A trivial prediction about the future: <em>THE FINALS</em> – a forthcoming video game – is going to be a smash hit.

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<p>A trivial prediction about the future: <em>THE FINALS</em> – a forthcoming video game – is going to be a smash hit.</p>

There are two aspects that already stand-out. Firstly the setting: it's a multiplayer computer game that takes place in a future multi-media 'TV show', in which contestants compete within a holographic simulation . This self-referential tangle of simulacra is curious enough but that's just set-up for the main pitch - an attempt to realise a long-help game developer dream: the fully destructible environment.

<p>There are two aspects that already stand-out. Firstly the setting: it's a multiplayer computer game that takes place in a future multi-media 'TV show', in which contestants compete within a holographic simulation . This self-referential tangle of simulacra is curious enough but that's just set-up for the main pitch - an attempt to realise a long-help game developer dream: the fully destructible environment.</p>

Some definitional house-keeping. The '<em>Fully Destructible Environment</em>' refers to the long-held ambition in video game development to realise levels that can be dynamically destroyed, materially reconfigured and potentially rebuilt, in real-time by players. The key principle is that this should be achieved through physics simulation – as opposed to pre-baked animation –&nbsp;to give players a sense of boundless agency. As Rob Runesson from the studio developing The Finals states:

<p>Some definitional house-keeping. The '<em>Fully Destructible Environment</em>' refers to the long-held ambition in video game development to realise levels that can be dynamically destroyed, materially reconfigured and potentially rebuilt, in real-time by players. The key principle is that this should be achieved through physics simulation – as opposed to pre-baked animation –&nbsp;to give players a sense of boundless agency. As Rob Runesson from the studio developing The Finals states:</p>

<p>“Many of us at Embark have been building first-person shooters for more than two decades, but just when we thought we were finished with the genre, we unlocked a developer’s <em>Holy Grail</em>”</p>

core/quote

<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>“Many of us at Embark have been building first-person shooters for more than two decades, but just when we thought we were finished with the genre, we unlocked a developer’s <em>Holy Grail</em>”</p><cite>Rob Runesson, executive producer of The Finals (via <a href="https://venturebeat.com/games/embark-studios-unveils-the-finals-team-based-shooter-game/">venturebeat.com</a>)</cite></blockquote>

The conceit of a video game in which the entire environment might be destroyed by its players has been dangling like a wrecking-ball over the industry from its earliest days, which developers desperately keen to open ways for players to discover their own novel spatial strategies beyond the normally hard limits of the game space.

<p class="wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio">The conceit of a video game in which the entire environment might be destroyed by its players has been dangling like a wrecking-ball over the industry from its earliest days, which developers desperately keen to open ways for players to discover their own novel spatial strategies beyond the normally hard limits of the game space. </p>

Providing real-time multiplayer consistency for dynamic destruction is a serious technical and financial challenge and in the case of THE FINALS, the output of a 200 strong dev-team with some serious industry experience, before even considering the requirements for network bandwidth and server infrastructure with enormous graphical and computation power,, alongside some fiendishly good engine code for in-game physics simulations and animations under-the-hood. Embark Studios, the developers behind "The Finals," was founded by five former employees of DICE, the creators of "Mirror's Edge" - a noteworthy backstory given how the game pushed the boundaries of proprioceptive stimulation in gaming during a time when virtual reality was not yet mainstream.

<p class="wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio">Providing real-time multiplayer consistency for dynamic destruction is a serious technical and financial challenge and in the case of THE FINALS, the output of a 200 strong dev-team with some serious industry experience, before even considering the requirements for network bandwidth and server infrastructure with enormous graphical and computation power,, alongside some fiendishly good engine code for in-game physics simulations and animations under-the-hood. Embark Studios, the developers behind "The Finals," was founded by five former employees of DICE, the creators of "Mirror's Edge" - a noteworthy backstory given how the game pushed the boundaries of proprioceptive stimulation in gaming during a time when virtual reality was not yet mainstream.</p>

core/column

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33%"><blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><em>“The World Is Your Weapon (And Enemy)<strong>&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;- A skilled contender might go in guns blazing, but with environmental destruction in your arsenal, that’s just the start of what you can wield against your foes!</em></p><p></p><cite>Marketing quote from THE FINALS Steam page</cite></blockquote></div>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><p>So many previous games have used such destructive potential as marketing plot without fully producing the goods, that gamers are inherently suspicious - previous attempts include, "Red Faction" (2001), which introduced "Geo-Mod" technology for real-time environmental destruction, "Battlefield: Bad Company" (2008), which popularised the concept of "<em>levolution</em>," where large-scale destruction could dynamically change a map, and "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCXgS91-Mj8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Just Cause</a>" series, which has consistently pushed the limits of open-world destruction.<br><br></p></div>

core/columns

<div class="wp-block-columns alignwide"><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33%"><blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><em>“The World Is Your Weapon (And Enemy)<strong>&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;- A skilled contender might go in guns blazing, but with environmental destruction in your arsenal, that’s just the start of what you can wield against your foes!</em></p><p></p><cite>Marketing quote from THE FINALS Steam page</cite></blockquote></div><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><p>So many previous games have used such destructive potential as marketing plot without fully producing the goods, that gamers are inherently suspicious - previous attempts include, "Red Faction" (2001), which introduced "Geo-Mod" technology for real-time environmental destruction, "Battlefield: Bad Company" (2008), which popularised the concept of "<em>levolution</em>," where large-scale destruction could dynamically change a map, and "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCXgS91-Mj8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Just Cause</a>" series, which has consistently pushed the limits of open-world destruction.<br><br></p></div></div>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Tear It Down And Start Again</h4>


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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Tear It Down And Start Again</h4>

The best-selling indie game <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1167630/Teardown/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tear Down</a> could make a serious claim for having got their first, albeit with an entirely different approach. To the casual observer, the game might be appear initially as a higher resolution version of Minecraft but in reality is the result of developer Dennis Gustafsson's continuous pursuit of real-time simulation. The neat solution to the escalating computational complexity in destructible environments, was to express the game world as voxels or three-dimensional pixels, allowing for wildly interactive environments that not only run in real time on most hardware but also allowed for a thriving modding community to create custom levels and scenarios, massively widening the game's destructive and constructive potential.

