WTF: What's the Future is a choose-your-own-future* immersive art experience and independent online game, produced by UnderBelly Creative + Collective, intended to reimagine what a digital festival can be.

WTF was conceived shortly after the 2020's Covid-19 Pandemic began; Olivia Wisden (UnderBelly's CEO) and Sarah Akawa (Organizer of Hot Summer Gays and queer.IRL, and DJs as Saint Saunter), both powerhouses in Madison and Milwaukee events, wanted to challenge the "online event" after a month or so of seeing in-person-intended markets and shows move to Facebook or Discord unsuccessfully. 

The idea started as a choose-your-own-future* game commenting on the current events, so they teamed together an illustrator and a musician to write and create one Utopian future and one Dystopian future for the attendees to experience. The rest is history!

While this was originally a paid event that gave you some incredible physical goodies, we are now providing you a link to the game for free! Please follow the recommended browser settings below and immerse yourself in the future of your choice!

* Fun fact, we legally can't say "adventure" as we got a cease-and-desist letter--but it's something we share with Netflix!

Recommended Settings: 

• Please use Google Chrome as WTF does not play audio on Safari.
• Please play on your laptops/computers only, we did not intend for this to be played on your smartphone. (Maybe in the future!)  
• Please Full Screen your window to experience the best quality image (having the window small can "smoosh" the illustrations awkwardly).
• Please move forward in the story, do not press the back button on your browser. This causes the audio loop to glitch and we worked really hard to make the audio something special.
• Note: There are back buttons in-game for you to retrace your steps. You will also be able to play multiple different paths, so don't worry!
• Try wearing headphones for full immersion!

Fun Extras for Participants:

• WTF Discord: When WTF first went live, the event was August 28 - August 30, 2020 and participants were encouraged to join us on Discord for discussions and live chats. You can still go there and chat with all of us (it is still being checked!) or view old discussions!
• Districts Spotify Playlist: This is the official Dystopian Spotify playlist, titled The Districts because (at the time) we were being secretive about the Utopia/Dystopia theme!
• Companions Spotify Playlist: And this is the official Utopian Spotify playlist, similarly titled Companions as to not give away the surprise!

WTF Credits & Publicity:

• T.L. Luke - Illustrator and Writer of Dystopia
• Dudley Noon - Musician of Dystopia
• Araceli Zuniga - Illustrator and Writer of Utopia
• Maggie Cousin - Musician of Utopia
• UnderBelly Team - Olivia Wisden (CEO), Elizabeth Wisden (Art Director), Sarah Akawa (Creative Director)
• Jordan Ellerman - Lead Coder and Sound Director, basically put together all the elements and made it a game. We bow to Jordan. 

And you can read a little more about WTF:

• "With virtual festival, UnderBelly aims to take attendees to another world - at home", The Capital Times, August 18 2020
• "ONLINE: WTF: What's the Future", Isthmus, August 28, 2020

And finally, THE GAME: 

Please click the link below and it will open in a new window. Remember, you can always play through different paths (there are many endings), take your time, and have fun! (Tip: Not sure what to do? Move your mouse around the image and try clicking on things that glow yellow.) 

Click Here to Play WTF: What's the Future!