarters, appear nothing else than utterly disproportionate to the solution of the problem, they could not justify a hope of making good by their means the great inequality of forces and other relations. But this scheme serves to show how a confused idea of the effect of this means may lead to an entirely false application of the same. What has been hitherto said, places the subject in the light of a strategic means. But it lies in its nature that its execution also is not purely tactical, but in part belongs again to strategy so far, particularly that such an attack is generally made on a front of considerable width, and the army which carries it out can, and generally will, come to blows before it is concentrated, so that the whole is an agglomeration of partial combats. We must now add a few words on the most natural organisation of such an attack. The first condition is:— (1.) To attack the front of the enemy’s quarters in a certain width of front, for that is the only means by which we can really surprise several cantonments, cut off others, and create generally that disorganisation in the enemy’s army which is intended.—The number of, and the intervals between, the columns must depend on circumstances. (2.) The direction of the different columns must converge upon a point where it is intended they should unite; for the enemy ends more or less with a concentration of his force, and therefore we must do the same. This point of concentration should, if possible, be the enemy’s point of assembly, or lie on his line of retreat, it will naturally be best where that line crosses an important obstacle in the country. (3.) The separate columns when they come in contact with the enemy’s forces must attack them with great determination, with dash and boldness, as they have general relations in their favour, and daring is always there in its right place. From this it follows that the commanders of the separate columns must be allowed freedom of action and full power in this respect. (4.) The tactical plan of attack against those of the enemy’s corps that are the first to place themselves in position, must always be directed to turn a flank, for the greatest result is always to be expected by separating the corps, and cutting them off. (5.) Each of the columns must be composed of portions of the three arms, and must not be stinted in cavalry, it may even sometimes be well to divide amongst them the whole of the reserve cavalry; for it would be a great mistake to suppose that this body of cavalry could play any great part in a mass in an enterprise of this sort. The first village, the smallest bridge, the most insignificant thicket would bring it to a halt. (6.) Although it lies in the nature of a surprise that the assailant should not send his advanced guard very far in front, that principle only applies to the first approach to the enemy’s quarters. When the fight has commenced in the enemy’s quarters, and therefore all that was to be expected from actual surprise has been gained, then the columns of the advanced guard of all arms should push on as far as possible, for they may greatly increase the confusion on the side of the enemy by more rapid movement. It is only by this means that it becomes possible to carry off here and there the mass of baggage, artillery, non-effectives, and camp-followers, which have to be dragged after a cantonment suddenly broken up, and these advanced guards must also be the chief instruments in turning and cutting off the enemy. (7.) Finally, the retreat in case of ill-success must be thought of, and a rallying point be fixed upon beforehand. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Carl von Clausewitz (2006). On War. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1946/pg1946-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

Attack on the Enemy’s Army in its Cantonments

In my current projects, I follow the approach for automated end-to-end testing. Previously I was rather skeptical of syntax, but now I actively use it. The main reason — I generate BDD scenarios with instead of writing them manually 😎 Behavior Driven Development (BDD) Given-When-Then ChatGPT In this guide, I'll share the steps on how you can obtain AI-generated tests for your project and execute them in a real browser with . Playwright For the demo, I will use a built by the Playwright team. It is a web page with a list of to-do items. Users can create, complete, and filter items. The ultimate goal is to cover this app with end-to-end tests, writing minimal code manually and delegating maximum stuff to ChatGPT. Ideally, generated tests should run and pass without any edits. Let's figure out if it's possible! TodoList App Plan My todo list for the article is the following: Define user story Generate step definitions Generate BDD scenarios Run tests Recap 1. Define user story User story is a keystone for BDD. It is a description of user actions to achieve a specific outcome from a feature within the app. For testing let's stick to the following story: TodoList As a user I want to manage items in todo list: 
create items, complete items and filter to see only completed items. Later I will use this story in ChatGPT prompts. 2. Generate step definitions Step definition is an implementation of a user action. For example: Given I open TodoApp page transforms to the browser command: await page.goto('https://demo.playwright.dev/todomvc/'); Or When I click the button transforms to: await page.getByTestId('button').click(); Several step definitions can be grouped into — a class representing a particular page in test scenarios. Page Object Model For the todo list I need a single class with methods to create, complete and filter items. The problem here is that step definitions highly depend on the page HTML structure, so I wouldn't delegate it to AI. But... ChatGPT is a perfect candidate to generate the template for the class. TodoPage As an output, I expect TypeScript code that uses NPM packages and - to be able to run these tests later with Playwright. @playwright/test playwright-bdd to generate class: Initial prompt TodoPage Create Page Object Model 'TodoPage' in TypeScript
for the following feature:

As a user I want to manage items in todo list: 
create items, complete items and filter to see only completed items.

