Universe Ultimate RPG: Cracking Reality’s Code with Five Game Mechanisms

Have you ever thought that maybe the entire universe is a massive open-world RPG? Not some shallow simulation theory, but a deeper structural correspondence: physical laws correspond to game engines, your choices correspond to branching plots, time advancement corresponds to version updates.

This isn’t sci-fi, it’s serious physics. When we re-examine the universe through the lens of game design, five basic principles emerge clearly: information conservation, energy conservation, entropy direction, free will, and probability mechanisms. Each one finds exact correspondence in familiar games.

Now, let’s begin this journey across the boundary between reality and virtual worlds.

Introduction: How Do You Know You’re Not a Game Character?

In 2018, Detroit: Become Human shocked countless players—not because of its stunning graphics, but because of its enormous plot branching tree. Every dialogue and action branches into new possibilities, ultimately leading to completely different endings. The developers even displayed the complete decision tree at chapter endings, letting you see your choices’ position in the grand narrative.

You stare at those densely packed nodes and connecting lines on screen, suddenly realizing: if some higher-dimensional being is also watching the branching tree of your life?

Don’t rush to say “that’s impossible.” Modern physics gives an answer that’s even more bizarre than you imagine: from a mathematical structure perspective, the universe’s operating method has no essential difference from a well-designed game. Not that there’s a programmer sitting outside the universe writing code, but that the underlying mathematical structure—how information is stored, how energy is conserved, how time unfolds—these mechanisms are astonishingly similar to core game engine logic.

Let’s start with five most basic game mechanisms.

Chapter 1: Save System——Information Conservation Law

1.1 Your Undeletable Saves

Anyone who’s played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild knows that the game auto-saves constantly. You chop down a tree, push a rock, or even just turn around in place—all this information gets recorded. Even if you reload, the “deleted” history hasn’t truly disappeared; it just became an “unchosen branch”.

The information conservation law in physics is exactly the same. From quantum level to cosmic scale, information never truly disappears.

Quantum Saves: Pre-rendered Buffers

Schrödinger’s cat isn’t both dead and alive simultaneously, but the game renders two scenes at once: scenario A where the cat lives and scenario B where the cat dies. Before you open the box (quantum measurement), both scenes wait in the GPU buffer. The instant you open the box, the game selects one scene to load onto the main screen based on probability weights—but the data of the other scene isn’t deleted; it’s compressed and stored in the mathematical structure of the wave function.

This is why quantum entanglement doesn’t violate information conservation. The entangled states of two particles are like a cross-map linked event: when you trigger a switch on map A, the door on map B opens simultaneously. It looks like “superluminal action,” but actually these two events were bound together in the game’s underlying ROM from the beginning.

Classical Saves: Liouville’s Theorem

In classical physics, information conservation manifests as Liouville’s theorem: phase space volume conservation. In game terms: if you imagine game state as a huge state space (each coordinate represents one possible configuration), then state evolution is like water flowing in this space. Liouville’s theorem tells you: the flow can change shape, but total volume never changes.

What does this mean? Every operation you do in the game is reversible—at least mathematically. You shatter a vase; the motion trajectories of the shards contain all the information needed to reassemble the vase. In practice, you can’t do it because the information gets dispersed into astronomically many degrees of freedom. It’s like shattering a save file into trillions of bits and randomly scrambling them—reassembly is theoretically possible, practically impossible.

Cosmic Saves: Black Hole Holographic Principle

Black holes are the universe’s ultimate data centers. You might think things falling into a black hole disappear forever, but Hawking and Susskind proved: the black hole’s event horizon (event horizon) is like a huge hard drive surface; all information falling in gets encoded holographically on it.

It’s like the chunk loading mechanism in Minecraft: when you leave an area, that chunk doesn’t truly delete but gets compressed and stored on the hard drive. Black holes do the same thing—they compress three-dimensional space information and encode it on a two-dimensional surface. The information density changes, but the total amount doesn’t.

