“But of course, in Bedford Falls, it was always Christmas Eve.”
(If there are any Red Dwarf fans)
Edit: Its probably rude for me not to leave a summary: Red Dwarf was a phenomenal BBC sci-fi comedy in the 80s. I’m referencing the book Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers wherein a game, Better than Life, leaves people festering and wasting away in reality as they’re hooked up to a headset living a virtual utopia.
Thank you extremely fucking much. I am always looking for good scifi.
(I strongly recommend the works of Greg Egan and Sam Hughes, if you aren’t already familiar.)
There was a similar story in Heavy Metal once upon a time (illus by Corben I think). Desperate people in a nightmare maze running from monsters for years… decades. Turns out it’s all a synthetic reality for rehabilitating terrorists. When they finally pop the protag out of his sensosuit he’s introduced to an eden of lush jungles and big-tittied women. I won’t reveal the punchline.
so if we were the player characters right now, who the heck picked me, why would they play me this way? what kind of person would want to play this out - someone very like me or very different? couldn’t they have rolled again for better hair? i dunno, interesting thought experiment. 🤔
The ultimate “AI product” will be a videogame that keeps you playing as long as possible. Indefinitely even.
(If there are any Red Dwarf fans)
Edit: Its probably rude for me not to leave a summary: Red Dwarf was a phenomenal BBC sci-fi comedy in the 80s. I’m referencing the book Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers wherein a game, Better than Life, leaves people festering and wasting away in reality as they’re hooked up to a headset living a virtual utopia.
Festering and wasting away in reality… that’s me between beat saber levels
Thank you extremely fucking much. I am always looking for good scifi.
(I strongly recommend the works of Greg Egan and Sam Hughes, if you aren’t already familiar.)
There was a similar story in Heavy Metal once upon a time (illus by Corben I think). Desperate people in a nightmare maze running from monsters for years… decades. Turns out it’s all a synthetic reality for rehabilitating terrorists. When they finally pop the protag out of his sensosuit he’s introduced to an eden of lush jungles and big-tittied women. I won’t reveal the punchline.
It’s more comedy.
so if we were the player characters right now, who the heck picked me, why would they play me this way? what kind of person would want to play this out - someone very like me or very different? couldn’t they have rolled again for better hair? i dunno, interesting thought experiment. 🤔
I think we’re just the auto-generated NPCs, friendo
Yup, and the system has a limited number of face combinations when generating NPCs, which is why doppelgangers exist
You should try out Rimworld. Find out why someone would play you this way.
I suspect that human will doesn’t enter into it. It’s a natural kind of Matrix. Came about by forces similar to friction and gravity.
I think we are playing it right now omg