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Where Is The Present (In Your Game)
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<blockquote data-quote="CleverNickName" data-source="post: 4623644" data-attributes="member: 50987"><p>I get the feeling that most of the RPGs out there do not take place in our "present" time...at least, from the point of technology. I'm talking about cars, cmputers, cellular telephones and the Internet, all that.</p><p></p><p>In a lot of games, the "present" time is something that hasn't happened yet. The story unfolds in an alternate history, where the technology is late Iron Age and magic exists. Cars and computers will probably come later, if magic doesn't replace the need for them (or doesn't destroy the world first.) I'd go out on a limb and say that most fantasy RPG games fit this category.</p><p></p><p>And in other games, the "present" time is something that happened long ago...mankind grew in strength and number, and their machines became more and more powerful until a Great War destroyed everything. Now that the earth has been "rebooted," all sorts of mutations and climate changes have taken place and magic has been awakened. Star Wars, Star Frontiers, and other "futuristic" game settings are probably like this, too, but without an apocalypse. There are certain fantasy novels, too, that use this story device (the Shannara series, for example.)</p><p></p><p>But there are some games out there that take place in our present age, but with alternate physics or mythology...magic, monsters, laser cannons, aliens, and so forth all exist, but the general public isn't aware of them. There are plenty of references to this setting in pop culture: Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Men In Black, Spider-Man, etc.</p><p></p><p>So with these thoughts in mind, where does "today" exist in your game? Did all of this happen long ago? Will it all happen far in the future (if it happens at all?) Or do your heroes make regular trips to S-Mart to reload their boomsticks?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CleverNickName, post: 4623644, member: 50987"] I get the feeling that most of the RPGs out there do not take place in our "present" time...at least, from the point of technology. I'm talking about cars, cmputers, cellular telephones and the Internet, all that. In a lot of games, the "present" time is something that hasn't happened yet. The story unfolds in an alternate history, where the technology is late Iron Age and magic exists. Cars and computers will probably come later, if magic doesn't replace the need for them (or doesn't destroy the world first.) I'd go out on a limb and say that most fantasy RPG games fit this category. And in other games, the "present" time is something that happened long ago...mankind grew in strength and number, and their machines became more and more powerful until a Great War destroyed everything. Now that the earth has been "rebooted," all sorts of mutations and climate changes have taken place and magic has been awakened. Star Wars, Star Frontiers, and other "futuristic" game settings are probably like this, too, but without an apocalypse. There are certain fantasy novels, too, that use this story device (the Shannara series, for example.) But there are some games out there that take place in our present age, but with alternate physics or mythology...magic, monsters, laser cannons, aliens, and so forth all exist, but the general public isn't aware of them. There are plenty of references to this setting in pop culture: Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Men In Black, Spider-Man, etc. So with these thoughts in mind, where does "today" exist in your game? Did all of this happen long ago? Will it all happen far in the future (if it happens at all?) Or do your heroes make regular trips to S-Mart to reload their boomsticks? [/QUOTE]
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