Making worlds

Complicated Nonsense is a studio that specializes in alternative worlds.

Virtual Reality. Augmented Reality. Extended Reality.

There are many worlds in our world. Just behind the next corner, muffled under soundproof walls, there might be an amazing jazz bar where a handful of people are making memories for a lifetime, and behind the other corner, there might be a dance hall with a thunderous party going on, where you (yes, you!) might find your passion, if you only dare to cross its threshold - but you may also never find out it exists. Our limited vision, due to many factors, makes our worldview small. We see a sliver of the endless stream of media and things going on around us, no matter how hard we try to keep informed. We are more and more like ants.

Mixed Reality. Spatial Computing. Real Reality.

There are new worlds, like the ones that used to be behind the next corner, that are hiding in front of our very eyes. It's what corporations tried to claim as the metaverse, but what gamers knew for decades: virtual worlds as vast as our own, sprawling infinitely deep, waiting to be explored, crafted by humans or by algorithms. Some living inside a computer, some spatially matching our real life surroundings, but mostly present in our minds through a new understanding of the layers of reality. It's always been about the world in our immediate surrounding, but now our immediate bubble is also growing more complex.

Games. Interactive media. Art.

If you turn on your map app on your phone, you will see yourself as a dot, and you will see the surroundings, and you can zoom out to see the entire globe. Now if you look away from your screen, all that is still there because you can't forget it, and the world around you feels different because everything is connected. Similarly, if you play a game where you went to a very weird space, perhaps a flat 2D space with squares moving around, or a detailed 3D space with creatures made of tennis balls and clouds, you will remember that space and the feeling of it, and sometimes you will notice things that are like that, but in real reality, and again the world will feel different because you found yet another way in which everything is connected. Those "fake" worlds affect the real one, because they are real too, in the most essential way.

It's all in your mind.

If you know how to unlock such a world, you can visit and have fun there, or even do work and be miserable. Much like real reality, it's as vast as your mind is capable of understanding. We have always built worlds, our ancestors and us, and we will always continue to do so, and it's interesting to ask why but sometimes the answer is incredibly scary so I don't recommend it.

You should ask: How? And the answer is simple. Anyhow. Worlds are stories and stories are worlds. Anyone can make them. Some are compelling and very powerful, and some are a bit bland and quickly forgotten. You can make a world more compelling and attractive if you have some experience. We're all trying to make a living in this world, but now we can all make worlds too. I make worlds to make a living, because the world makes me. I try to make worlds that feel good and are compelling, but sometimes my worlds die just the same. But the beautiful thing is, I can just make a fresh new world! That's where real reality is different, and worth considering what we're doing with it. Also scary.

I'll make you a world! Let me know your budget and what you're interested in and I'll see what I can do.

Or visit the Complicated Nonsense portfolio to see for yourself!