How to Predict (or Create) the Future

I’m tired of being sick and doing nothing, so here comes a blog.

One funny trend we’ve all been seeing is everything becoming “meta”, or self-referential. This is most apparent in products of pop culture, like videogames.

Some of the most popular videogames are propped up by modifications or crossovers. Roblox allows you to easily join a modified version of the game that someone else created, making customization much more accessible and poignant. In Minecraft, you can build whatever you want, go wherever you want, install whatever textures/mods/skins you want. Lastly, Fortnite has multiple game modes, including a sandbox, as well as crossover content with any popular fandom you can think of.

Valve Did it Best

One great example of a videogame company that I would consider extremely meta is Valve. They have gone multiple steps ahead of other companies at the time to secure their legacy. Not only have they created some of the best videogames of all time, they also created tools for fans to create original content and cornered the PC gaming market by creating a game distribution platform. User-generated content using Valve’s tools has seen a revival amongst Generation Alpha, with the popular Skibidi Toilet series having been created in Source Filmmaker, just as “GMod Machinimas” were some 10-15 years ago.

I would call Epic Games the modern successor to Valve. They have taken a lot of the same steps, having released Unreal Engine, creating their own distribution platform, and making at least one sandbox game (Fortnite Sandbox).

Computer science is the same way. What’s the hot new thing? Large language models (LLMs) trained on tons of existing pieces of writing to say whatever you want. Containerization – combining executables, configuration files, and libraries into one “thing” that can run anywhere. Cross-platform frameworks that allow developers to create one app for all devices. Are you getting it?

Building on the Shoulders of Giants

Taking a bird’s eye perspective on the current state of “the market” and finding ways to connect various developed technologies is how you predict the future. To invent, you have to combine things that already exist. With time, your invention (if successful) becomes a new layer on which others will create something newer.