ThinkingShift

I almost got caught out by this. I was doing a spot of research into future world scenarios, the primary one being what will a world without oil be like? I stumbled onto World Without Oil and almost hyperventilated when I read that the world had finally hit peak oil production and that major crises over oil were already breaking out. Two things gave away the fact that this is an alternate reality game (albeit with teeth!) - the “start here” button on the site and an incoming RSS feed from OReilly Radar. It’s a game with teeth because it focuses on a real world scenario and invites us to think now about life without oil (and don’t fool yourself into thinking this won’t actually happen).

On the site, you will find stories of how people are suffering or coping without oil, along with videos and photos. Checking out some of the video links reminded me of a post I recently did in which flash mobs and organised gangs roam cities gripped by increasing social unrest. Have a look at this YouTube video that (fictitiously) depicts San Francisco during Week 4 of the 2007 oil crisis (which is the scenario of a World without Oil). Scary stuff. Bloggers have been posting stories for some time but the game officially opened at the end of April. The backstory (setting up the scenario) scared the heck out of me - “The world oil supply is falling short of demand - by 1.5% at first, but it’s expected to increase to 3% or more throughout 2007“. And on the incoming screen you’ll see a dashboard, which shows the world’s current (very high) energy prices.

I presume the content for the site is being pulled from various web sources plus the collective intelligence of the world’s bloggers and gamers concerned about the fast-approaching energy crisis. I guess it might also attract the unsuspecting (like me) who stumble onto the site and leads them to contribute. Take the time to explore World without Oil and maybe even create your own story. As the theme of the site says: “Play it before you live it“. Oh…and to really keep you awake, check out the transcript of the US Secretary of State (fictitious character of course)….I suspect that it might serve as a good template for a future political speech that will no doubt occur in reality. (But Mr Secretary will have to learn that “shacles” is spelt “shackles”).