17776 Appreciation Thread

[Sokota]

Thought I'd make an appreciation thread for one of my favorite works of fiction: 17776!

For those who are unfamiliarized, 17776 is an online sci-fi story which was written by Jon Bois for SBNation, a fan-run sports website. To simplify it the most that I can without spoiling anything, the basic premise is to pose the question "What will American football look like in the distant future?". However, it talks mainly about a dystopian, post-capitalist United States, where people have suddenly stopped dying, but babies have stopped being born as well. It's amazing, deep and profound in its own way (much like Homestuck is!).

If you haven't read it, feel free to start reading it at https://www.sbnation.com/a/17776-football! If you have, feel free to discuss all 17776 related things in this thread.

If you want a taste of what 17776 is like before reading, inside the spoiler is a screenshot that pretty much summarizes the 17776 experience.

Spoiler

Show

[calamityCons]

I got so hooked on it with the way the story began, and then when one character panicked and asked "WHAT YEAR IS IT" I was so damn engaged it wasn't even funny.

[sigmatic]

Whoa opening that link for the first time definitely took me for a spin, I'll be sure to check it out when it's not late at night

[Prime]

It is time to read 17776 again

[cyberKinetist]

I've finished 17776 today, and holy shit what a journey that was. An existential acid trip into why we play sports in general. How we construct narratives out of rule-based systems, how it gives us cultural meaning, and how it makes us live for another day.

I've noticed that some people compare this to Homestuck, although really it doesn't have that many similarities besides being hypertext fiction (using Internet text, images, video, etc. as a medium to tell a story). But I think there is a lot of potential for these kinds of formats, as Jon Bois (the author) said: "We’ve got to start thinking of the Internet as something more than a glow-in-the-dark newspaper."

Here's some Q&A from Jon Bois (although you should go there after reading the whole thing):

https://www.sbnation.com/2017/7/24/1600 ... nd-answers

[aspiringWatcher]

JUICE is Dave, I'm not taking objections on this

[Sokota]

I've finished 17776 today, and holy shit what a journey that was. An existential acid trip into why we play sports in general. How we construct narratives out of rule-based systems, how it gives us cultural meaning, and how it makes us live for another day.

I've noticed that some people compare this to Homestuck, although really it doesn't have that many similarities besides being hypertext fiction (using Internet text, images, video, etc. as a medium to tell a story). But I think there is a lot of potential for these kinds of formats, as Jon Bois (the author) said: "We’ve got to start thinking of the Internet as something more than a glow-in-the-dark newspaper."

Here's some Q&A from Jon Bois (although you should go there after reading the whole thing):

https://www.sbnation.com/2017/7/24/1600 ... nd-answers

17776 is truly amazing! BTW, in the QnA article, I’m @k0korin who asks the question about the other sports :P

[Generalrabogolfo]

question is it finished?

[calamityCons]

Yes, 17776 is finished.

[BrobyDDark]

I thought the title was "1776 appreciation thread" and was finna come here spouting the truth of the good country America. Forgive me.

[RoyalFiddle]

17776 felt like it was setting up this world for a plot that never came, and maybe that was the point
I like it, I just wish there was way more than there was
But, I can see how, in a post Homestuck world, people would latch onto this story and praise it a lot more than it probably deserved
'
Overall, heavy 6 to a light 7.