In What Direction Is The Game Going?

karltown_veteran · 2019-12-03 14:38:10

I've heard multiple things and I'm not really sure what to believe.
"It's in the future after an apocalypse, no wait it's actually a different world."
"It's about human behavior, no it's about leading up to another apocalypse, no it's actually testing how long it will take to climb up the tech tree."

Jason, do you actually know what specifically the purpose is of a game that has both mouflon hides and magic mushrooms and wine and radios and war and murder? Where is the game headed, and why was it created? Is this your own personal experiment or are you trying to make us understand something, some large meaning looming over our heads?
Sure, the game is fun. It's funny, too, if you make it funny. So funny that I've laughed uncontrollably. It's very easy to make your own fun.
Other times it's incredibly annoying and it feels almost like a chore. Those are the times I've taken a break.
It's fun, but it's not much else. No one really understands what it's about or why it's there or where it's headed. So please, enlighten us, Jason.

Gogo · 2019-12-03 15:09:55

Nowhere, like our lives. It's just fun.

karltown_veteran · 2019-12-03 15:15:23

Gogo wrote:

Nowhere, like our lives. It's just fun.

I was under the impression that Jason made it with a certain intention behind it. I mean, cmon. These updates have to lead somewhere, right? But where?

DestinyCall · 2019-12-03 16:46:26

It is becoming the greatest game ever. Or so I am told.

Spoonwood · 2019-12-03 16:59:28

I don't know if this answers your question, but Jason wrote this in another thread yesterday:

jasonrohrer wrote:

The game takes place in the realm of thought experiments.
It is "in the future," because the thought experiment is about the future.
But this world is obviously not earth.... it is 50,000x bigger than earth, and it has no oceans. So there was no apocalypse here. There are no ruins.
The world is the imaginary space inside which this thought experiment plays out:
"If we had to start over from scratch, but kept all of our knowledge, how long would it take us to get back to iPhones?" where iPhones are a placeholder for whatever sufficiently advanced tech we can imagine.
But that thought experiment involves survival too, which is one of the things that would slow us down. We have to eat, and keep warm, and fend off natural threats, and have babies to keep the civilization going. Obviously, we wouldn't get back to iPhones in one generation. It would take hundreds of years. Might it take thousands of years? Might it take longer the second time around than the first? Maybe the knowledge doesn't help. Maybe it was all about bootstrapping infrastructure. Might we never get there the second time around? Maybe we'd lose the thread. Maybe all the "right place at the right time" moments wouldn't play out the same way. Maybe retreading the same ground is impossible.
All that said, so far, this game has been a pretty lousy embodiment of that thought experiment. The answer is that people get back to diesel engines in a generation or two!
In recent times, I've been throwing in a few monkey wrenches that make failure more likely. But I've always been somewhat disappointed that the progress up through 3000+ craftable items didn't take longer....
In the end, the thought experiment seems to have been an inspiration point for a game that ended up not really being about that thought experiment.
The other thing the game is about is the deep mystery of civilization. How did we get here? What guided us here? How do we cooperate across generations? How do we make sense of the world we inherit? Who were these people who built all this stuff, and why did they build it, and what were their intentions?
That mystery is part of the "tech progression" thought experiment. The "it might take longer, or even never happen at all" hypothesis embodies that mystery. We don't know how the hell we actually got here. We tell stories about it, but we don't really know.
Anyway, the game ended up being a pretty solid embodiment of that mystery, so that's good. In the end, the mystery is far more interesting than the tech progression thought experiment. The thought experiment is just a question that spurs various answers.
The mystery is the unfathomable foundation of our being as people.

from here: https://onehouronelife.com/forums/viewt … 896#p81896

Wuatduhf · 2019-12-03 17:42:32

The game's direction is going west, and slightly south.

The_Anabaptist · 2019-12-03 18:36:22

Well, we got wine which seems to be a big hit with those whom make it. So I'm expecting beer and microbreweries next. And maybe some moonshine and a copper still for those rustic Eve players. Maybe even some vodka with those leftover potatoes.

The_Anabaptist

One Hour One Life Forums

#1 2019-12-03 14:38:10

In What Direction Is The Game Going?

#2 2019-12-03 15:09:55

Re: In What Direction Is The Game Going?

#3 2019-12-03 15:15:23

Re: In What Direction Is The Game Going?

#4 2019-12-03 16:46:26

Re: In What Direction Is The Game Going?

#5 2019-12-03 16:59:28

Re: In What Direction Is The Game Going?

#6 2019-12-03 17:42:32

Re: In What Direction Is The Game Going?

#7 2019-12-03 18:36:22

Re: In What Direction Is The Game Going?

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