1.2 “Deletion” Is Just Re-encoding

When you delete a character in a game, does its data truly disappear? No. The game just marks that memory block as “available,” then overwrites it with new data. But before overwriting, if you use data recovery tools, you can theoretically retrieve it.

Annihilation in physics is the same. When a positron and electron collide and annihilate, they don’t turn into “nothing,” but convert into two photons. Particle count changes, but information is conserved—the polarization, momentum, and energy of the two photons completely encode the states of the original two particles.

Even Landauer’s principle tells us: erasing 1 bit of information must dissipate at least $k_{B}T\ln 2$ of heat. It’s like the CPU heating up when the game cleans cache—deletion isn’t free; its cost is converting information from ordered form to disordered heat form.

Information conservation = saves never truly disappear, only transfer forms.

Chapter 2: Resource Management——Energy Conservation Law

2.1 Locked Game Currency Total

In any well-designed RPG (like The Witcher 3), the currency system has strict conservation laws. You gain gold by killing monsters, but the monsters’ gold comes from the game’s initial resource pool. You buy and sell items, just transferring gold between you and NPCs. The total currency in the entire economic system is determined by initial configuration (unless there’s an inflation bug).

Energy conservation in the physical world is exactly the same. The universe’s total energy was determined by initial conditions at the Big Bang, and hasn’t changed since. Every action of yours—walking, thinking, even breathing—is just energy conversion and transfer between different forms.

Noether’s Theorem: Symmetry = Conservation Laws

Why is energy conserved? Because physical laws don’t change over time. Sounds metaphysical, but it’s clear with a game analogy:

Imagine the game’s combat formula is “attack power × 2” today, suddenly changes to “attack power × 3” tomorrow. What would happen? Your character’s stats would become inconsistent between different save points, crashing the game’s entire balance.

Time translation symmetry of physical laws (laws today and tomorrow are the same) is like a game’s stable version. Noether’s theorem proves: this symmetry is mathematically equivalent to energy conservation. If the universe “patched” and modified physical constants, energy wouldn’t be conserved—and the universe has no patches, so energy is conserved.

Similar correspondences:

• Space translation symmetry → momentum conservation (same physics left and right on the map)
• Rotation symmetry → angular momentum conservation (no essential difference between firing east or west)

2.2 Save Deletion Also Consumes Energy: Landauer’s Principle

The Landauer principle we mentioned has a profound implication: information and energy are equivalent.

In games, when you clear a large save file, the hard drive and CPU consume electricity and generate heat. This isn’t device quality issues, but the inevitable requirement of the second law of thermodynamics. Landauer proved in 1961: the minimum energy cost to erase 1 bit of information is $k_{B}T\ln 2\approx 3\times 10^{-21}$ joules (at room temperature).

In other words:

• Creating information can be reversible (no energy cost)
• Copying information can be reversible
• But deleting information must be irreversible (must cost energy)

That’s why your computer fan spins when deleting files. This is also why Maxwell’s demon (the little demon who could violate the second law of thermodynamics in theory) actually can’t—their “memory erasure” step offsets all gained energy.

Energy conservation = game currency total constant, consumption and acquisition forever balanced.

Chapter 3: Version Updates——Entropy Increase Direction and Infinite Expansion

This is the most misunderstood chapter. Many popular science articles say entropy increase means “universe heading toward heat death” like server shutdown, game over. Completely wrong.

Entropy increase isn’t game over, but infinite map expansion.

3.1 Prohibited Misleading Analogies

First, clarify these statements are all wrong:

• ❌ “Entropy increase = game heading toward ending”
• ❌ “Heat death = server shutdown”
• ❌ “Universe energy depletion = game over”
• ❌ “Save space full”

3.2 Correct Analogy: Never-Shutting MMO

Imagine World of Warcraft, which has stayed operational for 19 years. How does it maintain vitality?

1. Constantly expanding maps: Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, Mists of Pandaria… each version expands the map area exponentially.