<p>The best-selling indie game <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1167630/Teardown/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tear Down</a> could make a serious claim for having got their first, albeit with an entirely different approach. To the casual observer, the game might be appear initially as a higher resolution version of Minecraft but in reality is the result of developer Dennis Gustafsson's continuous pursuit of real-time simulation. The neat solution to the escalating computational complexity in destructible environments, was to express the game world as voxels or three-dimensional pixels, allowing for wildly interactive environments that not only run in real time on most hardware but also allowed for a thriving modding community to create custom levels and scenarios, massively widening the game's destructive and constructive potential.</p>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><p>For those following the development of Tear Down in the years up until it's official release, it sometimes appeared more akin to a game engine in search of a game - by no means a criticism, but more an indication of what the perceived potential of unlimited physical sandboxes might be. The result is that the game feels both highly responsive and 'physical' but that provides ASMR-like sensory satisfaction, as sticky chunks clump and wispy plumes of voxels evaporate. The introduction of real-time ray-traced lighting into the otherwise pixellated world gives the environment a strange uncanniness, as if experiencing hyper reality in low resolution. Tear Down is soon likely to reach a far wider audience due to the acquisition of its developer 'Tuxedo Labs' by Swedish media conglomerate The Embracer Group and forthcoming releases on major console platforms. </p></div>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:25%"><figure class="wp-block-image alignfull size-full"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/tear-down.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3519"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Teardown (Ray-tracing On)</figcaption></figure></div>

<div class="wp-block-columns alignwide"><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><p>For those following the development of Tear Down in the years up until it's official release, it sometimes appeared more akin to a game engine in search of a game - by no means a criticism, but more an indication of what the perceived potential of unlimited physical sandboxes might be. The result is that the game feels both highly responsive and 'physical' but that provides ASMR-like sensory satisfaction, as sticky chunks clump and wispy plumes of voxels evaporate. The introduction of real-time ray-traced lighting into the otherwise pixellated world gives the environment a strange uncanniness, as if experiencing hyper reality in low resolution. Tear Down is soon likely to reach a far wider audience due to the acquisition of its developer 'Tuxedo Labs' by Swedish media conglomerate The Embracer Group and forthcoming releases on major console platforms. </p></div><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:25%"><figure class="wp-block-image alignfull size-full"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/tear-down.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3519"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Teardown (Ray-tracing On)</figcaption></figure></div></div>

Part of it's initial success has been the growth of a community of modders, since Tear Down presents it's sandbox as a core component of the game, becoming in turn perhaps the most accessible realistic physical engine for other purposes. While the use of video game engines as home brew simulation environments has a long folk and research history, including both CryEngine, the GTA5 sandbox or the Quake 3 engine as primary tools, Tear Down is an increasingly popular choice for young content makers experimentally simulating explosions, battles and nuclear attacks.

<p>Part of it's initial success has been the growth of a community of modders, since Tear Down presents it's sandbox as a core component of the game, becoming in turn perhaps the most accessible realistic physical engine for other purposes. While the use of video game engines as home brew simulation environments has a long folk and research history, including both CryEngine, the GTA5 sandbox or the Quake 3 engine as primary tools, Tear Down is an increasingly popular choice for young content makers experimentally simulating explosions, battles and nuclear attacks.</p>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:66%"><figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAYeVlTNaDU
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">"Teardown Realistic WTC Simulation" by KA Videos</figcaption></figure></div>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33%"><p>By far the most popular sub-genre however is recreations of 9/11. Although such attempts might at first seem flippant or desensitised click-chasing online content, they might also be read as the method of historical engagement. Since possessing a memory of the attacks (most often as a media event for those not geographically affected) now demarcates a line between generations, the simulation of the events might represent a form of processing.</p></div>

<div class="wp-block-columns alignwide"><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:66%"><figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAYeVlTNaDU
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">"Teardown Realistic WTC Simulation" by KA Videos</figcaption></figure></div><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33%"><p>By far the most popular sub-genre however is recreations of 9/11. Although such attempts might at first seem flippant or desensitised click-chasing online content, they might also be read as the method of historical engagement. Since possessing a memory of the attacks (most often as a media event for those not geographically affected) now demarcates a line between generations, the simulation of the events might represent a form of processing.</p></div></div>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Reality Check</h4>


The utilisation of this in-game power should come as now surprise. The invention of any simulation seems to demand that it be run to logical disintegration. If we are not attacking each other (player vs player, aka PVP) then the next target will be the game environment itself (player vs environment aka PVE).

<p>The utilisation of this in-game power should come as now surprise. The invention of any simulation seems to demand that it be run to logical disintegration. If we are not attacking each other (player vs player, aka PVP) then the next target will be the game environment itself (player vs environment aka PVE).</p>

Perhaps it goes without saying however that there is deep futility in writing about destruction with respect to digital media at a moment when both ecological degradation is full flow and the reality of human conflict is nearly ever present not just in everyday streams of information but as a lived reality for many around the world.

<p>Perhaps it goes without saying however that there is deep futility in writing about destruction with respect to digital media at a moment when both ecological degradation is full flow and the reality of human conflict is nearly ever present not just in everyday streams of information but as a lived reality for many around the world.</p>

Given the age of ecological destruction and real-world conflict in which we live, what does it mean that developers are finally realising this cherished goal now, and why was it such a long-standing goal? Living in an era when such simulations are such an important component of work, leisure, policy and everything in between may also however give us pause to reflect on a few things what it means to push them to their limits.

<p>Given the age of ecological destruction and real-world conflict in which we live, what does it mean that developers are finally realising this cherished goal now, and why was it such a long-standing goal? Living in an era when such simulations are such an important component of work, leisure, policy and everything in between may also however give us pause to reflect on a few things what it means to push them to their limits. </p>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcKL-_RtU5Y
</div></figure></div>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33%"><p>Simulation and strategic gaming has always been interlinked with military research and actions, from the the earliest days of flight simulation, the advent of military war-gaming in the 18th century or the contemporary drone pilot, as extensively explored but the late and highly influential artist <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tERIscWmpSo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harun Farocki.</a></p><p><br>Not only should we keep the realities of such violence in the forefront of our minds, but we need to be especially careful to avoid demeaning it by confusing the media presentation with the underlying reality, however much the medium is massaged. </p></div>

<div class="wp-block-columns alignwide"><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcKL-_RtU5Y
</div></figure></div><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33%"><p>Simulation and strategic gaming has always been interlinked with military research and actions, from the the earliest days of flight simulation, the advent of military war-gaming in the 18th century or the contemporary drone pilot, as extensively explored but the late and highly influential artist <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tERIscWmpSo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harun Farocki.</a></p><p><br>Not only should we keep the realities of such violence in the forefront of our minds, but we need to be especially careful to avoid demeaning it by confusing the media presentation with the underlying reality, however much the medium is massaged. </p></div></div>

Games are of course by no means the only use of physical simulations and some of the most visceral intersections of technology are by those extending the boundaries of where simulation can be applied. For instance of the output of Forensic Architecture, most recently in collaboration with Kiev-based <a href="https://spatialtech.info">The Centre of Spatial Technology</a> analysing the Russian attacks on Ukraine. Their recent work documenting the <a href="https://investigations.support/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mariupol Theatre</a> is profound, unsettling and deeply moving, demonstrating why the toolset of digital simulation tools and 'forensic' methodologies provide such a unique vantage point on such tragic events.

