I never actually played Elite, a little before my time, but I read a fascinating account of how the game was developed (in “Backroom Boys” by Francis Spufford). Thanks for reading, Evelyn, as always!
No, never played EVE… just looked it up, it looks brilliant.. and then I looked at the developer’s webpage and the first thing I see is “Our mission is to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life” .. and I suddenly wonder if I’ve fallen through the looking glass 😵💫
its been a long time since i played it so lord knows what its like now…but it was a factor in me failing at being a good husband. i don't play anything like this now. it was utterly absorbing and hugenin scale…battles with hundreds and hundreds of players. huge missions arcs. planetary exonomics, alien ruins. wirm holes. beautiful scanning technology for finding anomalies … an absolute nightmare for your real life if you are the addictive game playing sort. steep learning curve though.
If I'd been your wife at that time then I'd have ensconced myself in the bathroom (or appropriate other chamber) with a 'do not disturb' sign on the door, accompanied with my trusty laptop. Then I'd have set myself up a cool ship in the game and spent the entire time hunting you down. I'd either have multiple usernames so you wouldn't know who it was, or I'd have just one, which I'd simply call 'SWMBO' (you might work that out, you might not). Then you'd wonder who it was who was ruthlessly and relentlessly persecuting and pursuing you. Obviously I'd feign total ignorance of the matter and tell you it served you right and it was some sort of karma or suchlike...
I can well understand the addictive quality there, and how it would simply take a person away from the real world. I have visions of that being how I ultimately spend my old age, to such an extent that I simply won't exist in the real world anymore.
Which of course is the dystopian, soma-esque intention. In about two generations time (say, 50 years or so), VR-addiction is going to become a very serious social issue, although, naturally, it will be encouraged and exploited by the powers that should not be allowed to be.
My other favourite game is Civilisation (it's partly my penchant for parallel worlds and utopia-creation). Eventually, with the VR thing, I'm hoping for a version of the game where you can dive into it at any point in the alternate history you've created and watch interactive generated stories. I already have lots in my head.
Docking computers are for wimps and amateurs. If you can’t dock a ship without a docking computer then you shouldn’t be allowed to fly.
One thing I loved to do sometimes, when I was in a certain mood, was start shooting up a space station and then ruthlessly kill all the viper cop ships that streamed out. Obviously only once you have a good laser, though.
EVE is like elite got 1 hundred billion times bigger and orders of magnitude better and deeper, and there are tens of thousands of people playing it all at once.
EVE does sound like the natural evolution of what the game should become what with high speed connectivity and all that. Ironically, in my Katrina parallel world backstory she persuades her father (he makes computers) to do a crafty deal with Acorn, partly for the Armchip (so Apple don't get there first and have to pay to make use of it, ha ha) but they also get the gaming stuff too, knowing that in the future, simply because of Moore's Law, there'll be much better graphics and cool multiplayer online possibilities. She also makes some spin off movies and series for her streaming service.
I did play Freelancer though, which is a super cool game, both as the single player version and then the online multiplayer version, which has hundreds or thousands (I don't know how many exactly) of new systems and factions and ships and stuff, and that was seriously cool. I found the controls really easy for Freelancer, in the same way they were for Elite. Also I love the idea of hypergates, which I've imported into my sci-fi story settings, although I do believe they would exist in the real galaxy. Obviously humans, being given to dystopia, are not allowed to use them...
Thanks!! 😊 I have to confess, I haven’t read “Harrison Bergeron” and indeed (showing my embarrassing degree of ignorance when it comes to American literature) hadn’t really heard about it (though the name is vaguely familiar). The only Kurt Vonnegut I’ve read is a bit of Catch 22, which I didn’t really “get” at the time but should probably try again now I’m older! 😆
“Harrison Bergeron” is likely easy to find online, since it’s a mainstay in lit courses. A quick read and an accessible Vonnegut story, too. The parallel to your story, for me, is a person taking a defiant stand that goes over everyone’s heads because they’re totally inured in a toxic, dehumanizing culture. I like that in your story, however, there’s that one plebe who looks like he gets it (future revolutionary?).
Love this so much! What a great concept. Gaming is still very much considered a 'low brow', 'pop culture' form of entertainment, but knowing human history and nature, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if one day it shifted to 'high culture' and got priced out of the hands of the common folk. People do love to create arbitary divisions and gatekeep certain activities--even within gaming now there are arguments over what makes someone a real gamer or not: the types of games you play, how many hours you spend playing a week, your gender etc 🙄. It reminds me a bit of how Pilates, of all things, has recently become (at leaat on social media) this signifier of a certain lifestyle asthetic, rather than an exercise strategy orginally created to help rehabilitate patients with mobility issues. It's wild how far things can get ripped from their original context and turned into something they were never meant to be.