2. Rising level caps: 60 → 70 → 80 → 90 → 100 → 120… the concept of “max level” is constantly redefined.

3. New resource cycles: Each version introduces new currencies, new gear, new dungeons. Old content becomes “historical zones,” but doesn’t disappear.

This is the universe’s entropy increase mechanism.

3.3 Universe Expansion = Map Expansion

Our universe is accelerating expansion. According to current observations:

$$V(t)\sim e^{3H_{0}t}$$

Universe volume grows exponentially with time. It’s like No Man’s Sky’s procedurally generated universe—18 quintillion ($1.8\times 10^{19}$) planets you can never fully explore.

Meanwhile, the theoretical entropy upper limit also grows:

$$S_{\max }(t)\sim e^{2H_{0}t}$$

Note this exponent is almost the same as volume. What does this mean?

3.4 Attractor Dynamics: Never-Catch-Up Version Updates

This is the key insight. Let’s define “chaos degree filling rate”:

$$\text{Filling rate}=\frac{\text{Current entropy }S(t)}{\text{Theoretical upper limit }{S}_{\max }(t)}$$

If the universe really heads toward “heat death,” this ratio should approach 100% right?

Wrong. Calculations show this ratio will approach a stable value $s_{\infty }<1$, possibly between 60%-80%.

In game terms it’s clear:

Your gear score increases, but the version upper limit increases faster. The absolute gap expands (from 200 to 1600), but the ratio stays stable.

This is attractor dynamics. The system gets “attracted” to a certain proportion, not a certain absolute value.

3.5 Why “Heat Death” Is Misleading

“Heat death” implies an end state. But in an expanding universe:

1. Energy density $\rho$ approaches constant ${\rho }_{\infty }$ (dark energy dominated)
2. Total energy $E=\rho V$ grows with volume
3. Entropy density $s$ approaches constant $s_{\infty }$
4. Total entropy $S=sV$ grows with volume

This isn’t “death,” it’s “steady-state expansion.” Like Minecraft:

• Unit volume resource density is fixed (e.g., average 3 diamonds per chunk)
• But map can generate infinitely
• So total resources are infinite

3.6 Never-Ending Open World

The correct analogy is these games:

1. Minecraft: Procedurally generated infinite map, you can never reach the boundary. The farther you go, the faster the map generates (because circumference proportional to radius).

2. No Man’s Sky: 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 planets ($2^{64}$). Even if you visit one per second, it would take 585 billion years to explore all.

3. EVE Online: Operational for 20 years, world self-evolving, no “completion” concept.

4. World of Warcraft expansion pack mode:

   • Burning Crusade (level 70) → Wrath of the Lich King (level 80) → Mists of Pandaria (level 90)
   • Each time upper limit increases, old content becomes “low-level zones” but doesn’t disappear
   • Player group’s average level chases the upper limit, but the upper limit also increases

3.7 Infinite Gap Theorem

One final key point. Define “gap”:

$$\text{Gap}(t)=S_{\max }(t)-S(t)$$

In accelerating expansion universe, it can be proven:

$$\underset{t\to \infty }{\lim }\text{Gap}(t)=+\infty$$

The gap is divergent. This means “remaining space” never runs out.

Game analogy: Although your level increases, the gap to “true max level” actually grows larger—because the max level definition itself keeps inflating.

Entropy increase = chasing never-stopping version updates, map forever expanding ahead of you.

Chapter 4: Plot Branches——Free Will’s Dual Conditions

This is the most subtle and easily confused part. Many people think:

• If the universe is deterministic, there’s no free will
• If there’s free will, it must violate physical laws

Neither is right. True free will requires both conditions satisfied simultaneously, neither can be missing.

4.1 Preliminary Knowledge: Static Blocks and Eternal Graphs

First understand the universe’s underlying structure. According to EBOC theory (Eternal-Block Observer-Computing), the universe isn’t “dynamically evolving,” but a “static block”—like game ROM.