* Use 'page' from '@playwright/test' as constructor parameter.
* Use Given, When, Then from 'playwright-bdd/decorators' as BDD decorators, for example: @Given('pattern {string}').
* Don't fill methods body. Sending this prompt to ChatGPT and waiting for the response… I always feel a bit hypnotized while code is being generated 😍 Full ChatGPT response: import { Page } from '@playwright/test';
import { Given, When, Then } from 'playwright-bdd/decorators';

export class TodoPage {
  private page: Page;

  constructor(page: Page) {
    this.page = page;
  }

  @Given('I am on the Todo page')
  async navigateToTodoPage() {
    // Implement navigation to the Todo page here
  }

  @When('I create a new todo item with text {string}')
  async createTodoItem(text: string) {
    // Implement creating a new todo item here
  }

  @When('I complete the todo item with text {string}')
  async completeTodoItem(text: string) {
    // Implement completing a todo item here
  }

  @When('I filter to see only completed items')
  async filterCompletedItems() {
    // Implement filtering completed items here
  }

  @Then('I should see the todo item with text {string}')
  async verifyTodoItemVisible(text: string) {
    // Implement verification logic here
  }

  @Then('I should not see the todo item with text {string}')
  async verifyTodoItemNotVisible(text: string) {
    // Implement verification logic here
  }

  @Then('I should see only completed todo items')
  async verifyOnlyCompletedItemsVisible() {
    // Implement verification logic here
  }

  @Then('I should see all todo items')
  async verifyAllItemsVisible() {
    // Implement verification logic here
  }
} So far so good! ChatGPT has generated correct class methods, marked them with decorators and passed parameters where needed. Now I want to simplify the response. Instead of having 4 separate assertion methods, I want to use a single one that compares the whole list. It is cleaner than checking each item individually. I simply send this request into the chat and get what I need. Second prompt: Replace all verify methods with single method
that verifies list of visible items ChatGPT output (notice the last method): import { Page } from '@playwright/test';
import { Given, When, Then } from 'playwright-bdd/decorators';

export class TodoPage {
  private page: Page;

  constructor(page: Page) {
    this.page = page;
  }

  @Given('I am on the Todo page')
  async navigateToTodoPage() {
    // Implement navigation to the Todo page here
  }

  @When('I create a new todo item with text {string}')
  async createTodoItem(text: string) {
    // Implement creating a new todo item here
  }

  @When('I complete the todo item with text {string}')
  async completeTodoItem(text: string) {
    // Implement completing a todo item here
  }

  @When('I filter to see only completed items')
  async filterCompletedItems() {
    // Implement filtering completed items here
  }

  @Then('I should see the following todo items:')
  async verifyTodoItemsVisible(itemList: string[]) {
    for (const itemText of itemList) {
      // Implement verification logic for each itemText here
    }
  }
} Fixed. ChatGPT replaced required methods and kept others untouched. It's worth mentioning that running the same prompts may yield different results for you, worse or better. I've conducted numerous experiments, starting with a clean ChatGPT session. Here are some tips to refine the output: — sometimes ChatGPT generates synchronous methods make all methods async — to stick to syntax for parameters use {string} for string pattern parameters Cucumber Expression — to fix scenario that uses data from another scenario, tests should be isolated create todo items inside scenario "xxx" — for better method names don't start method names with given/when/then Don't try to get an ideal response. ChatGPT can produce different answers, like a human! I use the following strategy: get the initial response improve it with subsequent commands finalize it manually It is especially relevant for generating class — anyway I still need to complete step implementations. TodoPage 2.1 Fill step bodies I can write step bodies manually inspecting HTML with devtools. However, my goal is to generate as much as possible. Fortunately, Playwright has a feature called codegen. It records all the actions on the web page and converts them into browser commands automatically. Running codegen mode: npx playwright codegen https://demo.playwright.dev/todomvc The browser opens the provided URL and I perform the required actions. For example: create a few todo items mark them as completed filter Generated code: test('test', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://demo.playwright.dev/todomvc/#/');
  await page.getByPlaceholder('What needs to be done?').fill('feed the dog');
  await page.getByPlaceholder('What needs to be done?').press('Enter');
  await page.getByPlaceholder('What needs to be done?').fill('feed the cat');
  await page.getByPlaceholder('What needs to be done?').press('Enter');
  await page.locator('li').filter({ hasText: 'feed the cat' }).getByLabel('Toggle Todo').check();
  await page.getByRole('link', { name: 'Completed' }).click();
}); Now I pick code blocks and paste them into the class template produced by ChatGPT. In some cases, manual edits are required. For example, I will replace selector with a more reliable . page.locator('li') page.getByTestId('todo-title') Final class with all the adjustments: TodoPage import { Page, expect } from '@playwright/test';
import { Given, When, Then, Fixture } from 'playwright-bdd/decorators';
import { DataTable } from '@cucumber/cucumber';

export @Fixture('todoPage') class TodoPage {
  private page: Page;

  constructor(page: Page) {
    this.page = page;
  }

  @Given('I am on the Todo page')
  async navigateToTodoPage() {
    await this.page.goto('https://demo.playwright.dev/todomvc/#/');
  }

  @When('I create a new todo item with text {string}')
  async createTodoItem(text: string) {
    await this.page.getByPlaceholder('What needs to be done?').fill(text);
    await this.page.getByPlaceholder('What needs to be done?').press('Enter');
  }

  @When('I complete the todo item with text {string}')
  async completeTodoItem(text: string) {
    await this.page.getByTestId('todo-item').filter({ hasText: text }).getByLabel('Toggle Todo').check();
  }