Also, I love that Alex's revolutionary speech gets spun into just a new aspect of the performance... 100% what would happen in real life 😂
The world-building here is incredible—treating Outer Wilds and controller inputs with the same reverence and rigid class structure as a night at the opera. You captured that heartbreaking irony so well: Alex’s genuine cry for revolution being immediately swallowed up and sold back to the audience as 'immersive theater.' A beautiful, cynical, and deeply atmospheric read!
Wow this is amazing, Caitriana! It look me a moment to grasp what was going on, but when I did…so cool! The idea of Let’s-Plays as being a form of high art in the far future? Really creative, I absolutely love it. And I love that you chose Outer Wilds for the game—I can tell you’ve been thinking about my essay about how deep and artistically rich that game is :)
Finally, it’s not just the concept that’s cool. You have a really great buildup of tension here, and two believable and likable characters, each flawed in their own way. The twist of having the interruption of the performance go over everybody’s heads is very satisfying. And I agree with Joshua when he says it’s clever that you mention one person being disappointed—adds valuable nuance.
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed it 🤩 The idea came to me when I was thinking about (a) video games being art and (b) how the popular culture of one generation can become the elitist highbrow culture of a later generation. Like chamber music, or opera. I heard a radio programme recently where they mentioned how hugely popular opera was in 19th century New York, with hundreds of shows in different languages for the different immigrant groups, whereas now it’s fairly inaccessible to ordinary people. So then I tried to imagine gaming as a highbrow performance, and what that might look like! And I chose Outer Wilds at least partly because of your essay 😉 so thank you for that!
(I love classical music, by the way, so it’s not meant to be down on classical music or opera, just reflecting on the strange divisions people sometimes put between different art forms)
I didn’t think you were being down on it at all! I think it’s a really clever concept—you’ve observed something really true about the past, taken its equivalent in the present and extrapolated it into the future! A truly interesting sci-fi concept
superb! you capture the atmosphere of the theatre brilliantly. Just a gentle nudge here and there and we are in a perfectly believable other future. exactly what sci fi should be.
Elite was one of my favourite games back in the 80s!
And I can well imagine videoludic art will be a thing in the future, in a soma sort of way...
I never actually played Elite, a little before my time, but I read a fascinating account of how the game was developed (in “Backroom Boys” by Francis Spufford). Thanks for reading, Evelyn, as always!
and mine...oh the joy when you could afford the docking computer!
...did you ever play EVE...dont start if you never have. save yourself
No, never played EVE… just looked it up, it looks brilliant.. and then I looked at the developer’s webpage and the first thing I see is “Our mission is to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life” .. and I suddenly wonder if I’ve fallen through the looking glass 😵💫
its been a long time since i played it so lord knows what its like now…but it was a factor in me failing at being a good husband. i don't play anything like this now. it was utterly absorbing and hugenin scale…battles with hundreds and hundreds of players. huge missions arcs. planetary exonomics, alien ruins. wirm holes. beautiful scanning technology for finding anomalies … an absolute nightmare for your real life if you are the addictive game playing sort. steep learning curve though.
If I'd been your wife at that time then I'd have ensconced myself in the bathroom (or appropriate other chamber) with a 'do not disturb' sign on the door, accompanied with my trusty laptop. Then I'd have set myself up a cool ship in the game and spent the entire time hunting you down. I'd either have multiple usernames so you wouldn't know who it was, or I'd have just one, which I'd simply call 'SWMBO' (you might work that out, you might not). Then you'd wonder who it was who was ruthlessly and relentlessly persecuting and pursuing you. Obviously I'd feign total ignorance of the matter and tell you it served you right and it was some sort of karma or suchlike...
"one day all wives will be made that way" 😉
...and all husbands shall be ideal... 🍌
I can well understand the addictive quality there, and how it would simply take a person away from the real world. I have visions of that being how I ultimately spend my old age, to such an extent that I simply won't exist in the real world anymore.
Which of course is the dystopian, soma-esque intention. In about two generations time (say, 50 years or so), VR-addiction is going to become a very serious social issue, although, naturally, it will be encouraged and exploited by the powers that should not be allowed to be.
My other favourite game is Civilisation (it's partly my penchant for parallel worlds and utopia-creation). Eventually, with the VR thing, I'm hoping for a version of the game where you can dive into it at any point in the alternate history you've created and watch interactive generated stories. I already have lots in my head.
Yes, this is how I shall probably be found dead.
Docking computers are for wimps and amateurs. If you can’t dock a ship without a docking computer then you shouldn’t be allowed to fly.
One thing I loved to do sometimes, when I was in a certain mood, was start shooting up a space station and then ruthlessly kill all the viper cop ships that streamed out. Obviously only once you have a good laser, though.
Never heard of EVE - what is it?
but the time it saved ... docking took forever!
EVE is like elite got 1 hundred billion times bigger and orders of magnitude better and deeper, and there are tens of thousands of people playing it all at once.
Yeah, it did save time I suppose. There is that.