Static block $X_f$ = game’s complete data file

Imagine Detroit: Become Human’s game disc. This disc contains:

• All possible plot branches
• All possible dialogue options
• All possible endings

These contents were completely determined when the game was released. Your “choices” during play are just navigation in this pre-existing possibility space.

Eternal graph $G=(V,E)$ = complete flowchart

• Vertices $V$ = plot nodes (scenes, dialogues, events)
• Edges $E$ = allowed transitions (option A can lead to consequence B)

This is the enormous branching tree you see in the menu after completion. This tree was drawn during game design and won’t change because of your play.

4.2 Redefinition of Time

Traditional view: time is absolute flow, from past to future.

EBOC view: time is your current position marker on the eternal graph.

Example: Detroit: Become Human’s chapter 3

• You see a branch point: [A] Rush in to save / [B] Surround building / [C] Call for backup
• These three options correspond to three edges on the eternal graph, pointing to three different subsequent nodes
• You press button to choose A, equivalent to your “time pointer” moving along edge A to the next node
• But edges B and C haven’t disappeared; they still exist on the eternal graph, just not taken by you

Time isn’t flow, it’s navigation.

4.3 Condition One: Out-degree ${\mathrm{deg}}^{+}(v)>1$ (Branches Truly Exist)

Definition: In graph theory, a vertex’s out-degree is the number of edges going out from it.

On eternal graph:

• ${\mathrm{deg}}^{+}(v)=1$ → linear plot, no choice
• ${\mathrm{deg}}^{+}(v)>1$ → multi-branch, choice space

Game examples:

Truly branched (${\mathrm{deg}}^{+}>1$): Fallout: New Vegas’ House ending choice:

[Rescue hostage] node (deg⁺ = 3)
├─→ Option A: Assault → hostage survives, criminal escapes (subsequent deg⁺ = 2)
├─→ Option B: Negotiate → hostage dies, criminal caught (subsequent deg⁺ = 2)
└─→ Option C: Snipe → hostage survives, criminal dies (subsequent deg⁺ = 3)

False branches (${\mathrm{deg}}^{+}=1$): Many “choices” in The Last of Us:

[Whether to save Ellie] node (deg⁺ = 1)
└─→ Only option: Save her → fixed ending

Although the game gives dialogue options, actually only one plot path exists. This is disguised linear narrative.

Why physical world’s ${\mathrm{deg}}^{+}$ is huge?

In quantum mechanics, Hilbert space dimension is exponential:

$$\dim \mathcal{H}=2^N$$

Where $N$ is the number of degrees of freedom (e.g., particle count). For macroscopic objects:

• A cup of water: $N\sim 10^{24}$ molecules → ${\mathrm{deg}}^{+}\sim 2^{10^{24}}$
• Your brain: $N\sim 10^{11}$ neurons → ${\mathrm{deg}}^{+}\sim 2^{10^{11}}$

These are astronomical numbers among astronomical numbers. At every moment, the universe has incomprehensibly many branches extending on the eternal graph.

4.4 Condition Two: RBIT (You Can’t Predict What You’ll Choose)

But! Having multiple branches isn’t enough. Imagine this situation:

Exam question: 1 + 1 = ?
Options:
[A] 2  ✓
[B] 3
[C] 5
[D] 7

Formally there are four options (${\mathrm{deg}}^{+}=4$), but you know the answer is A. This isn’t true “choice”.

Resource-Bounded Incompleteness Theory (RBIT) tells us: if a system wants to predict its own future choices, the computational resources needed will exceed the system’s own capacity.

