Singular City.

A real-life MMORPG.

Arrive at Level 0. Level up through real quests.

Singular City is a proposed concept, not a place that exists. This is my proposal and my guide, written by Manuel Rendon. It collects what I have said about the idea on camera and on stringcubed.com, then imagines in marked passages what living there could feel like.

Concept and ideas by Manuel Rendon. Written by Manuel Rendon.

A proposed concept, plans not commitments
Aerial at dusk: a converted mall at the center of four districts and a solar field, copper paths tracing the map.
Aerial at dusk: a converted mall at the center of four districts and a solar field, copper paths tracing the map.
Download the Singular City guide (PDF)

Part I · The idea

01 The string

The first-principles idea: a single copper string folds into a cube that contains a city, a solar panel, a home and a leaf.
The first-principles idea: a single copper string folds into a cube that contains a city, a solar panel, a home and a leaf.
Arcade cabinets as quest stations: print an object, wire a solar panel, test a water filter.
Arcade cabinets as quest stations: print an object, wire a solar panel, test a water filter.

02 The missing technology

The staged path: paper, film, mall, community, ocean, stars.
The staged path: paper, film, mall, community, ocean, stars.
Care as infrastructure: elder support and a story circle for toddlers.
Care as infrastructure: elder support and a story circle for toddlers.

03 What Singular City is

Day one: a newcomer follows a glowing quest path to the mall entrance at dawn.
Day one: a newcomer follows a glowing quest path to the mall entrance at dawn.
Grow Hall: a former store floor turned indoor farm feeding the cafeteria.
Grow Hall: a former store floor turned indoor farm feeding the cafeteria.

04 Why a real-life MMORPG

Street-level promenade between districts, used as base for a game HUD overlay.
Street-level promenade between districts, used as base for a game HUD overlay.

05 The Universal Prosperity Engine

Game theory: many connected people holding up one city.
Game theory: many connected people holding up one city.
The mall beta at golden hour: roof and parking lot turned solar field, pavilions and greenhouses at the edges.
The mall beta at golden hour: roof and parking lot turned solar field, pavilions and greenhouses at the edges.

Part II · The world

06 The staged path

The film: an audience watches the founding of the city (fictional film).
The film: an audience watches the founding of the city (fictional film).

07 The world map

Isometric world map: hub atrium, Matter, Energy, Grow and Living districts, solar field.
Isometric world map: hub atrium, Matter, Energy, Grow and Living districts, solar field.
The atrium: an imagined Manifester on a plinth under the skylight (the device is in development; this is concept art).
The atrium: an imagined Manifester on a plinth under the skylight (the device is in development; this is concept art).

08 Districts and daily life

Living district: rounded printed capsule homes with rooftop solar at twilight.
Living district: rounded printed capsule homes with rooftop solar at twilight.
Matter Lab: FDM printers, filament spools and finished functional parts.
Matter Lab: FDM printers, filament spools and finished functional parts.
Energy Hall: trainees install a panel; floor projection shows current flowing to a model house.
Energy Hall: trainees install a panel; floor projection shows current flowing to a model house.
Capsule home cutaway: loft, kitchen, water unit, battery wall, solar skin (concept, not a specification).
Capsule home cutaway: loft, kitchen, water unit, battery wall, solar skin (concept, not a specification).
Evening market: goods and food made on site, paid with quest credits.
Evening market: goods and food made on site, paid with quest credits.

09 The ocean frontier, and the stars

The ocean frontier: hexagonal floating modules with solar, greenhouses and wind.
The ocean frontier: hexagonal floating modules with solar, greenhouses and wind.

Part III · Game systems

10 Character classes as real roles

Character select: Maker, Energy technician, Grower, Teacher, Caregiver, Mediator (fictional characters).
Character select: Maker, Energy technician, Grower, Teacher, Caregiver, Mediator (fictional characters).
Teaching quest: a mentor shows newcomers how to wire a small solar panel.
Teaching quest: a mentor shows newcomers how to wire a small solar panel.

