Wiki / Values & polarities
Values and polarities
A short map for how BARs uses value systems (developmental / worldview) versus tension pairs (both-and poles on a grid or map).
Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Value system | Worldview / developmental attractor (Spiral: vMeme). Shapes what matters — not one label on a grid cell. |
| Tension pair / polarity | Two sibling goods in dynamic balance (polarity thinking). The grid’s axis pairs are authored examples of this pattern. |
| Move polarity | Tags on nation moves for game data — separate from grid rows and from vMemes. |
How you might interact with this
Link here from other wiki pages when you need a reader to see the whole journey (/wiki/values-and-polarities#in-the-app).
- Account context. You pick a Nation and Archetype (playbook). That does not assign a Spiral “stage” in the UI. It can feed optional grid row labels (metaphors for two axes).
- Creator Scene Grid. Open /creator-scene-deck. Four rows = four mixes of two axis pairs. Filling a cell attaches your BAR to a both-and corner — a workspace habit, not a diagnosis.
- Orientation adventures. When implemented, a Wake Up / values flow may save your chosen axis labels to your profile, overriding defaults. That is you naming the tensions you want to steer — still not the same thing as labeling a vMeme.
- Moves & quests. Copy or mechanics may mention move polarity for nations. Treat that as its own channel: it does not redefine grid rows or value systems.
Six Game Master faces (design lens)
Optional: use in reviews. Shaman — felt tug vs swing. Regent — stewarding both poles. Challenger — collapse modes (map as identity, stage as pole). Architect — three concepts, three names in schema. Diplomat — bridge words for players. Sage — integrate developmental layer with tension maps (Integral / both-and).
Canonical source in repo
Developers and editors: full text (including external references) lives in docs/VALUES_AND_POLARITIES.md. Grid math: .specify/specs/creator-scene-grid-deck/POLARITY_DERIVATION.md.