Mathematical statement: Set $L$ as your cognitive resources (e.g., calculation steps your brain can run). RBIT proves: there exists proposition $G_L$, such that:

1. $G_L$ is true in standard model (objective reality)
2. But you can’t prove $G_L$ within resources $L$

Applied to self-prediction: Suppose you want to predict “what will I choose in 10 seconds, A or B”

• To predict, you need to simulate your decision process
• But the simulation process itself is also part of the decision process (recursive)
• Complete simulation requires $L^{\prime }>L$ resources
• Contradiction: you can’t complete a task requiring $L^{\prime }$ resources using $L$ resources

Game analogy:

Situations violating RBIT (no true choice):

• Save scumming in The Witcher 3: You save, try option A, see bad results, reload and choose B. You know all branch consequences in advance, “choice” becomes optimization problem.

Situations satisfying RBIT (true choice):

• Ironman mode (XCOM): Ironman mode prohibits reloading. You must bear choice consequences, unable to “spoil” your future.
• First playthrough: First time playing Fallout 4, you don’t know consequences of helping which faction will lead to what ending. Choices at this time are genuine.

4.5 Dual Conditions Formula: True Free Will

$$\boxed{\text{Free will}⟺{\mathrm{deg}}^{+}(v)>1\wedge \text{RBIT}}$$

In natural language:

You have free will if and only if:

1. Branches truly exist (eternal graph really has multiple edges)
2. You can’t predict what you’ll choose (RBIT limits self-prediction)

Comparison table:

4.6 Why Determinism and Free Will Are Compatible?

This is the most profound insight in this chapter.

Determinism says: the eternal graph is fixed, all branches pre-exist. Free will says: you can’t predict which branch you’ll take.

These two aren’t contradictory!

Analogy:

• Eternal graph = Detroit: Become Human game disc
• Disc content fixed (determinism)
• But during first playthrough, you don’t know where choices lead (free will)

Observer perspective differences:

4.7 Case Analysis: Fallout 4’s Faction Choices

By mid-to-late game, you must choose which faction to help:

[Battle eve] node (deg⁺ = 4)
├─→ Brotherhood of Steel → Institute destroyed, tech control
├─→ Railroad → Institute destroyed, synth freedom
├─→ Institute → Institute rules, surface chaos
└─→ Minutemen → Institute destroyed, militia autonomy

Condition 1: ${\mathrm{deg}}^{+}=4$, true four path branches. Condition 2: First playthrough, you don’t know complete consequences of each path (RBIT satisfied).

Therefore, this is a true free choice.

But if you:

• Look at guides (violates RBIT)
• Save scum through each path (violates RBIT)

Then this choice degrades to “optimization problem” rather than “free will”.

4.8 Neuroscience Perspective

Your brain has about $10^{11}$ neurons, each with ~$10^4$ connections. Possible neural states:

$${\mathrm{deg}}^{+}\sim 10^{10^{15}}$$

This is a number with 1 followed by 10 trillion zeros.

Meanwhile, your cognitive resources (working memory, computational ability) are limited. RBIT guarantees: you can never fully predict this exponential space’s evolution with limited resources.

Your free will is rooted in this combinatorial explosion.

Chapter 5: Drop Mechanisms——Essence of Probability

5.1 “True Randomness” Doesn’t Exist

When you grind for a night in Diablo, the orange legendary finally drops. Is this “random”?

No, this is pseudorandom. The game uses a seed (seed) to generate seemingly random sequences:

seed = 1234567  # Fixed initial value
random.seed(seed)
drop_rate = 0.01  # 1% drop rate
for monster in killed_monsters:
    if random.random() < drop_rate:
        drop_legendary_item()

As long as seed is the same, drop sequence is completely deterministic. You think “random” only because you don’t know the seed value.

Physical world’s probability mechanism is the same.

5.2 Quantum “Randomness”: Spawn Point Allocation

In Fortnite’s 100-player battle royale, where do you spawn on the map? Seems random, but actually determined by:

• Your account ID (hash value)
• Game start timestamp
• Server load balancing algorithm

To you it’s “random,” to the server it’s deterministic algorithm.

