Game | Solipsism

[ryoko]

I've noticed a few gamedevs here. I'm really curious if anyone is building a solipsistic artifact. 

My question for everyone else, what do you imagine a game based on solipsism would be like? What kind of experiences do you wanna have? 


 

[ryoko]

https://www.actualized.org/insights/no-physical-world

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Consciousness IS Consciousness. This isn't trivial. Consciousness cannot be explained in terms of any other thing. You have to grasp what Consciousness is directly. Not in terms of any other thing. That is the only way. If you try to use some other thing to explain Consciousness, you immediately screwed up.

The only way to understand Consciousness is to be conscious of yourself being conscious. You just sit and observe yourself being conscious. This is the last thing anyone wants to do, which is why no one understands Consciousness.

 

This snippet caught my eye.

Game is a potent medium of High Art. In order to seriously explore this idea, the idea of what a game is, has to die out. Most won't have a clue what they wanted until they get it. I invite you all to think not in terms of what you want inside the game. But rather purely on the basis of what you wanna feel. Be as abstract as you can. 

[ryoko]

Not surprised with the total silence. 

I think there's only one person who can give a real answer. (prove me wrong🫀) 

Summoning @Leo Gura

Edited 4 hours ago by ryoko

[Xonas Pitfall]

One idea I think would fit a game about solipsism is a gradual zoom-out reveal.

At the start, you play as a tiny character navigating a world full of obstacles: enemies, spikes, moving platforms, power-ups, and other characters that all seem separate from you. The game feels like a normal platformer or puzzle game.

As you progress, each new level zooms out a little more. You begin to realize that what looked like independent objects and people are actually parts of a larger structure. The enemies, obstacles, and even the terrain are all connected in ways you couldn't see before.

By the final level, the game reveals that your character isn't just living in the world. Your character is the world.

At that point, you gain a second layer of control. You can still move the character, but you can also manipulate the world itself. The character can use its "hands" or "legs" to reposition platforms, move blocks, remove obstacles, and place power-ups directly in its own path.

You realize your character is actually the entire world.

But then the camera keeps zooming out.

Eventually, the game world shrinks into a window inside what looks like a game engine, something similar to Unity. Suddenly, you're editing the game itself. You can tweak your character's stats, modify the terrain, move objects around, and even change the rules of the game. Something like this: https://youtu.be/ElmQZAGVgfU?si=ojSfZPuCu-28X2pm&t=16

For a more "mindfuck" ending, the game could ask for webcam access. Using a morphing effect, the character's face gradually blends into your own. The game starts with a tiny avatar and ends by suggesting that the avatar, the world, the creator, and the player were never as separate as they appeared.

 

It's a fun concept! 

I think that kind of reveal could capture the feeling of solipsism! 

[ryoko]

This's a cliche to me at this point. 

I know for a fact if you try to think in terms of game mechanics you'll miss the essence. Because the baked in assumptions can make you creatively blind. (Example, you assume the world to be a certain way, you take some things for granted etc)

I'll try and extract the essence from what you said @Xonas Pitfall

Induce a linear/quadratic surprise. Realize things are not as it seems. Realize you're the "world". Expose the engine. 

I wouldn't consider this solipsistic at all. It's simply a meta game. 

[ryoko]

I'll give an example. It's not something ever related to solipsism itself, because I don't think you can convey it in words. It'll miss the point. But we can go off from tangents which can potentially induce it. It's something only your own personal, felt experience can tell. 

Here's the example:

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It's not that I have anything against human structures. It's not like I have anything for them either. 

The need has to arise, when the foundation is ready. And ripe.

Infact, it gets easier to "hate" and discard them when you realize there have been a lot of vested interest in you taking up the monotonous mundane...

hate is not our goal. Hate means your centre is still tethered to your object/subject of hate.

 

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"humans" have no control over intelligence and the direction it takes.

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How's it related to what I asked at all? (Don't worry about this part, I'll do the work here) 

Many posts in this forum is a good source for this. But it's easy to miss what's a tangent and what's not. Not all things are immediately obvious. If you feel it's a tangent, it is. The weight of it is entirely held by your felt experience in that moment. That's all that matters. 

Edited 52 minutes ago by ryoko

[ryoko]

BTW mods, I think this needs to be moved to Spirituality sub forum. My bad posting it here.