11 Talent trees and quests

Holographic talent tree: lit nodes completed, violet node the next quest.
Holographic talent tree: lit nodes completed, violet node the next quest.

12 Crafting and building

Achievement unlocked: a first printed block lifted from the bed.
Achievement unlocked: a first printed block lifted from the bed.

13 The economy as a game system

Quest board: cards brighten as underserved tasks become more rewarding.
Quest board: cards brighten as underserved tasks become more rewarding.

14 Guilds and collective quests

Collective engineering quest: a guild extends the city edge with a ghost outline of the finished build.
Collective engineering quest: a guild extends the city edge with a ghost outline of the finished build.

15 Progression: survival and growth

LifeQuest HQ: a newcomer receives a Level 0 badge in front of a glowing talent tree wall.
LifeQuest HQ: a newcomer receives a Level 0 badge in front of a glowing talent tree wall.

16 The learning rides

Concept render: the ride station in the atrium, imagined.
Concept render: the ride station in the atrium, imagined.
Concept render: a pod pausing in the Matter Lab while a wall screen shows a part being built, imagined.
Concept render: a pod pausing in the Matter Lab while a wall screen shows a part being built, imagined.
Concept diagram: the proposed ride loop, imagined.
Concept diagram: the proposed ride loop, imagined.
Concept render: a pod in the Energy Hall while a wall projection shows current flowing from a panel to a lamp, imagined.
Concept render: a pod in the Energy Hall while a wall projection shows current flowing from a panel to a lamp, imagined.

17 The ride track

Concept render: a pod gliding past the Grow Hall beds, imagined.
Concept render: a pod gliding past the Grow Hall beds, imagined.

18 If you miss it

Concept render: the hands-on checkpoint at the end of a ride, imagined.
Concept render: the hands-on checkpoint at the end of a ride, imagined.
Concept render: a mentor pod on a retry, imagined.
Concept render: a mentor pod on a retry, imagined.

19 Learn, apply, earn

20 The quest book

Part IV · The sciences that make it prosper

21 Game theory

22 Game design theory

Game design theory: the city as a serious game board.
Game design theory: the city as a serious game board.

23 Ludology

Ludology: a feedback loop that widens as it climbs.
Ludology: a feedback loop that widens as it climbs.

24 User experience engineering

UX engineering: a personal quest companion interface.
UX engineering: a personal quest companion interface.

25 Game economy design

26 The moral framework

Open council in the old food court, recorded and public.
Open council in the old food court, recorded and public.

27 Materials science and making

28 Energy and water engineering

29 Mechanism design

Mechanism design: many paths in, one coordinated useful outcome.
Mechanism design: many paths in, one coordinated useful outcome.

30 Behavioral and learning science

31 Systems science and measurement

Systems science: reviewing measurements to learn and iterate.
Systems science: reviewing measurements to learn and iterate.
Urban design and ecology: a community on open land with wetlands and green roofs.
Urban design and ecology: a community on open land with wetlands and green roofs.

32 Urban design and ecology

33 Family, care and demography

Family support: a neighbor brings dinner to new parents (fictional people).
Family support: a neighbor brings dinner to new parents (fictional people).

34 Narrative design

Narrative design: storyboards for the film about the founding (fictional heroine).
Narrative design: storyboards for the film about the founding (fictional heroine).

35 Discipline and play

Discipline and play: generic training staffs (light-blade style, no branded props) in a night dojo; generic, unidentifiable figures.
Discipline and play: generic training staffs (light-blade style, no branded props) in a night dojo; generic, unidentifiable figures.

Part V · Rules of play

36 Governance and the rules of play

37 Keeping a player-driven world fair and alive

Part VI · Scenarios

38 Onboarding a new citizen

39 An imagined day

40 A newcomer's first weeks

Concept render with mockup overlay, fictional characters, imagined.
Concept render with mockup overlay, fictional characters, imagined.

41 The film inside the film

42 Join the conversation

Characters in the scenarios are fictional. People shown are generic, fictional figures.

Download the Singular City guide (PDF)

Ideas and critiques: info@stringcubed.com

A proposed concept, plans not commitments