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Week 12 [20.01.20-26.01.20] Orion's arm

I am big fan of reading, mainly fantastic genre, mainly -- science fiction. My favourite writers are Strugatsky Brothers. They pictured future world, inhabited by dreamers, people, who desire nothing but one very thing -- create. And from that creation rose a new world -- made completely by people, with no harm whatsoever to the nature that gave birth to Life as we know it.

Today I wanted to share with you, guys, one of the examples of such creation that I have accidentally stumbled across several years ago -- Orion's Hand.

Orion's hand nebula which has inspired the name of the project

Orion's Arm (also called the Orion's Arm Universe Project, OAUP, or simply OA and formerly known as the Orion's Arm Worldbuilding Group) is a multi-authored online science fiction world-building project, first established in 2000 by M. Alan Kazlev, Donna Malcolm Hirsekorn, Bernd Helfert and Anders Sandberg and further co-authored by many people since. It is a brilliant example of what alike minded people with big dreams, passion and desire to create are capable of doing together. Anyone can contribute to this open-source project, everything that fits: music, art, stories, literature, ideas, concepts... Over the years it grew so big and so complex that it now can easily compete with the most developed worlds created by such professional writers as J. R. R. Tolkien, George Martin, J. K. Rowling, and others. All thanks to the collaborative work of fantasy lovers. 

The fictional history of the OA setting spans over ten thousand years, beginning with the real-world present day; dates in OA are marked according to the Tranquility Calendar (which started after the Apollo 11 landing). OA claims to adhere to plausible, or "hard" science fiction; that is, there are no human-like aliens, no literal faster-than-light travel or other violations of the known laws of physics, and no "naval analogy" space battles. Just peaceful empire of humans that spans the Universe, created solely thanks to dedication and passion – this is the future that picture the contributors of the project, and myself. 

Several books, board and videogames, programs and even paintings have been created to honor this Universe. And more and more people join the project each year. But what is probably one of the most important things – this is completely voluntary. Everyone can support the project financially, but it has never been, and will never be monetized. As such, the art of creation must remain accessible for everyone. 

I encourage you to read more about the world those people have created. Me, I personally was stunned by the level of detail and scientific accurateness they have achieved! You can find links to further reading at the end of the article.


Tell me: 
  1. Do you like fantasy or science fiction? If you do, which books or perhaps other universes can you recommend? 
  1. Did you ever participate in a project like Orion’s hand? Would you like to do so? 

    Do you think that art should remain voluntary and available to everyone? Or monetization and business is the only way for developing these times?

Sources: 

Comments

Maciej P s16488 said…
I enjoy good fantasy and science fictions stories. I was quite hesistant to read Stanisław Lem's books, but since I've read Solaris I am surprised why I havn't done it earlier.
Two sagas (if you can call them that) that I've lately ready and recommend are Dune by Frank Herbert and Pan Lodowego Ogrodu by Jarosław Grzędowicz.

I didn't participate in this kind of projects. I admire projects that require a lot of cooperation without commercialization. Making people work for you out of passion is incredible.

I believe that consumers will always desire to pay lesser they can, but as I stated earlier - it is quite a venture to create such a project without funding. In my opinion it should be monetized but at rational scale.
Kyrylo said…
Hey Maciej! Thanks for the suggestions, I will give those books a try. And Orion's arm is somewhat funded -- they live on donations, which can not necessarily be in the form of money.
1. They are my favourite, although, unfortunately, I don't read much anymore. The book I like best is the Hobbit since it was my first fantasy book and made me instantly fall in love with the genre. When it comes to recommendations I wanted to tell you about Lem's stories and Herbert's Dune that I'm currently reading, however since Maciej already mentioned those, for a sake of diversity I searched through my shelf and found Isaac Asimov's Foundation. I completely forgot about this one. It is a Sci-Fi book series set in future, based on hard science, as you've put it. It is a little confusing from time to time as there are a lot of plot threads, but altogether it's worth a read.

2. No, I have never taken part in such a project. I have work in a group before but not like this. It's admirable.

3. Not all art :D I, as a designer, would like to live a steady life, not waiting for donations. However, passionate projects like this, that are already working voluntarily should remain unchanged. Although, for the creators, it is probably a side project, not the main source of income.
Roman Dubovyi said…
1. I wouldn’t say that I am a fan of fantasy genre, but I really enjoyed “Lord of The Rings” movie trilogy as a kid. Probably rewatched it 6 times if not more. I also recommend watching “the Hobbit” and “LOTR” director’s cut editions. There is at least 3 hours of additional content that didn’t make it to cinema edition.
But I can not recommend any fantasy or sci-fi books, I won’t waste so much time for that...

