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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: General » Old News & Rumors
[CF] Superstruct
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degravedi
Unfictologist


Joined: 17 Jan 2007
Posts: 1458
Location: New Orleans

 		[CF] Superstruct
A group look at the future
From ARGN.com:
Quote:
Superstruct: (Re)Building Our Future

Our world is in deep trouble, and as the danger mounts, the Institute for the Future's Ten-Year Forecast team and Dr. Jane McGonigal have a new mission for you! IFTF recently announced Superstruct, "the world's first massively multiplayer forecasting game." Scheduled to begin on September 22, 2008, Superstruct is expected to run for six weeks. The human race has only 23 years left, and it's up to you to save us! The countdown begins in 2019.

Dr. McGonigal is no stranger to games that use future forecasting as a design element. She helped develop World Without Oil, a game that asked players to imagine and document their lives during an oil shock. Like World Without Oil, Superstruct will ask players to project themselves into the year 2019, at a time when a supercomputer simulation dubbed "GEAS" has predicted that the human race has a survival horizon of 23 years. GEAS, or the "Global Extinction Awareness System," has pinpointed five "super-threats" that may bring about the collapse of human civilization as we know it. (Perhaps incidentally, a "geas" is also a vow or binding, often magical or supernatural, that is difficult or impossible to ignore or cast off.)

What does the name "Superstruct" mean, and what does it tell us about the goals of the game? According to the game's FAQ, "superstructing" refers to the building of new structures on top of old structures. The problems uncovered in 2019 indicate that the existing structures - social, commercial, environmental, etc. - are not enough to support the survival of the human race. Superstruct asks players to work towards building new structures and finding new solutions to overcome the "super-threats" identified by the GEAS.

"This is a game of survival, and we need you to survive" states IFTF's mission briefing. Rather than simply projecting or predicting the future, Superstruct aims to "invent the future" through player contributions, survival stories, strategies, and more. "Bring what you know and who you know," IFTF's Superstruct FAQ invites, "and we'll all figure out how to make 2019 a world we want to live in."

While we wait for September, IFTF has invited players to get a head start on the game by sending a description of their future selves and their lives in 2019 to superstructSPLATiftf.org. Players' responses will be posted on the Superstruct blog throughout the summer.

Definitely seems like World Without Oil. Only we wouldn't be restricted to a loss of oil, we could shape the future to be anything! Very Happy

[Edit: edited description for accuracy-vpi]

PostPosted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 6:40 pm
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Silent|away
Guest


 		Having missed WWO, and failed to really submit a video to Earth 2100, I'm more than happy to join with this game. Though...well...the solutions the Collective Intelligence might come up may be a tad strange...and impraticable.

PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:03 am
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S.P.I.
Unfettered

Joined: 11 May 2008
Posts: 485

 		I am e-mailing them. They asked me to describe dinner, instead I am describing what "I" am thinking while waiting to be "allowed" to dinner. I hope they accept it.

Edit: Yay, they accepted my entry and posted it. I didn't expect them to list it as S.P.I., so that was sort of creepy...like they are watching me! Shocked

An ARG where the puppetmasters watch player responses? What an interesting idea! Laughing
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:28 am
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Silent|away
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 		Well, they know who I am too, without even posting. Meh.

Anyway, here's my contribution (because it'd be easy to lose...and I'm just interested for responses). Looks like I'll be the potential 'villian' of this piece.

Quote:
DINNER PARTY TO CELEBRATE THE END OF THE WORLD!

Faculty members are invited to come on SEPTEMBER 23rd to the History building in order to have free pizza and drinks in order to commerate the succes of The Global Extinction Awareness System in making people aware of the global extiniction that is due to come in 2042, followed by a meeting in order to decide what to do next.

"I know many people are going to complain about this thing, calling this glass half-empty, but we need to start looking at the positives," said Silent, the professor responsible for this party. "For one thing, we know when we are going to die. That gives us enough time to put our affairs into order before we depart from this world. Our forefathers has not been granted that choice, living their lives and then suddenly dying without any chance to prepare. We should thank all our technology for such a gift."

The GEAS project has been held as conterversial ever since its inception a year ago. Many people was concerned about wheter the supercomputer is accurate, wheter its models the supercomputer baseds its calcuations on was accurate, or if the supercomputer was a part of some sort of 'conspiracy' to remake the world's structures into some sort of hypotethical 'superstructures'. Silent has defended the project from its detractors, stating that the knowledge gained from the GEAS, however flawed, will assist in future studies. Recently, Silent has received calls to resign after stating that "Supercomputers are superior to humans in every way, shape, and form".

Now that the GEAS project is finished, Silent's position is further complicated by the revealtion of an underground cabal of professors, known only as the Neo-Illuminati, dedicated to reversing the GEAS' predictions, by overthrowing the existing foundations of mankind and replacing it with brand new ones. While Silent would be willing to meet with this underground movement if they would be willing to meet up with him at Dinner, he stated, "Consider me cynical, but how can we even know what new 'superstructures' to build if these great minds was the very ones that invented the very 'structures' that caused this mess. We only got one chance, and we're likely going to mess up. We could very well 'speed up' humanity's demise."