<p>Games are of course by no means the only use of physical simulations and some of the most visceral intersections of technology are by those extending the boundaries of where simulation can be applied. For instance of the output of Forensic Architecture, most recently in collaboration with Kiev-based <a href="https://spatialtech.info">The Centre of Spatial Technology</a> analysing the Russian attacks on Ukraine. Their recent work documenting the <a href="https://investigations.support/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mariupol Theatre</a> is profound, unsettling and deeply moving, demonstrating why the toolset of digital simulation tools and 'forensic' methodologies provide such a unique vantage point on such tragic events.</p>

Simulations are never neutral, nor can they be untangled from the real world political context in which they take place. On the contrary the more we investigate the simulation as a perhaps the default medium of our contemporary era we may come to understand how much they reveal about the human social psyche.

<p>Simulations are never neutral, nor can they be untangled from the real world political context in which they take place. On the contrary the more we investigate the simulation as a perhaps the default medium of our contemporary era we may come to understand how much they reveal about the human social psyche.</p>

<br>As such it might be more important than to focus on the condition of the simulation rather than meaning of its 'destruction'. Destruction is such a prevalent motif within the histories of theatre, cinema or art, especially since the 20th Century that we can bump into seemingly pertinent references almost by accident. Some that spring immediately to mind: Pipilotti Rist "<em>Ever is Over All</em>", Gordon-Matta Clarks <em>Conical Intersect</em>, Betye Saar's <em>Liberation of Aunt Jemima: Cocktail</em>, Gustav Metzger's auto-destruction, Basinki's <em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgVyl9CxHpM" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Disintegration Loops </a></em>(itself a response to September 11th). All of these artworks represent a highly charged and expressive relationship to 'destruction' as a response to an overbearing, unjust and chaotic world.

<p><br>As such it might be more important than to focus on the condition of the simulation rather than meaning of its 'destruction'. Destruction is such a prevalent motif within the histories of theatre, cinema or art, especially since the 20th Century that we can bump into seemingly pertinent references almost by accident. Some that spring immediately to mind: Pipilotti Rist "<em>Ever is Over All</em>", Gordon-Matta Clarks <em>Conical Intersect</em>, Betye Saar's <em>Liberation of Aunt Jemima: Cocktail</em>, Gustav Metzger's auto-destruction, Basinki's <em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgVyl9CxHpM" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Disintegration Loops </a></em>(itself a response to September 11th). All of these artworks represent a highly charged and expressive relationship to 'destruction' as a response to an overbearing, unjust and chaotic world. </p>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/file-20171109-13344-1fnpe6x.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3631"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Pipilotti Rist "<em>Ever is Over All</em>", (1997)</figcaption></figure></div>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2017.17_front_PS11-715x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3626"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><a href="https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/222983#:~:text=In%20Liberation%20of%20Aunt%20Jemima,a%20composition%20with%20spiritual%20overtones." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Betye Saar,&nbsp;<em>Liberation of Aunt Jemima: Cocktail&nbsp;</em>(1973)</a></figcaption></figure></div>

<div class="wp-block-columns alignwide"><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/file-20171109-13344-1fnpe6x.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3631"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Pipilotti Rist "<em>Ever is Over All</em>", (1997)</figcaption></figure></div><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2017.17_front_PS11-715x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3626"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><a href="https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/222983#:~:text=In%20Liberation%20of%20Aunt%20Jemima,a%20composition%20with%20spiritual%20overtones." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Betye Saar,&nbsp;<em>Liberation of Aunt Jemima: Cocktail&nbsp;</em>(1973)</a></figcaption></figure></div></div>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Reticulating Splines</h4>


From the earliest days of Asteroids (1979), Dig Dug and (1982) through to the ultimate cash extractive simulating behemoth Minecraft (2011) –  238 million sales and counting –  a large percentage of videos games rely on some sort of environmental reconfiguration, if not outright terraforming as a core mechanic. Both conceptually and narratively, environmental destruction and its consequences appear almost baked into video games as a medium.

<p>From the earliest days of Asteroids (1979), Dig Dug and (1982) through to the ultimate cash extractive simulating behemoth Minecraft (2011) –  238 million sales and counting –  a large percentage of videos games rely on some sort of environmental reconfiguration, if not outright terraforming as a core mechanic. Both conceptually and narratively, environmental destruction and its consequences appear almost baked into video games as a medium.</p>

Which might not be such a surprise given the entire development of the industry and the simulation technologies it has pioneered, have emerged in parallel with the growing scientific understanding – and political consciousness – of the ecological impacts of humanity.

<p>Which might not be such a surprise given the entire development of the industry and the simulation technologies it has pioneered, have emerged in parallel with the growing scientific understanding – and political consciousness – of the ecological impacts of humanity.</p>

1972, arguably the breakthrough year of the modern game industry saw the release of the major first hit – "<em>Pong</em>" alongside what is now regarded as the first home console system "<em>Odyssey</em>". The latter was unveiled by it's creators <em>Magnavox</em> in May 1972, just weeks before the first <em>United Nations Conference on the Human Environment</em> – the first international summit focused on environmental policy – in Stockholm, Sweden.

<p>1972, arguably the breakthrough year of the modern game industry saw the release of the major first hit – "<em>Pong</em>" alongside what is now regarded as the first home console system "<em>Odyssey</em>". The latter was unveiled by it's creators <em>Magnavox</em> in May 1972, just weeks before the first <em>United Nations Conference on the Human Environment</em> – the first international summit focused on environmental policy – in Stockholm, Sweden.</p>


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/matta-clark.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3520"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>Conical Intersect</em> (1975), Gordon Matta Clark</figcaption></figure>


core/image

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/matta-clark.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3520"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>Conical Intersect</em> (1975), Gordon Matta Clark</figcaption></figure>

<br>Between October 9th - 15th 1985, the succinctly titled<em> "International Conference of the Assessment of the Role of Carbon Dioxide and of Other Greenhouse Gases in Climate Variations and Associated Impacts</em>" convened in Villach, Austria - concluding with a decision to establish the "<em>Advisory Group on Greenhouse Gases</em>" (AGGG) – later reorganised as the IPCC. Three days later, on October 18th, Super Mario Bros was released in North America, kick-starting a revolution in home video games.

