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I’ve decided I’m going to start a set of Minecraft chain worlds, one USB for each platform I own. Right now that’s PC, XBOX One, XBOX 360, and PS3; I should have a PS4 by the end of the year. Anyone interested in being the first recipient of one of these?
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Videogames as Religion: Chain World
Just a bit late for this week's article, but this was one of the most fascinating ideas I've come across recently.
One of the greatest things I enjoy about video games is the potential to be portrayed as an art-form, taking players on wildly creative and emotional adventures (flOw, Amnesia, and more recently- Journey). At the 2011 Game Design Challenge, the theme of the challenge was Bigger than Jesus: games as religion. Jason Rohrer released Chain World, a modification of the popular game Minecraft (an indie sandbox which allows the user to build their own world from scratch). The catch? There would only be one available copy in the world at one time, housed in a USB flash drive that would be physically distributed between players. Several other rules were also included for participating players:
Run Chain World via one of the included “run_ChainWorld” launchers.
Start a single-player game and pick “Chain World”.
Play until you die exactly once. 3a. Erecting wooden signs with text is forbidden 3b. Suicide is permissible.
Immediately after dying and respawning, quit to the menu.
Allow the world to save.
Exit the game and wait for your launcher to automatically copy Chain World back to the USB stick.
Pass the USB stick to someone else who expresses interest.
Never discuss what you saw or did in Chain World with anyone.
Never play again.
Rohrer's vision was for participants to perceive the works of previous players as creations of gods- "We become like gods to those who come after us". Conceptually this seems like an innovative way for each player to have a unique experience, possibly dependent on the actions of their predecessors. Parallels between evolving religions and the shaping of the game cycle between players could definitely be made. However, reality often subverts reality- in this case, controversy arose when the first recipient of the game, Jia Ji decided to auction off the rights to play. Furthermore, while Ji admits to have sent the drive to the auction winner, potentially contradicting videos claim otherwise. The evolution of the rules of the game (and rules in reality), the backlash of the public to Ji's actions, and the pure concept of the game itself mimic many religious events throughout history. I would love to have a crack at Chain World and see what others have made of the game!
Sources:
Chain World: (http://chainworld.swio.ws/)
Wired [Chain World Video Game Was Supposed to be a Religion- Not a Holy War]: (http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/07/mf_chainworld)
Rock, Paper, Shotgun [The Cult of Minecraft: Chain World]: (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/03/15/the-cult-of-minecraft-chain-world/)
I'm part of the first generation that was brought up with vide games. To the 12 y.o. me they were as natural and needed as breakfast and still today I do love them. However I don't seem to find the time to play as much as I use to and this notion sometimes saddens me. However as I'm working with integration of communication I do ponder about games and their ability to carry messages or communication in various contexts. And every time when a genius somewhere comes up with a ground breaking idea within the gaming community I can't help myself in thinking of the possibility to use them in a wider communication context. Jason Rohrer who created Chain World is a true genius and if you haven't read about his game yet you'll have to do this now. And if you happen to come up with an idea on how to put this in a wider context – please don't hesitate to scribble down your thoughts here...
Totally forgot to post about this amazing piece in the August issue of Wired on the game Chain World. It's going to drive me insane knowing it's out there (...or is it?) and I'll never get to play it:
The stick would soon hold a videogame unlike any other ever created. It would exist on the memory stick and nowhere else. According to a set of rules defined by Rohrer, only one person on earth could play the game at a time. The player would modify the game’s environment as they moved through it. Then, after the player died in the game, they would pass the memory stick to the next person, who would play in the digital terrain altered by their predecessor—and on and on for years, decades, generations, epochs. In Rohrer’s mind, his game would share many qualities with religion—a holy ark, a set of commandments, a sense of secrecy and mortality and mystical anticipation. This was the idea, anyway, before things started to get weird. Before Chain World, like religion itself, mutated out of control.
"Chain World, Rohrer explained, was a mod, a customized version of Minecraft and a set of scripts that govern how it’s played. And here was the cool part: It all lived on a single USB memory stick.
“This is the only one in the world!” he said. “And here are the rules, the canon law of Chain World.” He outlined his commandments. Erect no signs—your creations must speak for themselves. Play until you die exactly once—no do-overs or restarts. (Zombies and spiders occasionally blink into existence to harry players as they build and explore.) Never talk about what you saw or did. Then pass the memory stick on to “someone who expresses interest."'
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Chain World Videogame
According to a set of rules defined by Rohrer, only one person on earth could play the game at a time. The player would modify the game’s environment as they moved through it. Then, after the player died in the game, they would pass the memory stick to the next person, who would play in the digital terrain altered by their predecessor—and on and on for years, decades, generations, epochs. In Rohrer’s mind, his game would share many qualities with religion—a holy ark, a set of commandments, a sense of secrecy and mortality and mystical anticipation. This was the idea, anyway, before things started to get weird. Before Chain World, like religion itself, mutated out of control.
Rohrer unveiled Chain World at the 2011 Game Design Challenge, held on March 4 at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/07/mf_chainworld/all/1?pid=6414
"The stick would soon hold a videogame unlike any other ever created. It would exist on the memory stick and nowhere else. According to a set of rules defined by Rohrer, only one person on earth could play the game at a time."