Silent also pointed out that the Neo-Illuminati may only be postponing, rather than getting rid of the deadline. "As a historian, I can assure you that the general passage of history is influenced by of long-term trends, and not due to Great Leaders. They can affect things at the marigns, but cannot truly stop a trend. The world may be saved at the year 2042, only to quickly implode at the year 2062. The only difference? In the previous cirumstance, at least we can die with dignity. In the latter cirmustance, we'll die like flies."

"It is refreshing to know that you're the last generation alive," Silent added. "And we may be able to finally prove or disprove the existance of God."

While a few professors has expressed interest in attending, particulary to discuss the new pension plan, it is expected that the dinner will be faced with small-scale local protests against the figure.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:33 pm
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S.P.I.
Unfettered

Joined: 11 May 2008
Posts: 485

 		Fantastico, Silent! It sounds like an official press release. Your character does sound like he is heading for villainy, and I hope to be there when he does! Mwo hoo hoo hoo!
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There is nothing so similar like death and poo; eventually everyone has to go.

PostPosted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:53 pm
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megiddo
Boot

Joined: 27 Jul 2006
Posts: 57

 		About dinner
I should be sending them my "dinner" post tonight. I am going to try and continue the character I created in WWO. If they post it, that would mean that they accept the oil crisis of 2007 as canon.

PostPosted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 2:31 pm
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Draconabutcan'tactivate
Guest


 		WWO as canon
If you hadn't seen it yet, your post has been accepted and put on the site, so apparently WWO is accepted canon.

PostPosted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:37 pm
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Rogi Ocnorb
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee


Joined: 01 Sep 2005
Posts: 4266
Location: Where the cheese is free.

 		Will the dinner feature clone-bacon smothered in grey goo?

TEOTWAWKI
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I'm telling you now, so you can't say, "Oh, I didn't know...Nobody told me!"


PostPosted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:15 am
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megiddo
Boot

Joined: 27 Jul 2006
Posts: 57

 		update from the team at superstruct
I finaly got around to uploading my dinner story today. I recieved a reply back from Dr. McGonigal that yes my post will go up however she told me that there will be some very specific guidelines for play in 2019. They are looking for all of us to act as our true self rather than a fictional character.

I guess we will have to wait until the guidelines get published.

**** runs off to look up the phrase "future ethnography" ***

PostPosted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:04 pm
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Nighthawk
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee


Joined: 14 Jul 2007
Posts: 4751
Location: Miami, Florida, USA, Earth

 		I sent an entry in, but got no response. Guess I should re-send it.

And my story wasn't fictional.
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"Omne ignotum pro magnifico"

PostPosted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:26 pm
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S.P.I.
Unfettered

Joined: 11 May 2008
Posts: 485
Nighthawk wrote:

And my story wasn't fictional.


Did you put a recent situation into a future scenario? Awesome.

So they want us to act like our "true self"? They accepted my asylum story? What are they saying!? Mad Laughing
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There is nothing so similar like death and poo; eventually everyone has to go.

PostPosted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 6:42 pm
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megiddo
Boot

Joined: 27 Jul 2006
Posts: 57

 		New stories added
My story was posted earlier today along with a LOT of other stories. Already my piece is on Page 2. Is it too early to begin researching where this is going to go, and more importantly how? I spent the afternoon at the site of Jamais Cascio, Open the future. Reading his "favorites" section may give a hint of what is to come in this exercise.

Thoughts?

Megiddo

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:37 pm
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Nighthawk
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee


Joined: 14 Jul 2007
Posts: 4751
Location: Miami, Florida, USA, Earth

 		I at least got acknowledgment for my submission. They say they're having a meeting about the "interview list" tomorrow, and we should expect follow-up by Friday.

My story technically wasn't fictional. Well, except for being ten years from now and me having another son. Smile
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"Omne ignotum pro magnifico"

PostPosted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:21 am
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ineffabelle
Unfettered


Joined: 01 May 2008
Posts: 700
Location: Southern California

 		I'm confused... are there going to be more specific guidelines? Should I wait for them? Or should I just submit my story anyway?
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You can call me Belle. | IneffaBelle.com

PostPosted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:15 pm
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Nighthawk
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee


Joined: 14 Jul 2007
Posts: 4751
Location: Miami, Florida, USA, Earth

 		All you need to know is on Jane's blog. Don't think it has to be overly complicated: jsut state where you will be in ten years and try to be as non-fictional as possible (all things considered).

I was tempted to write a story on how life was, me in 2019 being part of the Borg Collective and all, but I decided to go with a more down to Earth story.
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 4:24 pm
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