<p><br>Between October 9th - 15th 1985, the succinctly titled<em> "International Conference of the Assessment of the Role of Carbon Dioxide and of Other Greenhouse Gases in Climate Variations and Associated Impacts</em>" convened in Villach, Austria - concluding with a decision to establish the "<em>Advisory Group on Greenhouse Gases</em>" (AGGG) – later reorganised as the IPCC. Three days later, on October 18th, Super Mario Bros was released in North America, kick-starting a revolution in home video games.</p>

On 5th May, 1992,  the hugely popular first-person shooter <em>Wolfenstein 3D</em> was released, the start of the new era of 3D game engines, spearheaded by its developer, Id software. Just four days later on 9th May, the draft text for The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (<a href="http://unfccc.int/2860.php">UNFCCC</a>) was finalised in New York, before being ratified later that year at the Rio 'Earth Summit'.

<p>On 5th May, 1992,  the hugely popular first-person shooter <em>Wolfenstein 3D</em> was released, the start of the new era of 3D game engines, spearheaded by its developer, Id software. Just four days later on 9th May, the draft text for The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (<a href="http://unfccc.int/2860.php">UNFCCC</a>) was finalised in New York, before being ratified later that year at the Rio 'Earth Summit'.</p>


<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full"><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-how-do-climate-models-work/"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/fig-1-4.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3547"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Via Carbon Brief: Increasing spatial resolution of climate models used through the first four IPCC assessment reports: first (“FAR”) published in 1990, second (“SAR”) in 1995, third (“TAR”) in 2001 and fourth (“AR4”) in 2007. (Note, there is also a fifth report, which was completed in 2014). Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/figure-1-4.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IPCC AR4, Fig 1.2</a></figcaption></figure>


Fast forward to 1997 and the wildly popular "Final Fantasy VII", in which the player takes on the role of Cloud Strife, who alongside an eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE, fights against a corporation named Shinra, who are draining the planet's life energy for profit. Also released - The Kyoto Protocol.

<p>Fast forward to 1997 and the wildly popular "Final Fantasy VII", in which the player takes on the role of Cloud Strife, who alongside an eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE, fights against a corporation named Shinra, who are draining the planet's life energy for profit. Also released - The Kyoto Protocol.</p>

In 2016, sandwiched between the draft and the legal adoption of The Paris Climate Agreement, Niantic released the global phenomenon Pokémon Go, a watershed in mobile and augmented reality gaming.

<p>In 2016, sandwiched between the draft and the legal adoption of The Paris Climate Agreement, Niantic released the global phenomenon Pokémon Go, a watershed in mobile and augmented reality gaming.</p>

While these dates are cherry-picked as curious coincidences – in a 50 year window, the importance of climate science and environmental policy have expanded as seismically as market for computer games – all in their own ways downstream of an explosion in computation and network bandwidth.

<p>While these dates are cherry-picked as curious coincidences – in a 50 year window, the importance of climate science and environmental policy have expanded as seismically as market for computer games – all in their own ways downstream of an explosion in computation and network bandwidth.</p>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Gaming The System</h4>


There is also a long history of games as direct expressions of the environmental movement, such as the 1970's board games <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3709/smog" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smog</a>, encouraging players to grow a city without polluting the air or <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7458/ecology-game-man-nature" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ecology: The Game of Man and Nature</a>.  Among dozens of more recent examples are <a href="https://beyondbluegame.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beyond Blue</a> (an ocean exploration simulator) and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW7MdbiGzo4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fort McMonye</a> (2013) A 'film meets game' documentary by <a href="http://www.davduf.net/-fort-mcmoney-?lang=fr" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@davduf"> Dufresne</a> investigating the Canada's oil sands petroleum industry.  As a sub-genre though it can feels too worthy – see the European Commission funded: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfx3IcM8Pyw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EnerCities (2011)</a> – and potentially even just too <em>boring</em> to provide anything like mainstream 'gamer' appeal.

<p>There is also a long history of games as direct expressions of the environmental movement, such as the 1970's board games <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3709/smog" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smog</a>, encouraging players to grow a city without polluting the air or <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7458/ecology-game-man-nature" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ecology: The Game of Man and Nature</a>.  Among dozens of more recent examples are <a href="https://beyondbluegame.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beyond Blue</a> (an ocean exploration simulator) and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW7MdbiGzo4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fort McMonye</a> (2013) A 'film meets game' documentary by <a href="http://www.davduf.net/-fort-mcmoney-?lang=fr" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@davduf"> Dufresne</a> investigating the Canada's oil sands petroleum industry.  As a sub-genre though it can feels too worthy – see the European Commission funded: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfx3IcM8Pyw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EnerCities (2011)</a> – and potentially even just too <em>boring</em> to provide anything like mainstream 'gamer' appeal. </p>


<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/terra-nil-announcement-trailer.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3542"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Screenshot for the recently released Terra Nil in which players transform barren land into thriving, non-human ecosystems.</figcaption></figure>


One of the few attempts to cut through is the recently released Terra-Nil from Cape Town based developers Free Lives (more on this in a forthcoming review). Terra Nil relies on the satisfaction generated from the restoration of equilibrium to an an otherwise ravaged ecosystem, through controlled fires, mangrove restoration and geo-engineering. It manages to satiate both a desire for fun and mindful reflection, although perhaps at the cost of underselling the difficulties of IRL ecosystem recovery.

<p>One of the few attempts to cut through is the recently released Terra-Nil from Cape Town based developers Free Lives (more on this in a forthcoming review). Terra Nil relies on the satisfaction generated from the restoration of equilibrium to an an otherwise ravaged ecosystem, through controlled fires, mangrove restoration and geo-engineering. It manages to satiate both a desire for fun and mindful reflection, although perhaps at the cost of underselling the difficulties of IRL ecosystem recovery.</p>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Object Impermanence</h4>


Why such simulations are so compelling is complex question, but it may be that on a simple level pattern formation and recognition are so central to the nature of human cognition that we might understand such destructive tendencies as representing neural light relief. Are we gaining some great release by freeing our prefrontal cortex from the intense strain of decision-making and impulse control, or IRL moral and ethical constraints? Perhaps we in fact inhabiting a state of blissful Buddhist impermanence.

<p>Why such simulations are so compelling is complex question, but it may be that on a simple level pattern formation and recognition are so central to the nature of human cognition that we might understand such destructive tendencies as representing neural light relief. Are we gaining some great release by freeing our prefrontal cortex from the intense strain of decision-making and impulse control, or IRL moral and ethical constraints? Perhaps we in fact inhabiting a state of blissful Buddhist impermanence.</p>

Maybe this is a self-evident aspect of play, but the act of tearing up the game space, may liberate us from the constraints of order, conformity, and societal expectations. Perhaps there's a part of us, buried deep within our psyche, that craves a taste of this unbridled freedom - a fleeting moment of rebellion in the face of a world that often demands so much of us – the child knocking down a tower of bricks ad absurdum.