Quantum measurement is the same. Wave function collapse follows Born’s rule:

$$P(\text{Result}=a_i)=|⟨a_i|\psi ⟩{|}^2$$

Looks probabilistic, but if you know the complete wave function $\psi$ and measurement basis $\{|a_i⟩\}$, this probability is precisely determined. You don’t know $\psi$ (because measurement changes it), so to you it’s “random”.

5.3 Crit Judgment: Chaos Sensitivity

In League of Legends, some heroes have crit mechanics. Superficially 25% crit chance, actually the game uses “pseudorandom distribution” algorithm, avoiding extreme cases of consecutive no-crits or consecutive crits.

Chaotic systems in physics are similar. Consider a simple double pendulum:

• Initial angle difference 0.0001°
• After 10 seconds, two pendulums can be in completely different positions

This isn’t “true random,” but extreme sensitivity to initial conditions. You can’t measure to infinite precision, so prediction fails, showing “randomness”.

5.4 Deep Truths of Drop Rate Systems

Many games’ (especially gacha games) “pity system” reveals probability’s essence:

1st pull: 1% chance for SSR
2nd pull: 2% chance for SSR
3rd pull: 3% chance for SSR
...
90th pull: 90% chance for SSR (or direct pity)

This isn’t independent Bernoulli trials, but a deterministic state machine:

State = {pull count, history record}
if pull count >= 90:
    Guarantee SSR drop
    Reset counter
else:
    Probability = f(pull count, history record)

Universe’s “randomness” may also be similar hidden state machines. The probability distributions we see are actually projections of deterministic rules in unobservable dimensions.

5.5 Information Limitation Causes Probability

One final key point: probability often stems from information incompleteness, not ontological indeterminacy.

Example 1: Classical dice

• If you know the die’s initial position, velocity, angular velocity, air resistance, table friction… you can predict result with Newtonian mechanics precisely
• You don’t know, so use probability 1/6

Example 2: Crypto mining

• Block mining “probability” is actually deterministic hash calculation
• Seems random because you can’t predict hash values (unless brute force enumeration)

Example 3: Quantum measurement

• Born’s rule gives probability distribution
• But if you know the complete universe wave function (including measuring device, environment, observer), everything is unitary evolution (deterministic)
• You don’t know these, so you see “collapse”

Probability = uncertainty when extrapolating global state from limited information.

Chapter 6: Ultimate Revelation——You Are Both Player and NPC

6.1 Multi-layered Nested Observers

In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, you’re the player. But in the game plot, you’re playing as the “Dragonborn.” From in-game NPCs’ perspective, the Dragonborn is their “god” (because Dragonborn decides their fates).

Analogy to reality:

• God perspective (physical laws, eternal graph) = game source code
• Your perspective (observation, choice) = game character
• Perspective of cells in your body = particle effects in game

Each level thinks they’re “choosing,” each level is right—because RBIT guarantees each level can’t predict their own future.

6.2 No Completion Exists, Only Continuous Play

Remember chapter 3’s entropy increase? Universe has no “game over” state.

This isn’t a bug, it’s design feature.

Best games are like this:

• Minecraft: No “completion,” only continuous creation
• Civilization series: Victory by science, culture, conquest… but you can choose “one more turn”
• Animal Crossing: Never ending, only continuous daily life

Universe is the ultimate “perpetual game.”

6.3 Fractal Structure of Plot Trees

Detroit: Become Human’s plot tree has about 5000 nodes. Sounds a lot?

How many nodes in your life’s plot tree?

Assuming:

• 100 meaningful choices per day
• Average 3 options per choice
• Live 80 years

Total nodes:

$$N\sim 100\times 365\times 80\times 3^{100\times 365\times 80}$$

This is an unimaginable number. And this is only classical level—considering quantum branches, the number becomes:

$$N_{\text{quantum}}\sim 2^{10^{26}}$$

Your life’s plot tree is more complex than all games combined.