  @When('I filter to see only completed items')
  async filterCompletedItems() {
    await this.page.getByRole('link', { name: 'Completed' }).click();
  }

  @Then('I should see the following todo items:')
  async verifyTodoItemsVisible(itemList: DataTable) {
    await expect(this.page.getByTestId('todo-title')).toHaveText(itemList.raw().flat());
  }
} 3. Generate BDD scenarios Let's construct BDD scenarios using the step definitions we've created. The key point here is to guide ChatGPT to utilize only specific steps. This enables us to execute the generated scenarios without the need for additional modifications. Alternatively, you could generate scenarios first and then implement the corresponding steps. However, if you decide to re-generate the scenarios, you'll always need to update the step definitions. To obtain a list of available steps, offers a dedicated CLI command . This command gathers step definitions from all files and displays them in plain text format in the terminal. playwright-bdd bddgen export Run the command and get the list of steps: npx bddgen export Output: List of all steps found by config: playwright.config.ts

* Given I am on the Todo page
* When I create a new todo item with text {string}
* When I complete the todo item with text {string}
* When I filter to see only completed items
* Then I should see the following todo items: I select and copy these steps into my prompt. to generate BDD scenarios: The prompt Generate BDD scenarios as a single Gherkin file strictly using
only the following steps:

* Given I am on the Todo page
* When I create a new todo item with text {string}
* When I complete the todo item with text {string}
* When I filter to see only completed items
* Then I should see the following todo items: ChatGPT output: Feature: Todo List Management

  Scenario: Create a new todo item
    Given I am on the Todo page
    When I create a new todo item with text "Buy groceries"
    Then I should see the following todo items:
      | Todo Text       |
      | Buy groceries   |

  Scenario: Complete a todo item
    Given I am on the Todo page
    When I create a new todo item with text "Read a book"
    And I complete the todo item with text "Read a book"
    Then I should see the following todo items:
      | Todo Text     |
      | [x] Read a book |

  Scenario: Filter completed items
    Given I am on the Todo page
    When I create a new todo item with text "Walk the dog"
    And I create a new todo item with text "Water the plants"
    And I complete the todo item with text "Walk the dog"
    And I filter to see only completed items
    Then I should see the following todo items:
      | Todo Text         |
      | [x] Walk the dog |

  Scenario: Filter completed items with multiple completed items
    Given I am on the Todo page
    When I create a new todo item with text "Go for a run"
    And I create a new todo item with text "Write code"
    And I complete the todo item with text "Go for a run"
    And I complete the todo item with text "Write code"
    And I filter to see only completed items
    Then I should see the following todo items:
      | Todo Text        |
      | [x] Go for a run |
      | [x] Write code   | I like the result: ChatGPT correctly uses Given-When-Then syntax, generates meaningful scenarios and applies only provided steps. As before, I want to improve the output: Use keyword for common steps — it works like Background beforeEach() Remove from items text — otherwise text assertion will fail [x] Remove header — it's redundant as there is only one column Todo Text I simply ask ChatGPT to do this. Second prompt: * Use "Background" for common steps.
* Don't use "[x]"
* Don't use "Todo Text" header ChatGPT output: Feature: Todo List Management

  Background:
    Given I am on the Todo page

  Scenario: Create a new todo item
    When I create a new todo item with text "Buy groceries"
    Then I should see the following todo items:
      | Buy groceries   |

  Scenario: Complete a todo item
    When I create a new todo item with text "Read a book"
    And I complete the todo item with text "Read a book"
    Then I should see the following todo items:
      | Read a book   |

  Scenario: Filter completed items
    When I create a new todo item with text "Walk the dog"
    And I create a new todo item with text "Water the plants"
    And I complete the todo item with text "Walk the dog"
    And I filter to see only completed items
    Then I should see the following todo items:
      | Walk the dog   |

  Scenario: Filter completed items with multiple completed items
    When I create a new todo item with text "Go for a run"
    And I create a new todo item with text "Write code"
    And I complete the todo item with text "Go for a run"
    And I complete the todo item with text "Write code"
    And I filter to see only completed items
    Then I should see the following todo items:
      | Go for a run   |
      | Write code     | All requested edits are done. Now I'm thrilled to run these scenarios in a browser! 4. Run tests Running BDD tests is not a built-in feature of Playwright, although . I leverage integration for that. I only need to add configuration as all the steps and scenarios are already prepared. one of the most voted playwright-bdd For the sake of brevity, I'll skip the installation procedures here. You can find these instructions in a with all the files from the article. You can ask ChatGPT to generate your own BDD scenarios for the TodoList and run them within the example. ready-to-run example on GitHub Playwright configuration is the following: // playwright.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test';
import { defineBddConfig } from 'playwright-bdd';

const testDir = defineBddConfig({
  paths: ['./features/todopage.feature'], // <- points to BDD scenarios
  importTestFrom: 'steps/fixtures.ts',    // <- points to step definitions
});

export default defineConfig({
  testDir,
  reporter: 'html',
}); Fixtures file that imports class: TodoPage // steps/fixtures.ts
import { test as base } from 'playwright-bdd';
import { TodoPage } from './TodoPage';

export const test = base.extend<{ todoPage: TodoPage }>({
  todoPage: async ({ page }, use) => use(new TodoPage(page)),
}); Finally, run tests: npx bddgen && npx playwright test The output: Running 4 tests using 1 worker
  4 passed (2.7s)