<p>Maybe this is a self-evident aspect of play, but the act of tearing up the game space, may liberate us from the constraints of order, conformity, and societal expectations. Perhaps there's a part of us, buried deep within our psyche, that craves a taste of this unbridled freedom - a fleeting moment of rebellion in the face of a world that often demands so much of us – the child knocking down a tower of bricks ad absurdum.</p>

Instead we might ask if something is emerging from the potential power of simulations that is distinctly new, particularly with respect to their computation complexity that is now possible?

<p>Instead we might ask if something is emerging from the potential power of simulations that is distinctly new, particularly with respect to their computation complexity that is now possible?</p>


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/rhcp-2.gif" alt="" class="wp-image-3529" style="width:634px;height:476px"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">"Destruction leads to a very rough road but it also breeds creation" - clip from the 1999 CGI animated video for <em>Californiciation</em> by Red Hot Chilli Peppers </figcaption></figure>


In <a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/32137" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Games: Agency as Art</a> the philosopher C. Thi Nguyen makes the case for understanding games of all kinds, but including contemporary video games as being vehicles for experimenting with our own agency in different ways, and that such experiments represents the a key differentiating quality, distinct from other forms of media. He outlines the difference between "<em>achievement play</em>" such<em> </em>as<em> "Olympic athletes who play for honor, and people who simply play to win</em>” which is in contrast to "<em>striving play</em>" which "<em>involves a motivational inversion from ordinary life</em>", and the temporary adoption of 'disposable ends' or goals we can be led at the table, like Monopoly money after game is over. Such striving within the space of a game is he posits, in search of 'harmony', his term description of the unique aesthetic appreciation that can be generated by games.

<p>In <a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/32137" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Games: Agency as Art</a> the philosopher C. Thi Nguyen makes the case for understanding games of all kinds, but including contemporary video games as being vehicles for experimenting with our own agency in different ways, and that such experiments represents the a key differentiating quality, distinct from other forms of media. He outlines the difference between "<em>achievement play</em>" such<em> </em>as<em> "Olympic athletes who play for honor, and people who simply play to win</em>” which is in contrast to "<em>striving play</em>" which "<em>involves a motivational inversion from ordinary life</em>", and the temporary adoption of 'disposable ends' or goals we can be led at the table, like Monopoly money after game is over. Such striving within the space of a game is he posits, in search of 'harmony', his term description of the unique aesthetic appreciation that can be generated by games. </p>

C. Thi Nguyen provides a neat critical framework for judging the aspirations and the artistic merit of games by considering the type of qualities available specifically within them, which he refers to as <em>harmonies</em>. The <em>harmony</em> of right in-game the solution or action, or the satisfaction of succeeding right at the edge of our capacity, that latter of which he argues is particularly rare in every day life and that it is the job of the game designer to provide space for these harmonies to ring out by finding the sweet spot where our capacity is regulate tested.

<p>C. Thi Nguyen provides a neat critical framework for judging the aspirations and the artistic merit of games by considering the type of qualities available specifically within them, which he refers to as <em>harmonies</em>. The <em>harmony</em> of right in-game the solution or action, or the satisfaction of succeeding right at the edge of our capacity, that latter of which he argues is particularly rare in every day life and that it is the job of the game designer to provide space for these harmonies to ring out by finding the sweet spot where our capacity is regulate tested. </p>

<p>“Harmonies of capacity occur so rarely in ordinary life because so much of the world, and the tasks it forces on us, do not fit us well. There are things that we must do that are boring [...] Then there are the things we must do that, though they are difficult, are also unpleasant [...] There are things we must do that might start out as interesting challenges, but the world forces them on us in such mind-numbing volume that they lose all interest [...] “And then there are all the tasks we wish to do that are far beyond our capacities: curing cancer, fixing the politics of climate change, easing intercultural conflict.”</p>

<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>“Harmonies of capacity occur so rarely in ordinary life because so much of the world, and the tasks it forces on us, do not fit us well. There are things that we must do that are boring [...] Then there are the things we must do that, though they are difficult, are also unpleasant [...] There are things we must do that might start out as interesting challenges, but the world forces them on us in such mind-numbing volume that they lose all interest [...] “And then there are all the tasks we wish to do that are far beyond our capacities: curing cancer, fixing the politics of climate change, easing intercultural conflict.”</p><cite><a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/games-9780190052089?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">C. Thi Nguyen, Games: Agency as Art</a></cite></blockquote>

It's noteworthy that he should specifically identify "<em>fixing the politics of climate change</em>" as such incomprehensibly difficult challenge as to be outside of the range of possibility for a game to successfully integrate. The player has to belief that the challenge in front of them is soluble - if only just.

<p>It's noteworthy that he should specifically identify "<em>fixing the politics of climate change</em>" as such incomprehensibly difficult challenge as to be outside of the range of possibility for a game to successfully integrate. The player has to belief that the challenge in front of them is soluble - if only just. </p>

C. Thi Nguyen's books is moreover an attempt to provide a comprehensive of perspective for artistic appreciation of what makes games <em>games</em>, and therefor what might make good games <em>art</em>. Games as such a dense and broad medium that reflecting about their internal mechanisms of choice and agency is already complex, but a more broad question lingers as to whether we might we pay attention not just to content of games but the consequences of which games we choose to play in the first place. Is there any virtue in playing games which actively challenge us by showing us an ulterior model of our own real-world agency, or lack of, in the same way a reader might stick with a difficult film or long novel (or indeed essay about games) while providing a less '<em>harmonious</em>' experience of play? What does it mean that game experiences that often hold our attention long-term are those that might most successful meddle with our brain's reward system in some way, flooding us with a cocktails of dopamine and adrenaline through the repetition of rewarding core loops?

