<s>
Neurocracy	B-Application
is	O
a	O
browser-based	B-Protocol
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Joannes	O
Truyens	O
and	O
Matei	O
Stanca	O
under	O
the	O
label	O
Playthroughline	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
ten	O
weekly	O
episodes	O
from	O
July	O
to	O
September	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
explore	O
Omnipedia	B-Application
,	O
a	O
fictional	O
Wikipedia	O
successor	O
launched	O
in	O
2049	O
,	O
and	O
uncover	O
information	O
about	O
the	O
assassination	O
of	O
its	O
major	O
investor	O
,	O
Xu	B-Application
Shaoyong	I-Application
,	O
by	O
perusing	O
its	O
articles	O
,	O
hyperlinks	O
and	O
revision	O
histories	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
been	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
wiki-based	O
metafiction	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Neurocracy	B-Application
has	O
variously	O
been	O
described	O
as	O
an	O
alternate	O
reality	O
game	O
and	O
hypertext	O
fiction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Navigating	O
through	O
their	O
own	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
,	O
players	O
peruse	O
Omnipedia	B-Application
,	O
a	O
fictional	O
online	O
encyclopedia	O
heavily	O
modelled	O
on	O
Wikipedia	O
,	O
to	O
solve	O
the	O
assassination	O
of	O
its	O
major	O
investor	O
,	O
Xu	B-Application
Shaoyong	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Omnipedia	B-Application
's	O
articles	O
mimic	O
Wikipedia	O
's	O
distinctive	O
formatting	O
and	O
dispassionate	O
tone	O
,	O
complete	O
with	O
images	O
,	O
infoboxes	O
and	O
citations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
can	O
explore	O
Omnipedia	B-Application
through	O
its	O
function	O
to	O
display	O
random	O
articles	O
or	O
by	O
following	O
its	O
extensive	O
hyperlinks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Neurocracy	B-Application
lacks	O
any	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
other	O
than	O
Omnipedia	B-Application
's	O
own	O
and	O
does	O
not	O
log	O
players	O
 '	O
progress	O
in	O
solving	O
its	O
mysteries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviewers	O
have	O
suggested	O
players	O
instead	O
record	O
their	O
deductions	O
in	O
a	O
separate	O
document	O
or	O
join	O
Neurocracys	O
community	O
Discord	B-Application
server	O
to	O
share	O
speculations	O
with	O
other	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
is	O
set	O
in	O
2049	O
where	O
AI	O
technology	O
has	O
advanced	O
considerably	O
;	O
China	O
has	O
supplanted	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
as	O
the	O
global	O
superpower	B-Application
;	O
and	O
the	O
world	O
is	O
still	O
recovering	O
from	O
a	O
pandemic	O
of	O
Cariappa-Muren	O
Disease	O
,	O
a	O
tuna-borne	O
prion	O
illness	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
30	O
September	O
2049	O
,	O
immediately	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
first	O
in-game	O
"	O
day	O
"	O
,	O
Chinese	O
technology	O
billionaire	O
Xu	B-Application
Shaoyong	I-Application
is	O
assassinated	O
in	O
Beijing	O
when	O
his	O
helicopter	O
is	O
shot	O
down	O
by	O
a	O
hacked	O
security	O
drone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Neurocracy	B-Application
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Joannes	O
Truyens	O
and	O
Matei	O
Stanca	O
,	O
who	O
met	O
in	O
the	O
Half-Life	B-Application
modding	O
scene	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
guest	O
writers	O
–	O
Leigh	O
Alexander	O
,	O
Malka	O
Older	O
,	O
Axel	O
Hassen	O
Taiari	O
,	O
and	O
Yudhanjaya	O
Wijeratne	O
–	O
contributed	O
articles	O
for	O
Omnipedia	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stanca	O
was	O
responsible	O
for	O
Omnipedia	B-Application
's	O
technical	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
create	O
Omnipedia	B-Application
,	O
they	O
initially	O
planned	O
to	O
employ	O
MediaWiki	B-Application
,	O
the	O
underlying	O
software	O
of	O
Wikipedia	O
itself	O
–	O
however	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
outside	O
their	O
technical	O
experience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
Omnipedia	B-Application
's	O
software	O
was	O
not	O
required	O
to	O
fully	O
maintain	O
a	O
wiki	B-Protocol
,	O
merely	O
to	O
simulate	O
its	O
appearance	O
,	O
Stanca	O
instead	O
used	O
Drupal	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Truyens	O
has	O
cited	O
the	O
influence	O
of	O
Deus	B-Application
Ex	I-Application
on	O
the	O
worldbuilding	O
of	O
Neurocracy	B-Application
,	O
telling	O
PC	O
Gamer	O
"	O
I	O
soaked	O
up	O
all	O
the	O
attention	O
to	O
detail	O
in	O
its	O
depiction	O
of	O
a	O
grounded	O
future	O
...	O
which	O
made	O
me	O
want	O
to	O
create	O
such	O
a	O
world	O
of	O
my	O
own	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
open-ended	O
nature	O
of	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
80	B-Application
Days	I-Application
and	O
Heaven	B-Application
's	I-Application
Vault	I-Application
inspired	O
the	O
choice	O
to	O
allow	O
players	O
to	O
approach	O
the	O
story	O
from	O
any	O
angle	O
or	O
starting	O
point	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Oscar	O
Westerholm	O
,	O
writing	O
for	O
Sydsvenskan	O
,	O
agreed	O
,	O
especially	O
with	O
regard	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
depiction	O
of	O
disinformation	O
,	O
and	O
noted	O
that	O
Omnipedia	B-Application
's	O
dynamic	O
nature	O
reflects	O
that	O
of	O
information	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
and	O
a	O
changing	O
global	O
society	O
.	O
</s>