EVE does sound like the natural evolution of what the game should become what with high speed connectivity and all that. Ironically, in my Katrina parallel world backstory she persuades her father (he makes computers) to do a crafty deal with Acorn, partly for the Armchip (so Apple don't get there first and have to pay to make use of it, ha ha) but they also get the gaming stuff too, knowing that in the future, simply because of Moore's Law, there'll be much better graphics and cool multiplayer online possibilities. She also makes some spin off movies and series for her streaming service.
I did play Freelancer though, which is a super cool game, both as the single player version and then the online multiplayer version, which has hundreds or thousands (I don't know how many exactly) of new systems and factions and ships and stuff, and that was seriously cool. I found the controls really easy for Freelancer, in the same way they were for Elite. Also I love the idea of hypergates, which I've imported into my sci-fi story settings, although I do believe they would exist in the real galaxy. Obviously humans, being given to dystopia, are not allowed to use them...
Strong “Harrison Bergeron” vibes in this one, but with class consciousness!
Thanks!! 😊 I have to confess, I haven’t read “Harrison Bergeron” and indeed (showing my embarrassing degree of ignorance when it comes to American literature) hadn’t really heard about it (though the name is vaguely familiar). The only Kurt Vonnegut I’ve read is a bit of Catch 22, which I didn’t really “get” at the time but should probably try again now I’m older! 😆
“Harrison Bergeron” is likely easy to find online, since it’s a mainstay in lit courses. A quick read and an accessible Vonnegut story, too. The parallel to your story, for me, is a person taking a defiant stand that goes over everyone’s heads because they’re totally inured in a toxic, dehumanizing culture. I like that in your story, however, there’s that one plebe who looks like he gets it (future revolutionary?).
An intriguing idea and I enjoyed the way you told this story.
I really enjoyed your story. Clever and engaging world building. Beautifully written. Looking forward to the next part!
The class tension, layered world-building, and what an ending. only to have it commodified as spectacle.
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you for reading!
Love this so much! What a great concept. Gaming is still very much considered a 'low brow', 'pop culture' form of entertainment, but knowing human history and nature, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if one day it shifted to 'high culture' and got priced out of the hands of the common folk. People do love to create arbitary divisions and gatekeep certain activities--even within gaming now there are arguments over what makes someone a real gamer or not: the types of games you play, how many hours you spend playing a week, your gender etc 🙄. It reminds me a bit of how Pilates, of all things, has recently become (at leaat on social media) this signifier of a certain lifestyle asthetic, rather than an exercise strategy orginally created to help rehabilitate patients with mobility issues. It's wild how far things can get ripped from their original context and turned into something they were never meant to be.
Also, I love that Alex's revolutionary speech gets spun into just a new aspect of the performance... 100% what would happen in real life 😂
The world-building here is incredible—treating Outer Wilds and controller inputs with the same reverence and rigid class structure as a night at the opera. You captured that heartbreaking irony so well: Alex’s genuine cry for revolution being immediately swallowed up and sold back to the audience as 'immersive theater.' A beautiful, cynical, and deeply atmospheric read!
Thank you so much!
She’s the star, I’m just the fixer. The star-whisperer.
I enjoy this line and the paragraph that follows. Good job helping us feel her perspective.
Thank you!!
Wow this is amazing, Caitriana! It look me a moment to grasp what was going on, but when I did…so cool! The idea of Let’s-Plays as being a form of high art in the far future? Really creative, I absolutely love it. And I love that you chose Outer Wilds for the game—I can tell you’ve been thinking about my essay about how deep and artistically rich that game is :)
Finally, it’s not just the concept that’s cool. You have a really great buildup of tension here, and two believable and likable characters, each flawed in their own way. The twist of having the interruption of the performance go over everybody’s heads is very satisfying. And I agree with Joshua when he says it’s clever that you mention one person being disappointed—adds valuable nuance.
Love it and well done!
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed it 🤩 The idea came to me when I was thinking about (a) video games being art and (b) how the popular culture of one generation can become the elitist highbrow culture of a later generation. Like chamber music, or opera. I heard a radio programme recently where they mentioned how hugely popular opera was in 19th century New York, with hundreds of shows in different languages for the different immigrant groups, whereas now it’s fairly inaccessible to ordinary people. So then I tried to imagine gaming as a highbrow performance, and what that might look like! And I chose Outer Wilds at least partly because of your essay 😉 so thank you for that!
(I love classical music, by the way, so it’s not meant to be down on classical music or opera, just reflecting on the strange divisions people sometimes put between different art forms)
I didn’t think you were being down on it at all! I think it’s a really clever concept—you’ve observed something really true about the past, taken its equivalent in the present and extrapolated it into the future! A truly interesting sci-fi concept
oh god...civ...
superb! you capture the atmosphere of the theatre brilliantly. Just a gentle nudge here and there and we are in a perfectly believable other future. exactly what sci fi should be.
thank you! loved it!
Thank you very much Nick! 😊
so well written…you’re very good. very distinct style. Always enjoy what you write 😀
I can’t wait to read it! What an honour!
Thanks for sharing your story.
Thanks for reading!