<p>C. Thi Nguyen's books is moreover an attempt to provide a comprehensive of perspective for artistic appreciation of what makes games <em>games</em>, and therefor what might make good games <em>art</em>. Games as such a dense and broad medium that reflecting about their internal mechanisms of choice and agency is already complex, but a more broad question lingers as to whether we might we pay attention not just to content of games but the consequences of which games we choose to play in the first place. Is there any virtue in playing games which actively challenge us by showing us an ulterior model of our own real-world agency, or lack of, in the same way a reader might stick with a difficult film or long novel (or indeed essay about games) while providing a less '<em>harmonious</em>' experience of play? What does it mean that game experiences that often hold our attention long-term are those that might most successful meddle with our brain's reward system in some way, flooding us with a cocktails of dopamine and adrenaline through the repetition of rewarding core loops?</p>


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ezgif-3-0e30aecda8.gif" alt="" class="wp-image-3727" style="width:653px;height:417px"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_MzmIqhO9g" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">An environment from Sledge Destruction Simulator&nbsp;</a></figcaption></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Stochastic Stimulation</h4>


Our media diets are of course increasingly built around systems which capture and augment our conscious attention in various ways, appearing to dig ever deeper and more nefariously into our emotional inner lives and primordial lizard brains. While Twitter and Facebook, dependent primarily on para-social written communication have descend into weaponised rage bait, video content platforms appear to trend towards rapid fire hits that trigger autonomic sensory reactions or satisfactions , like those generated by unboxing videos, make-up tutorials, ASMR and a hydraulic press squashing a pair of crocs. The escapable of firing of mirror neutrons as we watch another 10 second clip of '<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcN3W3cMeYU">The Hot Metal Ball</a>' vs a glass of egg yolks.

<p>Our media diets are of course increasingly built around systems which capture and augment our conscious attention in various ways, appearing to dig ever deeper and more nefariously into our emotional inner lives and primordial lizard brains. While Twitter and Facebook, dependent primarily on para-social written communication have descend into weaponised rage bait, video content platforms appear to trend towards rapid fire hits that trigger autonomic sensory reactions or satisfactions , like those generated by unboxing videos, make-up tutorials, ASMR and a hydraulic press squashing a pair of crocs. The escapable of firing of mirror neutrons as we watch another 10 second clip of '<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcN3W3cMeYU">The Hot Metal Ball</a>' vs a glass of egg yolks.</p>

Reality techs of different flavours, i.e VR, AR, XR are taking this sensory overload to its logical, immersive conclusion. For the last decade the most chaotic landscape of of the indie game development has been VR. The competing, free-to-use game engines of Unreal and Unity have provided the community with both reliably fast physics engines and an easy roadmap to quickly shipping games, cross-platform. The resulting plethora of titles giving the user a virtualised destruction sandbox includes: <a href="https://stressout.net/intro" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">StressOut</a>, <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1478670/Smashing_time/#:~:text=Smashing%20time%20is%20a%20VR,an%20appartment%2C%20or%20a%20restaurant." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smashing Time</a>, <a href="https://www.oculus.com/experiences/gear-vr/942006482530009/?locale=en_GB" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smash Hit</a>, <a href="https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/6858081260872234/?locale=en_GB" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">VR Destruction</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWKwgcRSZ0U">City Destruction</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_MzmIqhO9g">Sledge Destruction Simulator</a>, <a href="https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1528291040618527/?locale=en_GB">Rage Room</a>

<p>Reality techs of different flavours, i.e VR, AR, XR are taking this sensory overload to its logical, immersive conclusion. For the last decade the most chaotic landscape of of the indie game development has been VR. The competing, free-to-use game engines of Unreal and Unity have provided the community with both reliably fast physics engines and an easy roadmap to quickly shipping games, cross-platform. The resulting plethora of titles giving the user a virtualised destruction sandbox includes: <a href="https://stressout.net/intro" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">StressOut</a>, <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1478670/Smashing_time/#:~:text=Smashing%20time%20is%20a%20VR,an%20appartment%2C%20or%20a%20restaurant." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smashing Time</a>, <a href="https://www.oculus.com/experiences/gear-vr/942006482530009/?locale=en_GB" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smash Hit</a>, <a href="https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/6858081260872234/?locale=en_GB" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">VR Destruction</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWKwgcRSZ0U">City Destruction</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_MzmIqhO9g">Sledge Destruction Simulator</a>, <a href="https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1528291040618527/?locale=en_GB">Rage Room</a></p>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM_pujlTYB8
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Destroy'd Stockport – one of a new trend for 'Rage Rooms'</figcaption></figure></div>

<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33%"><p>The last of those actually simulation of the latest evolution of the the urban micro entertainment spaces, the 'Rage Room'. Small bookable spaces in which serve as ad-hoc collective primal anger management therapy while being live streamed on local CCTV and providing a mode of zen tranquility that, in the era of hyper capitalism, might only being achieved by smashing up an old printer with a sledge hammer.</p></div>

<div class="wp-block-columns alignwide"><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%"><figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM_pujlTYB8
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Destroy'd Stockport – one of a new trend for 'Rage Rooms'</figcaption></figure></div><div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:33%"><p>The last of those actually simulation of the latest evolution of the the urban micro entertainment spaces, the 'Rage Room'. Small bookable spaces in which serve as ad-hoc collective primal anger management therapy while being live streamed on local CCTV and providing a mode of zen tranquility that, in the era of hyper capitalism, might only being achieved by smashing up an old printer with a sledge hammer.</p></div></div>

Whether it's a cathartic release of pent-up emotions, a momentary sense of control in an unpredictable world, or an acknowledgment of the impermanence of existence or a response to the hyper-pessimism that looms over a younger people as they discover a once cherished and essential societal institutions, economic and ecological stability in a state of ruins. While games provides a gateway into radical other agencies, how far are willing to go to simulate a near future condition of dismal ecological meltdown when the conditions of game-space require some degree of satisfaction or enjoyment in the process?

<p>Whether it's a cathartic release of pent-up emotions, a momentary sense of control in an unpredictable world, or an acknowledgment of the impermanence of existence or a response to the hyper-pessimism that looms over a younger people as they discover a once cherished and essential societal institutions, economic and ecological stability in a state of ruins. While games provides a gateway into radical other agencies, how far are willing to go to simulate a near future condition of dismal ecological meltdown when the conditions of game-space require some degree of satisfaction or enjoyment in the process?</p>

The simulation may be the primary media of the 21st century, it would also appear that we're only scratching the surface of comprehending how we inhabit,  sensorily respond, or even politically define them and their internal discontents.

<p>The simulation may be the primary media of the 21st century, it would also appear that we're only scratching the surface of comprehending how we inhabit,  sensorily respond, or even politically define them and their internal discontents.</p>

The wild constructive and destructive capacity of simulations and game engines is wildly contradictory, providing us with both unfiltered, bodily, cognitive and sensory stimulation and escapism while simultaneously bringing us into an ever closer orbital observation of the tragedies of humanity, and ultimately our inability to restart the game.

