Science fiction has had a long history in videogames (consider Space Invaders, the world’s first arcade sensation), and within its many examples we find some great uses of futurist themes and ideas. Covering aspects such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, transhumanism and future mega-cities; videogames truly are a perfect medium to explore possibilities for and ramifications of future technology and human progress.… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: science fiction
The Shifting Paradigms of Alternate Reality Gaming
The phone rings late one evening. You answer it to hear the voice of a woman in distress: ‘I can’t keep this up any longer, they’re getting to close to the truth!’. She hangs up suddenly, but not before leaving you with a cryptic clue – a password to some online network that she had managed to get a hold of. Your next move, should you choose to take it, is to log onto that network and download the encrypted data hidden within.… Continue Reading
[Review] Radio Free Albemuth: Into the Mind of Philip K Dick
You could call Philip K Dick one of the main reasons why this blog even exists; not only because he is my most beloved author, but also due to the fact that his thoughts about technology and social progress were so ahead of their time that the level of foreshadowing they present is just remarkable. Tonight I was granted the wonderful opportunity to see a ‘sneak preview’ screening of the most recent adaptation of a Philip K Dick novel, Radio Free Albemuth, at the Sci-Fi London film festival.… Continue Reading
Down at the pub with Kim Stanley Robinson, Geoff Ryman and Paul McAuley
In conjunction with New Scientist’s recent special on science fiction, they held a meetup in a pub with some of the greatest sci-fi writers of the current era. This intimate and relaxed setting was an experiment for New Scientist, we were told, and developed out of a somewhat failed attempt at a much larger event.
New Scientist and the return of science fiction
New Scientist today released a great issue, which has a number of pages devoted to the genre of sci-fi overseen by one of the genre’s masters Kim Stanley Robinson.
District 9: Future ethics through alien eyes
Science fiction has always been a bastion for social commentary, and the latest cinematographic effort in the form of District 9 is no different. By planting the action in an accurate real-world setting, with believable motivations and agendas from all parties involved, the mirror is once more held up to our social conscience – and the result is anything but flattering.