I’m reading this book by Philip K. Dick right now called The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. It’s set on a near-future Earth which has heated to the point that exposure to the sun is fatal and the UN has begun “drafting” people to be sent to colonies around the solar system in an attempt to save humanity. These colonies are miserable places, and the people on them sustain themselves through chewing a drug called Can-D and using it to project themselves into dollhouse-like “layouts.” Importantly, these aren’t solitary trips. Multiple users project themselves into the same layout simultaneously, experiencing a shared but temporary escape from their boring, pointless lives. Drugs … Continue reading Playing at the End of the World: Video Games and Climate Crisis