To open last HTML report run:

  npx playwright show-report All tests passed! 🎉 HTML report with all the details: 5. Recap I’m quite happy with the result. While I do need to fine-tune ChatGPT responses, I spend much less time compared to writing code manually. I like this way of creating tests — not a monotonous process that some teams tend to skip. It’s a modern take on pair programming, where your partner is AI. He is not ideal and can make mistakes, but very executive, incredibly well-read and always ready to tackle any task with great enthusiasm 😊 . It is clear and human-readable. ChatGPT arranges steps into correct logical chains, and a human easily validates the result and finds an error. At the same time, BDD scenarios are technical enough to be executed in a real browser with Playwright and other tools. BDD proves to be a perfect format to generate with AI I believe there are many ways to improve the process. Feel free to share your experience in the comments! Thanks for reading and happy testing ❤️ Also published here.

Generating BDD Tests With ChatGPT and Running Them With Playwright

may cause you to run around with excuses in your head, feel paralyzed with self-doubt, make it hard to muster up the courage to share your opinion, cause you to dwell on mistakes and failures, and play the negative tape in your mind on repeat. Imposter syndrome When you fall for its thinking traps, you may assume it’s lack of competence that stops you from going after the things you want. But it’s not competence that’s holding you back, it’s your lack of confidence. When you lose sight of belief in yourself, no amount of competence can make you successful. Competence gives you the skills, while confidence underpins your ability to actually get things done. Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, authors of the book say “Success correlates more closely with confidence than it does with competence.” Research also shows that confidence is more important than ability when it comes to getting ahead. The Confidence Code In a 1982 study, psychologists Barry Schlenker and Mark Leary explored this connection between confidence and perceptions of competence. A sample of 48 people was asked to rate the competence of 60 hypothetical individuals facing a tennis tournament. They received two pieces of information: their predicted performance from very poor to very good and their actual performance. After that, they had to rate each hypothetical individual's competence. The research concluded with this observation: those who made optimistic predictions of their match were perceived by the sample observers as more competent than those with more modest predictions, more so when their claim was in congruence with their performance or when the observers did not have data of their actual performance. In effect, their confidence significantly influenced how others perceived their competence. This doesn’t mean you fake confidence when you know you won’t perform well. Genuine confidence comes from having realistic evaluations of your skills and abilities without self-deprecation. The question stands: how can you do this when your mind is telling you just the opposite? When it’s constantly asking you to downplay your achievements. When it’s saying you don’t belong. When it’s asking you to give up before you have even begun? How can you be confident when you don’t even believe you’re competent? We’ll get to it. But first, let’s define confidence. What is confidence? Dr. Ivan Joseph, an award-winning performance coach who has coached national and world champions and Olympians defines confidence as “the ability or the belief to believe in yourself to accomplish any task, no matter the odds, no matter the difficulty, no matter the adversity. The belief that you can accomplish it.” This is indeed one of the most common ways to describe confidence. In this definition, confidence is a feeling: a feeling that you can do well or succeed at something. But, there’s another definition of confidence that we often overlook. Derived from the Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust," confidence is also defined as trust that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Put this way, confidence is an action. It’s not a feeling of absolute certainty that you’ll achieve the outcome, an absence of fear from possible failures, or a lack of self-doubt from what might possibly go wrong. Rather, the courage to act despite feeling those feelings; trusting yourself to take action no matter the end result. Put this way, confidence is not bailing at the first sign of failure, first challenge, or a first encounter with adversity. Confidence is also persistence: the ability to get out there, do the work and stick with it no matter the difficulty. When you only think of confidence as a feeling, it can take you down a dark path conjuring up negative thoughts and coming up with all the reasons why you can’t do something. By considering confidence as an action, your mind shifts to effective problem-solving instead of being stuck. It helps you come up with strategies to overcome obstacles, advises you on how to improve and build new skills, and what you can do to learn, grow and develop. Failures and mistakes are no longer disasters. Confidence in your ability to act helps you approach them in a constructive manner making you better prepared to deal with them when they arise. This is what Russ Harris, an author and a leading authority on stress management calls “The Confidence Gap.” He says people get stuck in it when they hold on to the belief that “I have to feel confident before I can achieve my goals, perform at my peak, do the things I want to do, or behave like the person I want to be.” When already dealing with feelings of unworthiness and self-doubt, if you wait to feel confident before you do what matters, you might have to wait for a very long time. Genuine confidence doesn’t come from a lack of fear. It’s built by changing your relationship with fear or as Russ Harris puts it “The actions of confidence come first; the feelings of confidence come later.” He says that instead of getting caught up in your thoughts and trying to fight them or evaluate if they’re true or false, what matters more is whether they’re helpful. To empower yourself to take action and be who you really want to be, even when your mind is generating all sorts of reasons as to why that can’t happen, ask, if you allow these thoughts to guide your actions: Will they help you achieve the results you want? Will they help you to be the person you want to be? Will they help you to create the life you want to live? If the answer is ‘no’, then you can recognize that the thought is ‘unhelpful.’ How to build confidence Now that you know that replacing your self-doubt with positive action is a great strategy to build confidence, follow this 3-step process: Implement tiny steps Measure your results Change and adapt Implement tiny steps When taking on a new challenge, a new assignment, or doing something for the very first time, a wave of self-doubt is unavoidable. Thinking about the outcome or the end result can stop you from getting started. The sheer volume and complexity of the task combined with the possibility of failure make it all the more harder. The path to reach your destination may not be clear yet, but you can get there through a series of tiny steps. Tiny steps require breaking down your goal into small, daily actions where each step takes you closer to the task. For example: To give a presentation, practice speaking out loud in front of a mirror for a few days. Next, practice in front of a friend or a family member. Next, do it with your team. Keep increasing the challenge till you get to a point where giving a presentation seems natural. To write a book, start with writing 100 words daily. Increase the daily count from 100 to 200 to 500 to 1000 to 2000 gradually. Get feedback on your first draft from people you trust. Make edits. Repeat the process with others in your network. To negotiate a deal, practice negotiating in daily life with your kids, spouse, manager, or team members. Next, practice the actual deal using role play with a team member or someone who’s known to be good at negotiating. Do this with multiple coworkers to get experience across varied negotiating styles. Tiny steps turn off your brain’s alarm system that resists and fears change, keeps you engaged and focused on the task in the present, and leads to continual improvement—three essential components to build confidence. These small steps may seem trivial at first but when practiced repeatedly they strengthen neural pathways in your brain which makes these small steps easier to perform. What was once daunting becomes second nature. The new connections in your brain create the thrill of the next challenge. Why are tiny steps useful? These tiny steps lead to small wins which Charles Duhigg, author of describes as “Small wins are exactly what they sound like, and are part of how keystone habits create widespread changes. A huge body of research has shown that small wins have enormous power, an influence disproportionate to the accomplishments of the victories themselves…Once a small win has been accomplished, forces are set in motion that favor another small win. Small wins fuel transformative changes by leveraging tiny advantages into patterns that convince people that bigger achievements are within reach.” The Power of Habit Once you have the tiny steps identified, put them into action using what Peter Gollwitzer, psychologist, and researcher on how goals and plans affect cognition, emotion, and behavior, describes as creating implementation intentions—making a plan beforehand about when and where you intend to take action. In other words, when situation x arises, I will perform response y. Research shows that by simply writing down a plan that specifies exactly when and where you intend to engage in action, you are more likely to follow through. Implementation intention = I will [DO ACTION] at [TIME] in [LOCATION] For example: I will write 100 words for my book from Monday to Saturday at 7 AM at my work desk. I will practice speaking the content of my presentation in front of a mirror at 8 PM every night after dinner in my bedroom. I will practice negotiating with my team members on Monday and Wednesday at 2 PM right after lunch in a conference room. What if things don’t go according to plan? Think about all the obstacles that might derail you from taking action and devise an alternative plan to deal with them. This will help you better prepare to adjust to unexpected events and stay on track no matter what comes your way. To do this, design implementation intentions using the “if-then” version. If [THIS HAPPENS], then I will [DO THIS] For example: If I cannot write 100 words for my book on Monday at 7 AM since I have to attend my son’s school event, then I will do it Monday evening at 8 PM. If I cannot practice for my presentation at 8 PM on Thursday since it’s my brother’s birthday, then I will practice the next morning at 6 AM. If I cannot practice negotiation skills on Wednesday at 2 PM since there’s an all-hands meeting at the same time, I will do it with my team at 6 PM after the meeting is over. Breaking down your goals into tiny steps and acting on them using implementation intentions turns them into small wins. Small wins add up to major life goals. What once seemed out of your reach now fits perfectly within your comfort zone. Tiny steps strategy works for any opportunity you want to take on, any challenge you need to face, or any skill you want to master. Measure your results Peter Drucker, management guru said, “What’s measured improves.” This is true for everything in life. Whether you are trying to accomplish a goal, build a new skill, or work on a difficult task, without the attitude to learn, adapt, and make corrections along the way, you cannot improve. A great way to do this is to implement a strong feedback loop in your process. Measure how you’re doing every day without judgment—without beating yourself up. When you don’t measure up to your own expectations, don’t engage in ruthless self-criticism as it will discourage improvement. Self-criticism can often backfire by increasing your unhappiness levels and making you procrastinate instead of putting in the effort to achieve your goals. Instead reflect on the results by thinking about the actions you can take: What worked well? What didn’t work? How can you do it differently next time around? What obstacles did you not foresee? What feedback do you have from others based on the progress you’ve made? What changes do your tiny steps need based on everything you have learned so far? Change and adapt Finally, nothing good can come out of all this effort if you aren’t willing to change and adapt. You’ve implemented a few tiny steps. You’ve measured your results. Now, don’t back out and delay making changes to your process, even if they seem hard at first. It’s also important that you tweak and adapt to changes around you instead of being inflexible. Look for the signals in your environment. Does something seem off? For example: Let’s imagine you have been tasked with the responsibility to roll out a new process in your organization. You have finalized a strategy based on data and feedback collected from your team and other functions. You test launch a small part of this strategy with high hopes. But wait, it fails astonishingly. While measuring your results, you discover a key assumption that’s no longer valid. You know what this means. You have to go back to the drawing board and redo the homework. Your mind by this time would have already started playing its self-defeating story “You’re no good” “You screwed up. Everyone is going to find out you’re a fraud.” That’s just your mind. It’s doing its work. You need to do yours. Take a moment and think about it, what’s better: sticking to a plan that clearly does not work or pulling up your socks and getting back to work? Recognize that you identified a wrong assumption before rolling out the entire strategy. Acknowledge your knowledge and skills that helped you save so much time and effort. Celebrate that it’s not too late. Reframe this minor setback from thinking “I failed” to “I now know for sure what doesn’t work.” Come up with a new strategy and repeat the process: implement tiny changes, measure your results, and change and adapt. Following this three-step process and paying attention to your progress is the perfect antidote to your feelings of unworthiness and self-doubt. You can see for yourself that everything your mind tells you isn’t true. You have proof: you have taken action. You have learnt. You have made tremendous progress. None of this was possible if you simply believed your judgmental thoughts and decided to do nothing. Confidence comes from getting past your fears by doing the work, not from doing nothing. This article is an excerpt from my book . Rethink Imposter Syndrome: Build Confidence, Beat Self-Doubt and Succeed Previously published . here