6.4 Asymmetry of Save/Load

In most games:

• Save (save) is easy
• Load (load) is easy
• But forward progress is irreversible (unless load)

Real world:

• “Save” corresponds to information recording (memory, photos, writing)
• “Load” doesn’t exist (you can’t really go back to the past)
• Forward progress is mandatory (time arrow)

This asymmetry comes from entropy increase irreversibility— you can record information (ordered state), but can’t perfectly reconstruct the past (environmental entropy increase irreversible).

But in eternal graph perspective, all moments exist simultaneously. You can’t “load” just because your consciousness is restricted to a specific graph path.

6.5 Why Observation Affects Results?

In games, lazy loading is resource optimization.

In quantum, measurement is high-cost operation (Landauer’s principle), requiring “selective rendering.”

Observation isn’t spooky action at a distance, it’s information cost.

Chapter 7: Easter Eggs——Game Solutions to Classic Paradoxes

7.1 Double-Slit Experiment = Lazy Loading Mechanism

Paradox: Photon “simultaneously” passes through both slits, but detection shows only one.

Game solution:

Many open-world games use “lazy loading” (lazy loading):

• Areas you don’t look at, game doesn’t render details
• You turn to look, game loads that area
• Not cheating, resource optimization

Quantum system does the same:

• Photon not measured, in superposition (both paths in GPU buffer)
• Measured, system “loads” one path to main screen (wave collapse)
• Other path hasn’t disappeared, just not loaded (still in wave function)

Why does observation affect results? Because observation itself is high-cost operation (Landauer’s principle), must “selectively render”.

7.2 Bell’s Inequality = Global State Synchronization

Paradox: Two distant particles, measuring one instantly affects the other, seemingly faster-than-light communication.

Game solution:

In online games:

• You trigger switch on map A
• Door on map B opens simultaneously
• Not signal from A to B, but server global state update

Quantum entanglement does the same:

• Two entangled particles share single global state (single wave function)
• Measuring one particle, server (universe) updates global state
• Other particle’s state “instantly” determined because they were bound together from the start

Why can’t it be used for communication? Because you can’t control measurement results. Like you trigger switch but door opens or closes by server’s random number generator, you can’t send information.

7.3 Grandfather Paradox = Save Consistency Protection

Paradox: Go back to kill grandfather, leads to you not existing, contradiction.

Game solution:

Good game engines have “save consistency checks”:

• You can’t load a save incompatible with current state
• In Zelda, certain events triggered, old saves marked “incompatible”

If time travel possible, universe would do the same:

• Eternal graph only contains self-consistent paths
• Paths causing contradiction hard-coded excluded (topological constraints)
• You can never enter “kill grandfather” branch because that edge doesn’t exist on the graph

7.4 Schrödinger’s Cat = Unconfirmed Game State

Paradox: Cat both dead and alive?

Game solution:

In Civilization’s “fog of war,” enemy units in uncertainty state:

• Could be at position A, could be at position B
• Until you send scouts to confirm, game doesn’t “decide” position
• After confirmation, state collapses to definite value

Schrödinger’s cat is the same:

• Box not opened, system in superposition (both possibilities in wave function)
• Open box (measurement), system collapses to eigenstate
• Not cat “both dead and alive,” but “dead” and “alive” branches both exist on eternal graph, your measurement decides which branch you enter

7.5 Entropy Increase = Infinite Expansion Open World (Revised Edition)

Wrong saying: Entropy increase leads to universe heat death, everything ends.

Correct understanding:

Entropy increase is like World of Warcraft’s continuous operation:

• Burning Crusade (TBC) → map expansion, level cap 70
• Wrath of the Lich King (WOTLK) → map expansion, level cap 80
• Mists of Pandaria (MOP) → expansion continues, level cap 90
• ……

Key indicators:

$$\begin{array}{rl}\text{Map volume}& :V(t)\sim e^{3H_{0}t}\\ \text{Level cap}& :S_{\max }(t)\sim e^{2H_{0}t}\\ \text{Average level density}& :s(t)=\frac{S(t)}{V(t)}\to s_{\infty }\\ \text{Gap}& :S_{\max }(t)-S(t)\to \infty \end{array}$$

Conclusion:

• Player levels rise (entropy increase)
• Level caps rise faster (universe expansion)
• Gap always positive (infinite new content)
• Game never ends (entropy unbounded)

This is the correct entropy increase picture: not heading toward death, but chasing eternal expansion boundaries.

