The document discusses the "perfect fuckup formula" where having a risky idea with depth, strong presentation leading to admiration, but failing to generate participation can lead to spectacular failures. The author provides his own example of "Genio" which was a proposed history education game that received initial attention but ultimately failed. However, his later project "Autography" which allowed digital graffiti on artworks was a success because it evoked curiosity and participation. He argues avoiding fuckups requires transforming admiration for an idea into accessible participative experiences.

1. The Perfect
Fuckup
Formula
Pietro Polsinelli
@ppolsinelli
At Impact HUB
FuckupNight, Florence,
May 5th 2017.

2. My Fuckup

3. Genio - Playing the Renaissance
Genio is a fun approach to history, science and ideas. A videogame, 3D models
and toys about Renaissance engineering, art and power.
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4. Carefully presented videogame, toy prototypes.
Curated visibility: Repubblica home, 2 days.

5. Result: Huge fuckup 

6. Two years later,
a sample success

7. With Autography people can draw digital graffiti in the context of the
Opera del Duomo locations and works of art. RISK!

8. Surprise, curiosity.The thing there is totally unexpected.
Huge success 
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9. The perfect fuckup
formula

10. You have RISK PROPENSITY, an IDEA WITH DEPTH, and moreover you have...
PRESENTATION! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy2zB8bLSpk

11. RISK+ IDEA DEPTH (serendipity) +
PRESENTATION: a process that evidently
generates ADMIRATION.
Everything is ready for
falling into the perfect
fuckup formula TRAP:
ADMIRATION = PARTICIPATION

12. My point: its easy to fuckup being incompetent
and / or not having the means.
But spectacular fuckups come from people that
have a high level of competence and also the
means of presentation and production.
They are those that typically fall in the TRAP.

13. (SHOW VIDEO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo
Got the idea from a casual encounter with the guy of United Breaks Guitars.
Evoke admiration is not offering participation. Genio is too clever, scary.
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14. The anti- fuckup formula is:
ƒ(ADMIRATION)
=
PARTICIPATION
where ƒ is a transformation of the
supposedly praiseworthy content
in accessible participative
experience, or connecting to a
perceived problem… .
Fuckup as an unsolved equation. Solving requires
years of investment, often hidden somewhere.

15. Created participative community:

16. My twitter stream is
mostly dedicated to
game design
@ppolsinelli
A blog on game
design
designagame.eu
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