Tips for Building Confidence That Lasts

Games have touched us all in one way or another. From an all-consuming passion to a livelihood, they have been integral to human civilization for ages. Thanks to emerging tech innovations, though, games and gaming have undergone a paradigm shift in recent years. Besides being more user-centric and community-oriented, novel gaming protocols now integrate transferable in-game assets with “real” monetary value. Modeo Cheng is aiming to be a leader of this change as Lead Game Designer of . By designing Treaty, the world’s first blockchain-powered game introducing composable, in-game player agreements, he is working to disrupt the status quo and foster grassroots gaming innovation. Curio Research I spoke with Modeo about the paradigm shift happening in the industry, the potential for fully on-chain games, and creating a new era of gaming experiences. Please tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into blockchain gaming and Web3. I’m a big strategy gamer who has experience playing thousands of hours of games such as Football Manager, Civ, and Hearts of Iron. Currently, I am a Computer Science student at UC Berkeley, but I have dropped out to fully focus on Curio and our game, Treaty. I have a passion for research, and in 2020, I worked on a few research projects exploring regulations on freelance platforms and the impact of open innovation on gig economies. Through this experience, I discovered how certain platforms might pose concerns for gig workers, underscoring the importance of decentralized systems. In 2021, I joined Smrti Lab as an analyst to research tokenomics and evaluate game projects, which led me to realize the potential for blockchain to disrupt gaming. Currently, at Curio, I lead the game design and have developed the vision for Treaty. What is the current state of on-chain gaming in your view? What key problems are you solving at Curio? On-chain games have completed their first cycle. In my opinion, the last generation of on-chain games, known as GameFi, has become obsolete. None of their economic models have been successful. They claim everyone can profit from playing the game. However, few users pay to consume their content, which effectively makes them Ponzi schemes that don’t work. This is disappointing, and I sympathize with those who feel that on-chain games are fraudulent. On-chain games have much greater potential than financial derivatives. Developers are taking bold steps to build fully on-chain games, where both assets and the entire game logic exist on the blockchain. This shift towards fully on-chain games unlocks composability and game autonomy far beyond what traditional studios can offer. To realize our vision, we are addressing some key challenges. We are creating a new type of game that does not exist on the market currently. Therefore, we are building many novel components from scratch. Our game design approach differs significantly from that of most studios. Rather than devising rules around an existing game template, we derive them from our envisioned game experiences and test them through tabletop simulations. Our methodology leans heavily on first principles, choosing to reinvent and innovate rather than merely enhance what existing games offer. To achieve our goals, we are working hard to solve some of the toughest technical challenges in this field. Our demo launch earlier this year showed us that the current EVM framework is very restrictive for game performance, and it is impossible to make significant improvements without modifying the architecture. To tackle that, we are developing our own custom rollup framework, , on top of the EVM. Keystone Treaty, the game you’ve built at Curio, involves a functional social layer, enabling in-game social interactions between players. Is that correct? Please tell us why this is significant. The traditional structure of grand strategy games and MMOs lacks the intricacy and depth of social networks found in real-world communities. In games like Rise of Kingdoms, relationships are predetermined by game studios. Players don’t have the capacity to organically form and govern their own social structures. A significant reason for this has been the absence of virtual assets and a meaningful system to protect those assets. In the conventional web2 model, there are no substantial incentives to guard assets that don't exist tangibly. However, the advent of smart contracts has transformed the landscape, enabling game assets and logic to exist in an immutable, decentralized ledger. This innovation calls for the construction of a social layer over the assets layer to safeguard users' stakes on-chain. Through smart contracts, our first game, Treaty, offers a robust response to this challenge. It introduces an automated stream where participants can conveniently monitor promises and enforce agreements, a virtual analog to the legal enforcement bodies in the real world that protect people's interests and rights. This structure forms the basis for more complex and authentic virtual relationships, rivaling and potentially exceeding the social network depth of real-world communities. It will redefine the virtual society, making it possible for MMOs and grand strategy games to mirror the rich and multifaceted nature of human interaction found in the physical world. What are some of the main technical requirements for migrating real-world social relations to an on-chain gaming environment? Trust-building is the most important element. It is vital for people to believe that the on-chain world they interact with is fair and trustworthy. Only then will they be willing to stake their assets and construct meaningful relationships with strangers onchain. We are working on a novel sovereign rollup framework to make it happen, and it’s gonna be much more performant than traditional blockchains, tailored to our exact use case. Another challenge is lowering the barrier to treaty creation. It is important to recognize that people are used to making agreements verbally using natural language and expecting players to write treaties in code is not ideal in the long run. Fortunately, some great LLM tools are now available to support the translation of natural languages into code. Looking ahead, players can expect to be able to make transactions or even generate smart contracts within chats in future versions. Curio is exploring alternative execution environments for on-chain gaming with Keystone. Can you explain this move briefly? Current on-chain game architectures are unable to robustly support both the social layer and the high throughput needed to make great MMO games. is our flagship on-chain game architecture and the first architecture that addresses both needs very well. Keystone The tick-based game engine and the contract execution layer interoperate with stateful precompiles, allowing games to run lightspeed while player treaties are seamlessly integrated and enforced. This is a huge step towards the end game of blockchain games. Currently, there is no EVM framework to support games that can be played smoothly. We discovered this issue during our playtest earlier this year. Therefore, is one of our major in-house projects that aims to place the game engine in the chain. Keystone With custom precompiles, smart contracts can access the underlying ECS chain state. Instead of Solidity, game logic can be written in Go and can be massively parallelized. In short, on-chain games will now be over 100 times faster than before. How do you see the future of on-chain gaming? What are your plans for this future? Any upcoming projects that you’d like to share? We are at the cusp of a new era where the nascent space of on-chain games is beginning to emerge and take form. We envision a future where games with web3 native features become a unique and groundbreaking category of their own, offering an entirely new gaming experience, unlike anything that has come before. Our plans are directed toward leading this revolution. As part of our efforts, we're currently developing our flagship game founded on the concept of 'treaties'. But we're not just creating a game, we're also building the critical infrastructure like to support it. Keystone We see our work not just as a singular product, but as a catalyst for an entirely new breed of games. Our first goal is to set a pioneering precedent that will inspire and pave the way for a wave of innovative crypto-native games. The exciting journey ahead is filled with vast possibilities, and we're looking forward to sharing more about our upcoming projects as they evolve.