Epilogue: You Are This Game

Reading this far, you might ask: then who is the player? Who is the designer?

The answer is mind-bending: no external player, only the game itself.

Universe isn’t like The Sims, with a player sitting at computer controlling. Universe is more like Conway’s Game of Life—a self-running cellular automaton:

• Simple rules (physical laws)
• Initial state given (Big Bang)
• Then completely self-evolves (no external input)

You aren’t a played character, you’re emergent pattern.

More precisely:

• Basic particles = game’s pixels
• Atoms molecules = game’s basic objects (trees, rocks, water)
• Life = self-replicating game scripts
• Consciousness = subprogram capable of observing the game itself

You are a segment of self-modifying, self-observing code. Your “free will” comes from:

1. Your behavior branches extremely many (${\mathrm{deg}}^{+}\gg 1$)
2. You can’t predict which one you’ll take (RBIT)

Ultimate revelation

Five game mechanisms, five physical laws:

The game you’re playing:

• Map: Observable universe (radius 465 billion light years)
• Resolution: Planck scale ($10^{-35}$ meters)
• Frame rate: Planck time ($10^{-44}$ seconds)
• Player count: ~$10^{80}$ basic particles
• Runtime: 13.8 billion years
• Estimated runtime: ∞ (infinite)
• Completion condition: nonexistent
• Complexity: ${\mathrm{deg}}^{+}\sim 2^{10^{80}}$

Easter egg achievements unlocked

If you understand this article:

• ✓ Achievement: Information Immortalist (understanding eternal saves)
• ✓ Achievement: Energy Conservationist (understanding resource management)
• ✓ Achievement: Entropy Traveler (understanding infinite expansion)
• ✓ Achievement: Branch Freedom (understanding dual conditions)
• ✓ Achievement: Probability Deconstructor (understanding deterministic randomness)
• Hidden achievement: Eternal Graph Navigator (seeing through game essence)

Final choice

You now face a branch:

[A] Treat universe as cold mechanical laws, lose sense of meaning [B] Treat universe as most ingenious game design, full of awe

These two options exist on the eternal graph. Which will you choose?

Remember:

• Eternal graph already contains your choice
• But before choosing, you can’t know what you’ll choose (RBIT)
• Your choice is real (${\mathrm{deg}}^{+}=2$)
• After choosing, it becomes deterministically true retroactively

This is the universe’s ultimate easter egg: your freedom and destiny are simultaneously true at different perspective levels.

Game on.

Appendix: Recommended Game List

If you want to experience the concepts mentioned in person:

Plot Branching Class:

• Detroit: Become Human——Most intuitive eternal graph visualization
• Fallout: New Vegas——Multi-faction multi-ending true choices
• Disco Elysium——Dialogue tree pinnacle

Infinite World Class:

• Minecraft——Procedurally generated infinite maps
• No Man’s Sky——18 quintillion planet universe
• Outer Wilds——Universe exploration with time loops

Continuous Evolution Class:

• World of Warcraft——19-year continuous world
• EVE Online——Self-evolving economic ecology
• Dwarf Fortress——Most complex simulation system

Physics Engine Class:

• Portal 2——Topological space gamification
• Besiege——Rigid body mechanics sandbox
• Kerbal Space Program——Orbital mechanics simulation

Meta-Game Class:

• The Stanley Parable——Deconstruction of free will
• The Beginner’s Guide——Observer vs creator
• INSIDE——Nested control layers

Now, return to your game (life). Remember:

• Every choice matters (high out-degree)
• Every choice is real (RBIT)
• Game never ends (entropy unbounded)
• That’s the beauty

Have fun gaming.