2. I haven’t and probably won’t, again, it takes a lot of time for such event. And actually I feel a bit of cringe for people who participate. No offense.

3. Nowadays art has become something available for everyone to create. But the thing is that auditory became much more demanding. You need to have a good idea and in many cases spend few hundreds of bucks to create something that would lure investors.
Art will always be voluntary cmon...
And monetization is actually a way to support creators.
Yurii Gevtsi said…
I adore science fiction especially related to space. I watched a lot of documentaries and TV shows. Apart from the single releases of Discovery and National Geographic, I really liked the series like How the Universe Works and Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman. Also, I consider one of the best Mars (2016 TV series), this series is about how humanity would colonize Mars, taking into account all the scientific research and knowledge about Mars.

No, I have never participated in such projects, but I would not mind participating in something like that.

Of course I think that art should remain voluntary and available to everyone. Monetization and business isn't only way for developing these times but unfortunately it's the most common.
1. I love fantasy genre while my father is a sci-fi fan which is why we often jokingly mock each other, have arguments about what is better and recommend some works from our fields of interest. Talking about recommendations, firstly I would recommend the whole Dungeons & Dragons universe: originating with a tabletop game which is still hugely popular, it gave birth to numerous good videogames and books. Then, Warcraft universe is worth the try – borrowing from the real world’s different cultures, ancient myths and popular books, combining it all and adding different fantasy races and memorable heroes, it is now the large universe with a lot of stories to tell. I’d like to recommend couple universes more with the popular classic fantasy among them but the commentary would become too monstrous.
2. I’m surprised I haven’t ever heard of Orion’s Hand before – maybe because it’s more of a sci-fi. I think I could say I have participated in a similar project but it was more like a fun little game for everyone on one imageboard – so, nothing of that scale, I’m afraid.
3. I think there should be a line – there are projects like this one where everyone can contribute, which is like a huge playground for the creative people, and there are projects where the artists can make money for living. Each of these approaches has their right to exist.
Kristina Moroz said…
I've never been a big fan of a science fiction. Worse for me. I'll totally try it sometime. As I don't one of that people who loves fiction I didn't participate in Orion's hand project.
Who want to create an art, if a person has no money to eat? Someone should pay for this, so there is no problem in monetizing. What really matters - in which way it was done.
1.Do you like fantasy or science fiction? If you do, which books or perhaps other universes can you recommend?
I am not a big fan so it will be hard for me to recommend something interesting and not well-worn. Recently, however, I watched an interesting movie about an alternative future regarding the game on glasses in the style of VR but I don't remember the title. :(

2.Did you ever participate in a project like Orion’s hand? Would you like to do so?
No, and it goes completely beyond my interests.

3.Do you think that art should remain voluntary and available to everyone? Or monetization and business is the only way for developing these times?
Art is open to everything and everyone. Nothing limits us.
I love science-fiction and fantasy. I always loved it, since I was a child. From my early days I was much more interested in fantasy world then in real one. That is probably why I was playing warcraft 3 and then World of Warcraft all the time. Actually, film that made the biggest impression on me was Avatar I think. Maybe story wasn’t the best I ever heard but the special effects and the beauty of Pandora (the alien planet) was so breathtaking that I wanted to move there immediately. I have never participated in any project like Orion’s Arm but if I ever have such opportunity maybe I will. I hope that some day I will be good enough in IT to work for some space-oriented company and make science-fiction possible. I think that art should remain voluntary and available to everyone. Not everything needs to be about money.

1. Yes, I like both. I would recommend a Marvel universe rather than DC universe. I am a big fan of Marvel films. I enjoy the history and the actors who plays their roles perfectly. The only fantasy book which I can recommend is Lord of the Rings trylogy.

2. No, I have never participated in project like this. I am not interested in things like this, so propably I would not.

3. I think that, the art should be free, available. It is amazing to discover interesting universe and go into somebody`s imagination. Monetization and business is also important, but it should be a choice.
1. Yes, I do like fantasy. I'm mostly interested in video game universes, and the one that I was propably most interested in was World of Warcraft universe. When I started playing I just wanted to explore every single lore element of this world.

2. No, I haven't participated in such project and I don't think I would, because I'm not very creative person for those things

3. Yes, art is a way of expressing yourself through paintings, music, comic books etc. It should be available for everyone
Kyrylo said…
Yeah, agreed, for such projects it is never a major endeavor for all contributors.
Kyrylo said…
Why do You consider "Wasting time" on reading fantasy books? My point of view is that if you are doing something that makes sense to you, makes you happy or just simply plain enjoyable, then no, it is not waste of time. If you do not enjoy such books then yes, probably it will.
Kyrylo said…
Business is most certainly not the only one way but sadly, this is the most consistent one to sustain oneself.
Kyrylo said…
I actually do not consider sci-fi and fantasy being mutually exclusive, as a huge fan of both :P Other than that You're right, I completely forgot to mention boardgames as a huge thing that emerged from such projects.
Kyrylo said…
Agreed. Creating art is still a job and deserves being well paid.
Kyrylo said…
> I think that art should remain voluntary and available to everyone. Not everything needs to be about money.