<p>The wild constructive and destructive capacity of simulations and game engines is wildly contradictory, providing us with both unfiltered, bodily, cognitive and sensory stimulation and escapism while simultaneously bringing us into an ever closer orbital observation of the tragedies of humanity, and ultimately our inability to restart the game.</p>

<div class="wp-block-column"><figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Major-applications-of-OpenSim-and-Second-Life.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3622"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">OpenSimulator, the engine behind Second Life</figcaption></figure></div>

<div class="wp-block-column"><p><strong>A Brief Anecdotal Epilogue</strong></p><p class="has-medium-font-size">Around 2009 I was given a demo from an international building management company making digital twins of some new building management software built in OpenSimulator -the engine behind Second Life. Half way through the demonstration I and the groups of 5 other travellers suddenly found ourselves sinking into the ocean with the entire world around us having seemingly disappeared.</p><p class="has-medium-font-size">As it turned out the server was configured to give all visitors fully unrestricted editing access and somewhat inexplicably the entire world was grouped as a single item, something I had not appreciated as I right-clicked on it. There was a brief pause before our audibly irate but measured tour guide said, with a wonderfully strong Swiss accent: <em>"May I ask, who has put the island into their backpack?</em>". </p><p class="has-medium-font-size">Since there was no way to restore the island without restarting the server, that was the end of the demo.</p></div>

<div class="wp-block-columns alignwide"><div class="wp-block-column"><figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Major-applications-of-OpenSim-and-Second-Life.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3622"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">OpenSimulator, the engine behind Second Life</figcaption></figure></div><div class="wp-block-column"><p><strong>A Brief Anecdotal Epilogue</strong></p><p class="has-medium-font-size">Around 2009 I was given a demo from an international building management company making digital twins of some new building management software built in OpenSimulator -the engine behind Second Life. Half way through the demonstration I and the groups of 5 other travellers suddenly found ourselves sinking into the ocean with the entire world around us having seemingly disappeared.</p><p class="has-medium-font-size">As it turned out the server was configured to give all visitors fully unrestricted editing access and somewhat inexplicably the entire world was grouped as a single item, something I had not appreciated as I right-clicked on it. There was a brief pause before our audibly irate but measured tour guide said, with a wonderfully strong Swiss accent: <em>"May I ask, who has put the island into their backpack?</em>". </p><p class="has-medium-font-size">Since there was no way to restore the island without restarting the server, that was the end of the demo.</p></div></div>

0007 – Business As Usual

0005 – Model Behaviour

0008 – Things Falling Apart

<em>“Limits to Growth (business-as-usual)”, Digital Artwork (2015)</em>

<p><em>“Limits to Growth (business-as-usual)”, Digital Artwork (2015)</em></p>

The artwork pictured was a response to the 1972 report “<em>Limits to Growth</em>”, written by Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III. A book review in the form of a diagrammatic mural, inspired by the various plaques produced by Nasa for deep space probes.&nbsp;

<p>The artwork pictured was a response to the 1972 report “<em>Limits to Growth</em>”, written by Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III. A book review in the form of a diagrammatic mural, inspired by the various plaques produced by Nasa for deep space probes.&nbsp;</p>

The report represents one of the first attempts to model humanity and earth, using the World3 model to calculate the interactions of between core planetary systems such food, industry, agriculture and pollution. It is best known for being hugely influential within environmental discourse and as a foundational text for the degrowth movement as a result of some of the conclusions drawn by the authors, as well as sparking critiques from across the political spectrum, provoked by not least by it’s provocative title. Even now, to invoke it as a point of reference implies some ideology or political allegiance, even if the messages and content of the book itself are often misrepresented.&nbsp; Reading it for the first time left a deep impression on me, not only for the clarity of it’s arguments but also in it’s simple extrapolation of the dynamics of systems, taking only half a dozen key system and demonstrating how interactions between them may behave counter-intuitively.

<p>The report represents one of the first attempts to model humanity and earth, using the World3 model to calculate the interactions of between core planetary systems such food, industry, agriculture and pollution. It is best known for being hugely influential within environmental discourse and as a foundational text for the degrowth movement as a result of some of the conclusions drawn by the authors, as well as sparking critiques from across the political spectrum, provoked by not least by it’s provocative title. Even now, to invoke it as a point of reference implies some ideology or political allegiance, even if the messages and content of the book itself are often misrepresented.&nbsp; Reading it for the first time left a deep impression on me, not only for the clarity of it’s arguments but also in it’s simple extrapolation of the dynamics of systems, taking only half a dozen key system and demonstrating how interactions between them may behave counter-intuitively.</p>

It is also representative of a historical moment, a shift in scientific methodology at the birth of the computer age. The report is perhaps more fully asking it’s readers to orientate themselves within a system and it’s fluctuations, striving to identify what the really key factors are, in doing so aiming to define plausible scenarios which might resemble the future. &nbsp;

<p>It is also representative of a historical moment, a shift in scientific methodology at the birth of the computer age. The report is perhaps more fully asking it’s readers to orientate themselves within a system and it’s fluctuations, striving to identify what the really key factors are, in doing so aiming to define plausible scenarios which might resemble the future. &nbsp;</p>

This approach of thinking through ‘scenarios’ or attempting to envisage the pathways towards alternative futures is a very powerful design tool. It’s deeply integrated into global climate policy, most recently in the designation of  5 Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) used within the modelling of the IPCC’s AR6 report. Using the scenarios as method of forecasting within design is something we have also attempted to integrated in various research and teaching projects at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_heat_island/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heat Island</a>.

<p>This approach of thinking through ‘scenarios’ or attempting to envisage the pathways towards alternative futures is a very powerful design tool. It’s deeply integrated into global climate policy, most recently in the designation of  5 Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) used within the modelling of the IPCC’s AR6 report. Using the scenarios as method of forecasting within design is something we have also attempted to integrated in various research and teaching projects at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_heat_island/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heat Island</a>.</p>

One of the lessons we might learn to the controversy surrounding the book is to observe that&nbsp; underneath the short term chaos of everyday of politics still lie deeply rooted ideas and disagreements about humanities future, representing some of the most unstable ideological fault lines. The book is a reminder that we can anchor our understanding of the world around simple but unavoidable questions which might better help us identify these divisions - for instance:

<p>One of the lessons we might learn to the controversy surrounding the book is to observe that&nbsp; underneath the short term chaos of everyday of politics still lie deeply rooted ideas and disagreements about humanities future, representing some of the most unstable ideological fault lines. The book is a reminder that we can anchor our understanding of the world around simple but unavoidable questions which might better help us identify these divisions - for instance:</p>

core/list-item

<li>Do you believe that technological progress will rebalance the ecological impacts of humanity? </li>

<li>Would you be willing to bet the future of an ecosystem on your answer?</li>

<li>How does your view of the future change if one (or many) of the trends seemingly shaping humanities development were to radically reverse?</li>

core/list

<ul><li>Do you believe that technological progress will rebalance the ecological impacts of humanity? </li><li>Would you be willing to bet the future of an ecosystem on your answer?</li><li>How does your view of the future change if one (or many) of the trends seemingly shaping humanities development were to radically reverse?</li></ul>

The question of how well it’s predictions have held up continues to fascinate though. For it’s 30 year anniversary, several attempts were made, by both the original authors and other academics, to test the accuracy of the predictions made in the book. That one of the scenarios (’business-as-usual’) they outlined appears to track closely with the global situation we currently find ourselves in should perhaps not be so surprising, given they aim of providing a range of credible future scenarios. In this respect, the report is perhaps closer to Svante Arrhenius’ very earliest scientific predictions about carbon di-oxide induced atmospheric warming at the turn of the last century than the complexity contemporary climate modelling that the report would set in motion.