Unlocking the Future of Gaming: An Interview With Modeo Cheng, Lead Game Designer of Curio Research

On War by Carl Von Clausewitz, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . Boldness Book III: Chapter VI. Boldness The place and part which boldness takes in the dynamic system of powers, where it stands opposed to Foresight and prudence, has been stated in the chapter on the certainty of the result in order thereby to show, that theory has no right to restrict it by virtue of its legislative power. But this noble impulse, with which the human soul raises itself above the most formidable dangers, is to be regarded as an active principle peculiarly belonging to War. In fact, in what branch of human activity should boldness have a right of citizenship if not in War? From the transport-driver and the drummer up to the General, it is the noblest of virtues, the true steel which gives the weapon its edge and brilliancy. Let us admit in fact it has in War even its own prerogatives. Over and above the result of the calculation of space, time, and quantity, we must allow a certain percentage which boldness derives from the weakness of others, whenever it gains the mastery. It is therefore, virtually, a creative power. This is not difficult to demonstrate philosophically. As often as boldness encounters hesitation, the probability of the result is of necessity in its favour, because the very state of hesitation implies a loss of equilibrium already. It is only when it encounters cautious foresight—which we may say is just as bold, at all events just as strong and powerful as itself—that it is at a disadvantage; such cases, however, rarely occur. Out of the whole multitude of prudent men in the world, the great majority are so from timidity. Amongst large masses, boldness is a force, the special cultivation of which can never be to the detriment of other forces, because the great mass is bound to a higher will by the frame-work and joints of the order of battle and of the service, and therefore is guided by an intelligent power which is extraneous. Boldness is therefore here only like a spring held down until its action is required. The higher the rank the more necessary it is that boldness should be accompanied by a reflective mind, that it may not be a mere blind outburst of passion to no purpose; for with increase of rank it becomes always less a matter of self-sacrifice and more a matter of the preservation of others, and the good of the whole. Where regulations of the service, as a kind of second nature, prescribe for the masses, reflection must be the guide of the General, and in his case individual boldness in action may easily become a fault. Still, at the same time, it is a fine failing, and must not be looked at in the same light as any other. Happy the Army in which an untimely boldness frequently manifests itself; it is an exuberant growth which shows a rich soil. Even foolhardiness, that is boldness without an object, is not to be despised; in point of fact it is the same energy of feeling, only exercised as a kind of passion without any co-operation of the intelligent faculties. It is only when it strikes at the root of obedience, when it treats with contempt the orders of superior authority, that it must be repressed as a dangerous evil, not on its own account but on account of the act of disobedience, for there is nothing in War which is of greater importance than obedience. The reader will readily agree with us that, supposing an equal degree of discernment to be forthcoming in a certain number of cases, a thousand times as many of them will end in disaster through over-anxiety as through boldness. One would suppose it natural that the interposition of a reasonable object should stimulate boldness, and therefore lessen its intrinsic merit, and yet the reverse is the case in reality. The intervention of lucid thought or the general supremacy of mind deprives the emotional forces of a great part of their power. On that account boldness becomes of rarer occurrence the higher we ascend the scale of rank, for whether the discernment and the understanding do or do not increase with these ranks still the Commanders, in their several stations as they rise, are pressed upon more and more severely by objective things, by relations and claims from without, so that they become the more perplexed the lower the degree of their individual intelligence. This so far as regards War is the chief foundation of the truth of the French proverb:— “Tel brille au second qui s’éclipse au premier.” Almost all the Generals who are represented in history as merely having attained to mediocrity, and as wanting in decision when in supreme command, are men celebrated in their antecedent career for their boldness and decision.