But what if this is actually a person's full time job? Does it deserve to be paid fairly? This is more of a sensitive and debatable/controversial subject.
Kyrylo said…
Monetization remains a choice, however, both options have casualties and cause insecurities. This remains a case-unique subject, where in some cases an art should not be paywalled, and in others -- demand a fair payment.
Kyrylo said…
Well, maybe I paraphrased that a bit -- art and craft is in fact available to everyone, it's just that sometimes it gets unjustifiably paywalled, in my opinion.
Cem Ates said…


Do you like fantasy or science fiction? If you do, which books or perhaps other universes can you recommend?
I do love science fiction,hmm, there are many but i can recommend you that you must definitely check it out Stephen King's' books.

Did you ever participate in a project like Orion’s hand? Would you like to do so?
I haven't been but yes I love science.

Do you think that art should remain voluntary and available to everyone? Or monetization and business is the only way for developing these times?
Yes, definitely, this kind of project are being more creative when there are no money but only fun.

Mehmet KONUK said…
Do you like fantasy or science fiction? If you do, which books or perhaps other universes can you recommend? 
yes i love but i am not a close follower. So there is nothing I can recommend. I will read the comments and try to get information on me
Did you ever participate in a project like Orion’s hand? Would you like to do so? 
No I did not attend. It can be fun
Do you think that art should remain voluntary and available to everyone? Or monetization and business is the only way for developing these times?
Yes. Even anyone who can do it. But I need talent to say that I will be an artist. Need information ...
Mykola Suprun said…
1) Yes, I do. I prefer older books like lord of the rings.
2) Not in the literature domain. I find it a fascinating idea, but I'm not invested enough in this to be willing to waste my time in order to contribute something to it.
3) I believe there are good reasons to argue for both. Any work should be rewarded, and if you want talented people to be fully invested, you have to make it profitable. On the other side, making art accessible for free makes it popularisation and development much easier.
1. I am not big fan of standard science fiction stories. Neither movies or books. One of my favorite book authors are J.K. Rowling and Neil Richard Gaiman. Gaiman's books are not as famous as comic books, as i noticed and i recommend them to all people who like some adventures and dark humor.

2. I never participated in any project like this but it sounds interesting. However I doubt I would managed to be part of this. If I understand correctly it is quite good organised team work after all.... and cooperation in teams is not my biggest advantage.

3. I think that if artist is willing to start some form of auctions or give specific price or even donate their work for free, it is only their decision to make. I personally think some form of art is more of immaterial value and at some conditions it is good to disseminate it to as much people as possible.
Do you like fantasy or science fiction? If you do, which books or perhaps other universes can you recommend?
I don't like the science fiction genre, but enjoy fantasy with all my heart. Maybe it could be infantile a little, but I read only fantasy. My favorite book is "The Copper King" by Maria and Sergiy Diachenky. I like their style of writing, untrivial plot and their philosophy. They can create such an interesting world that is difficult for everyone else.
Did you ever participate in a project like Orion’s hand? Would you like to do so?
No, I've never participated in a project like Orion’s hand and, to be honest, don't want. I would better read, but not create it.
Do you think that art should remain voluntary and available to everyone? Or monetization and business is the only way for developing these times?
In my opinion, every work must be rewarded or you should be rich enough to create such huge projects without any reward.
s15740 said…
No, I don`t. I prefer another kind off literature, films and games. I prefer reality to fiction, but imagination of people is really endless, so it is nice that someone like to dream and create big world, put there heroes and push the start button. And this imagined world will begin to live. Moreover, it is great, that such idea inspires more people. They don`t do bad, so they are doing good.
No, I never participated in such projects like Orion`s hand. Probably, in future, if I`ll bored in real life, then I`ll start to think about something like imagined world. But truly, I don`t really believe in it, just because there are so many things on our planet that I can explore, analyze, and try to understand.
Art – thing for soul. And it shouldn’t be for money. Also, I want to mention, that, for example, painters don`t want to sell their pictures; people want to by them. So, it is about demand and supply. Everyone can fill free to create something for himself and you can present it without money in internet. I mean, that there is no any need of monetization or business aspects to develop art nowadays.
Jakub Kisiała said…
1. I like, GoT, Marvel and Lord of the Rings.
2. Never.
3. I think it depends on the creator how he wants to make money from his work.
Jakub Kisiała said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
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