ALTERNATE ENDINGS (GAMES ABOUT LIVING IN RUINS)
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
The stories we tell about the past determine how we think about the future. Nick Crockett has been making computer games and animations about American pioneer mythology, resource extraction, and climate change for several years. His animation Fire Underground presents an alternative history of coal, which pitches myths of forgotten forests, crawling proto-reptiles, and chthonic infernos against labor history, natural history, and Appalachian folk culture. His new project is a simulation game about living in the woods in the future, based on modern forestry techniques, as well as some of the hunting, foraging, and land management practices of the Nisenan people indigenous to the foothills of the northern Sierra Nevada. Nick will share the process and inspiration behind these two projects, including his life in California’s gold country, his studies in Appalachian coal country, and his thoughts on building a loving and hopeful imaginary by digging where you stand.