(*) (*) Beaulieu, Benedek, Bazaine, Buller, Melas, Mack. &c. &c. In those motives to bold action which arise from the pressure of necessity we must make a distinction. Necessity has its degrees of intensity. If it lies near at hand, if the person acting is in the pursuit of his object driven into great dangers in order to escape others equally great, then we can only admire his resolution, which still has also its value. If a young man to show his skill in horsemanship leaps across a deep cleft, then he is bold; if he makes the same leap pursued by a troop of head-chopping Janissaries he is only resolute. But the farther off the necessity from the point of action, the greater the number of relations intervening which the mind has to traverse; in order to realise them, by so much the less does necessity take from boldness in action. If Frederick the Great, in the year 1756, saw that War was inevitable, and that he could only escape destruction by being beforehand with his enemies, it became necessary for him to commence the War himself, but at the same time it was certainly very bold: for few men in his position would have made up their minds to do so. Although Strategy is only the province of Generals-in-Chief or Commanders in the higher positions, still boldness in all the other branches of an Army is as little a matter of indifference to it as their other military virtues. With an Army belonging to a bold race, and in which the spirit of boldness has been always nourished, very different things may be undertaken than with one in which this virtue, is unknown; for that reason we have considered it in connection with an Army. But our subject is specially the boldness of the General, and yet we have not much to say about it after having described this military virtue in a general way to the best of our ability. The higher we rise in a position of command, the more of the mind, understanding, and penetration predominate in activity, the more therefore is boldness, which is a property of the feelings, kept in subjection, and for that reason we find it so rarely in the highest positions, but then, so much the more should it be admired. Boldness, directed by an overruling intelligence, is the stamp of the hero: this boldness does not consist in venturing directly against the nature of things, in a downright contempt of the laws of probability, but, if a choice is once made, in the rigorous adherence to that higher calculation which genius, the tact of judgment, has gone over with the speed of lightning. The more boldness lends wings to the mind and the discernment, so much the farther they will reach in their flight, so much the more comprehensive will be the view, the more exact the result, but certainly always only in the sense that with greater objects greater dangers are connected. The ordinary man, not to speak of the weak and irresolute, arrives at an exact result so far as such is possible without ocular demonstration, at most after diligent reflection in his chamber, at a distance from danger and responsibility. Let danger and responsibility draw close round him in every direction, then he loses the power of comprehensive vision, and if he retains this in any measure by the influence of others, still he will lose his power of decision, because in that point no one can help him. We think then that it is impossible to imagine a distinguished General without boldness, that is to say, that no man can become one who is not born with this power of the soul, and we therefore look upon it as the first requisite for such a career. How much of this inborn power, developed and moderated through education and the circumstances of life, is left when the man has attained a high position, is the second question. The greater this power still is, the stronger will genius be on the wing, the higher will be its flight. The risks become always greater, but the purpose grows with them. Whether its lines proceed out of and get their direction from a distant necessity, or whether they converge to the keystone of a building which ambition has planned, whether Frederick or Alexander acts, is much the same as regards the critical view. If the one excites the imagination more because it is bolder, the other pleases the understanding most, because it has in it more absolute necessity. We have still to advert to one very important circumstance. The spirit of boldness can exist in an Army, either because it is in the people, or because it has been generated in a successful War conducted by able Generals. In the latter case it must of course be dispensed with at the commencement. Now in our days there is hardly any other means of educating the spirit of a people in this respect, except by War, and that too under bold Generals. By it alone can that effeminacy of feeling be counteracted, that propensity to seek for the enjoyment of comfort, which cause degeneracy in a people rising in prosperity and immersed in an extremely busy commerce. A Nation can hope to have a strong position in the political world only if its character and practice in actual War mutually support each other in constant reciprocal action. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Carl von Clausewitz (2006). On War. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1946/pg1946-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

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