Hello -
Am heavily in the ecology-sustainability-dream a new social dream for humanity-new economic engine-carrying capacity-save the biosphere crowd.
Here’s the problem. Solutions exist. Real solutions, not the carbon sequestration crap. Real solutions involve a new economic system not based on driving infinite GDP with infinite population. They do require humanity to evolve our thinking on what society should be like and how our interaction with Nature should look.
That’s where this game idea comes in. I’m a former computer scientist and software engineer, and know it would take me roughly 20 years to get the expertise to pull off the vision. Plus, my initial scouting suggests a key piece is not possible to do in Unreal Engine 5.1.1. (However, I suspect that really clever gurus can figure out a way.)
SO…I’m looking for someone to gift with this great idea in detail. I’ll give a synopsis here. It isn’t for everyone or even most…at this time. People want to defend the status quo and will. But for those with an open mind, I believe they would get pulled in by this game and find it AMAZING.
And guess what…? It is a simulator for how this new social dream would look and feel. In fact, they can actually live the new social dream in a virtual, pandemic, sort of way…inside this game.
One of the tenets of this new dream is that it be a high-tech/low-consumption/low-exploitation/high-quality-of-life culture.
Well, if you list the things that truly add to quality of life, you know what does not rank high at end of day? Prestige spending. Instead–ok to try this exercise at home, I’ll wait for you to make your list–instead, it includes things like: literature, music, art, socializing, spirituality, basic medicine [a lot of medicine is not $$$], science [a lot not $$$], philosophy, sports, [virtual] travel, etc.
This game would provide much of those things, if there is a way can be figured out [even with third-party solutions and workarounds] whereby players can upload files (.jpg, .mp3, .pdf) into the game and use them as at least one type of currency. That currency could then be converted into game currency through various mechanisms. [Yes, there are problems to manage, such as copyright protection and porn. Bonus points for a system that has structure for that management built in.]
The crux of the game is that its economic engine is not based on growth of a population. It is based on a growth of personal prosperity–per capita GDP instead of GDP. No, they are not as linked as you might think–for example, per capita GDP can grow in down-trending pop whereas GDP cannot.
It is a slight kung fu shift in focus that leads to dramatic changes. For example, the only ways for a country’s GDP to grow with a per capita GDP economic engine…? Is by reducing the avoidable non-producers [aka bureaucrats] and by enhancing the prosperity of individual producers based on their productivity. In other words, personal productivity is the currency of the realm. Even more subtle…? You want more good stuff…? Then you want to help your neighbor [the one who makes that good stuff] be more productive. Your prosperity and happiness is contingent on the prosperity and happiness of your community. It is exactly the opposite of our institutionalized (elites/govs/corporations) tacit narcissistic sociopathy where we exploit others for our personal win.
This is how we halt destruction of the biosphere.
Look, I know a bunch of flying monkeys are going to crap on this post from ten different directions. But…maybe you…? Maybe you read this and you get it. Maybe it sounds like an awesome idea. Maybe you have the expertise and experience not only to make it happen rapidly, but also to figure out the “using file products as currency” problem.
If so…know that I’d be happy to be a consultant and give creative direction to the project. You can reach me on Twitter: @SamRoseAuthor. It could be really awesome, though concede it would be a niche product…for a while.
When people realize they can actually enjoy awesome community and share their intellectual products with others in a meaningful way…? It could be quite addictive. It might even spill over into outside the game. It might make a difference.