Yes, World Without Oil‘s an enviro game — After all, the game’s about world when oil demand outstrips supply.

But damn, it’s complicated. I’d read about World Without Oil in a CNet article a while back, but I couldn’t really look into it since it didn’t launch until April 30.

So yesterday I checked it out. I went to the main page, then clicked on the “Mystified? Start here” link. I still didn’t understand anything. So I clicked on the “I’M STILL CONFUSED” link.

The skinny: World Without Oil‘s “an alternate reality event, a serious game for the public good”:

It invites everyone to help simulate a global oil shock. People participate by contributing original online stories, created as though the oil shock were really happening.

The game’s masters rank the participants (“players”) according to their contributions to our realistic portrayal of the oil shock. The game also places value on player-created communities, collaborative stories, and collective efforts.

Each contribution helps the game arrive at a larger truth. No team of experts knows better than a given individual what effect an oil shock would have upon that individual’s life, or what action he or she will take to cope. Personal reactions to our simulated oil shock, placed in context with many other points of view, will help us all realize what’s at stake in our oil-fired culture.

Basically, to play, you need to enter this alternate reality, and create your own story around it. Then, you can contribute this story in pretty much any format you like — text, photo, audio, video.

Developed via nonprofit funding, World Without Oil’s the brainchild of Jane McGonigal, creator of Cruel 2 B Kind, which I wrote about here.

To be honest, I’m not that psyched ’bout playing — but I’m just not a gamer in general. Also, I might be getting old. If others of you play though, lemme know how it goes –

(thnx Andy)

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