The Sim is a 3D online world where the Grid runs as a working MMO simulation. The underlying system is the same in both modes. What changes is the framing and what the user is there to do.
Grounded Sim
The grounded mode runs the Grid as designed. Infrastructure, governance, production, day-to-day life. No plot. No arc. The system runs and the user interacts with it.
The point of the grounded sim is to put the blueprint under pressure. If the design has flaws, they show up when a large number of real people use it. The sim is how those flaws get found before a real Grid gets built.
Video Game
The video-game mode runs on the same underlying system, with narrative layers on top. Characters, factions, events from the Grid fictional canon. Players can follow scripted stories or emergent ones, inside a society that runs on real Grid rules.
This mode exists so the Grid concept stays active in culture and keeps motivating people to push for a real one.
Why both under one product
Building the sim and the game separately would duplicate the hardest part twice: the simulation of a working Grid. Building them as one product with two entry points means one engine, one world, one economy, and two audiences. The grounded side keeps the game honest. The game side keeps the grounded side funded and relevant.
Current status
Pre-production. The software does not exist yet. The design is in active development. This page is the first public call for collaborators.
Developers wanted
We are looking for game developers who can help build The Sim. Experience that is most useful:
- MMO infrastructure, netcode, server architecture
- Simulation engines, economic and social models
- Procedural generation, world-building tools
- Narrative engines, scripting systems
- 3D art, environment design, character design
- Playtesting, balancing, accessibility
If you can help with any of the above, get in touch. Open an issue on the GitHub org with a short note on what you can contribute, or use the contact page.