<p>The question of how well it’s predictions have held up continues to fascinate though. For it’s 30 year anniversary, several attempts were made, by both the original authors and other academics, to test the accuracy of the predictions made in the book. That one of the scenarios (’business-as-usual’) they outlined appears to track closely with the global situation we currently find ourselves in should perhaps not be so surprising, given they aim of providing a range of credible future scenarios. In this respect, the report is perhaps closer to Svante Arrhenius’ very earliest scientific predictions about carbon di-oxide induced atmospheric warming at the turn of the last century than the complexity contemporary climate modelling that the report would set in motion.</p>


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Gillick_Liam_a.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3664" width="600" height="764"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">'1972' by Liam Gillick, from the Air de Paris Tattoo Collection</figcaption></figure>


The core theme however - that we may be living within a decades-long “overshoot”, that we are taking too much, too fast from the eco-systems on which we depend –&nbsp;is no longer in any way controversial even if the various approaches to restoring a balance are. With the benefit of hindsight we can also understand that successfully predicting future crises is not the same exercise as being able to formulate requisite solutions for them, even if the former demands the we consider the latter.

<p>The core theme however - that we may be living within a decades-long “overshoot”, that we are taking too much, too fast from the eco-systems on which we depend –&nbsp;is no longer in any way controversial even if the various approaches to restoring a balance are. With the benefit of hindsight we can also understand that successfully predicting future crises is not the same exercise as being able to formulate requisite solutions for them, even if the former demands the we consider the latter.</p>


<p><em>“Limits to Growth (business-as-usual)”, Digital Artwork (2015)</em></p>



<p>The artwork pictured was a response to the 1972 report “<em>Limits to Growth</em>”, written by Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III. A book review in the form of a diagrammatic mural, inspired by the various plaques produced by Nasa for deep space probes.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The report represents one of the first attempts to model humanity and earth, using the World3 model to calculate the interactions of between core planetary systems such food, industry, agriculture and pollution. It is best known for being hugely influential within environmental discourse and as a foundational text for the degrowth movement as a result of some of the conclusions drawn by the authors, as well as sparking critiques from across the political spectrum, provoked by not least by it’s provocative title. Even now, to invoke it as a point of reference implies some ideology or political allegiance, even if the messages and content of the book itself are often misrepresented.&nbsp; Reading it for the first time left a deep impression on me, not only for the clarity of it’s arguments but also in it’s simple extrapolation of the dynamics of systems, taking only half a dozen key system and demonstrating how interactions between them may behave counter-intuitively.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1024" src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/limits-to-growth-2023-re-edit-2-1024x1024.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3674" srcset="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/limits-to-growth-2023-re-edit-2-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/limits-to-growth-2023-re-edit-2-300x300.png 300w, https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/limits-to-growth-2023-re-edit-2-150x150.png 150w, https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/limits-to-growth-2023-re-edit-2-768x768.png 768w, https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/limits-to-growth-2023-re-edit-2-1536x1536.png 1536w, https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/limits-to-growth-2023-re-edit-2-2048x2048.png 2048w, https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/limits-to-growth-2023-re-edit-2-1200x1200.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>It is also representative of a historical moment, a shift in scientific methodology at the birth of the computer age. The report is perhaps more fully asking it’s readers to orientate themselves within a system and it’s fluctuations, striving to identify what the really key factors are, in doing so aiming to define plausible scenarios which might resemble the future. &nbsp;</p>



<p>This approach of thinking through ‘scenarios’ or attempting to envisage the pathways towards alternative futures is a very powerful design tool. It’s deeply integrated into global climate policy, most recently in the designation of  5 Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) used within the modelling of the IPCC’s AR6 report. Using the scenarios as method of forecasting within design is something we have also attempted to integrated in various research and teaching projects at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_heat_island/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heat Island</a>.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image alignfull size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/model-1024x576.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3670" srcset="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/model-1024x576.png 1024w, https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/model-300x169.png 300w, https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/model-768x432.png 768w, https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/model-1536x864.png 1536w, https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/model-1200x675.png 1200w, https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/model.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>One of the lessons we might learn to the controversy surrounding the book is to observe that&nbsp; underneath the short term chaos of everyday of politics still lie deeply rooted ideas and disagreements about humanities future, representing some of the most unstable ideological fault lines. The book is a reminder that we can anchor our understanding of the world around simple but unavoidable questions which might better help us identify these divisions &#8211; for instance:</p>



<ul>
<li>Do you believe that technological progress will rebalance the ecological impacts of humanity? </li>



<li>Would you be willing to bet the future of an ecosystem on your answer?</li>



<li>How does your view of the future change if one (or many) of the trends seemingly shaping humanities development were to radically reverse?</li>
</ul>



<p>The question of how well it’s predictions have held up continues to fascinate though. For it’s 30 year anniversary, several attempts were made, by both the original authors and other academics, to test the accuracy of the predictions made in the book. That one of the scenarios (’business-as-usual’) they outlined appears to track closely with the global situation we currently find ourselves in should perhaps not be so surprising, given they aim of providing a range of credible future scenarios. In this respect, the report is perhaps closer to Svante Arrhenius’ very earliest scientific predictions about carbon di-oxide induced atmospheric warming at the turn of the last century than the complexity contemporary climate modelling that the report would set in motion.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Gillick_Liam_a.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3664" width="600" height="764" srcset="https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Gillick_Liam_a.jpg 600w, https://writing-api.burman.work/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Gillick_Liam_a-236x300.jpg 236w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">&#8216;1972&#8217; by Liam Gillick, from the Air de Paris Tattoo Collection</figcaption></figure>



<p>The core theme however &#8211; that we may be living within a decades-long “overshoot”, that we are taking too much, too fast from the eco-systems on which we depend –&nbsp;is no longer in any way controversial even if the various approaches to restoring a balance are. With the benefit of hindsight we can also understand that successfully predicting future crises is not the same exercise as being able to formulate requisite solutions for them, even if the former demands the we consider the latter.</p>



<p></p>



<p></p>


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