Abstract

Currently, this is a personal project. The plans and writing here focus entirely on my own interests and goals, which are fairly straightforward: 

1.) Relocate to Fukuoka. 

2.) Establish a business specializing in multimedia design, production, and events. 

3.) Support an international community of entertainment professionals. 

Harnessing inspiration from two books, Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World by Jane McGonigal, in tandem with Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, this project aims to internalize the vast and complex challenges we face in the world collectively. Seeking a state of playful engagement, the production is included as part and parcel of the performance. To this end, the company itself is a hybrid residential and commercial enterprise.

For example, imagine a league of regional gaming groups (corporate, and/or cooperative) furthering international fellowship by reaffirming the preexisting American and Japanese sister city relationships through tournament competition. Each 'house' operates independently under its own founding organizational documents, and must apply to become a registered chapter within the officiating organization. Twice a year, a gathering is held in which houses compete for the trophy, with ranked matches, qualifiers, and exhibitions determining the bracketed entry to the Ordinal Equinox Challenge. Unlike a sports league, the rules and methods for achieving the prize trophy are dynamic, intended to be revealed throughout the course of the event. Designing the competition is as much a part of the game as playing it. To fulfill this, a extra-competitive partisan executive body is selected by the constituent houses, to be officials in special contract service on behalf of their house.

On a much larger scale, this project is an attempt to simultaneously redesign and win the non-fiction, massively multiplayer, survival game named The Anthropocene. At this phase, Avocado Volcano is a start-up cooperative housing, game design, web streaming, event company proposal. However, facilitating long-term human survival on Earth supersedes all else. In that context, everything you see here is a low impact attempt to communicate and organize under a single shared belief: this crisis is not my fault, but it is my responsibility. 

This project is in the 'discovery phase' of creating the core framework (and business entity) for a collaborative organization to pursue global change through independent broadcasting and event production. 

Who - Designers, broadcasters, performers, artists, players, and technicians interested in mission driven cooperative housing.

What - Independent arts and entertainment based residence, individually contributing to the overall broadcasting network.

Where - Beginning with existing sister city organizations in Washington State, affiliated with Japan.

When - Recruiting founding members in Seattle now (2023), continuing indefinitely based on sustained interest.

Why - Make tons of friends, play bigger games, share more meals, and create a lasting entertainment legacy.

How - With verve, enthusiasm, and the creative application of affordable consumer technology in a non-profit structure.

Next: Read the Mission Briefing