The british empire survives and thrives through having the technology, and thrives, they define fashion disproportionately, and manners, we can meditate on colonialism, manifest destiny, oppressed peoples,
[17:31] <DoctorXanadu> there are other empires in existence
[17:31] <DoctorXanadu> but the world mimics the fashions of europe broadly
[17:31] <Venae_Rell1> I was blathering about it earlier, maybe I made more sense then.
[17:31] <Kieve> Imperialism's second wind then
[17:32] <Venae_Rell1> For steampunk, it's about the triumph (and/or corruption) or humanity.
[17:32] <Venae_Rell1> (01:23:43 PM) Venae_Rell: Even if one is playing a clockwork automaton.
[17:32] <Venae_Rell1> (01:30:37 PM) Venae_Rell: Maybe we should hash up some overall memes for the game, primary swashes of hue that we wish to touch on often and from various perspectives. "The progress (or lack thereof) of humanity and its relations the technology it creates" and that sort of thing.
[17:32] * Venae_Rell (~stacy@unaffiliated/venaerell/x-513562) Quit ( Ping timeout: 276 seconds )
[17:33] <Venae_Rell1> Like with Dragon Age, it's about the heroism of one person working to change the course of events, and the awful choices they sometimes have to make.
[17:33] * Venae_Rell1 is now known as Venae_Rell
[17:33] <DoctorXanadu> I like the premise of guns germs and steel, as well as other memes of technodeterminism to run through the content
[17:34] * Venae_Rell cried for the werewolf lady in the forest.
[17:34] <DoctorXanadu> I like the tone overall to be one of conflict of interest being the cause of trouble rather than good or evil
[17:34] <DoctorXanadu> :)
[17:35] <DoctorXanadu> she was cool
[17:35] <Kieve> No spoilers
[17:35] <DoctorXanadu> anyway is what I am saying helping?
[17:35] <Kieve> :( never finished DA
[17:35] <DoctorXanadu> specifically with your questions Venae_Rell?
[17:35] <Venae_Rell> Those two are like subcomponents of it.
[17:35] <Venae_Rell> I guess what's the human part of it, and what's the primary focus of that?
[17:36] <DoctorXanadu> Romantic Poetry of course
[17:36] <DoctorXanadu> :)
[17:36] <Kieve> Facing the unknown again?
[17:36] <Venae_Rell> Not something we need answered right away, but it will be good to know when debating the merits of other options.
[17:36] <Venae_Rell> Poetry again.
[17:36] <Venae_Rell> Did you get to see the versino of Ada Lovelace in 2d goggles?
[17:36] <Venae_Rell> version*
[17:36] <Kieve> Earth explored, eyes turn to the stars, but leaving earth won't make people any less human
[17:36] <Venae_Rell> Poetry is her nemesis.
[17:37] <Venae_Rell> All right.
[17:37] <Venae_Rell> So maybe more the common humanity in all its foibles and idosyncrasies rather than the 'destiny of humankind' and such.
[17:38] <Kieve> I read a short story the other day - "The Machine" I think it was. Earth was an apocalyptic mess and everyone lived in an underground hive run by "The Machine"
[17:38] <Kieve> every need met, every want and desire satisfied from the comfort of an armchair in a room
[17:38] <Kieve> ...and then, entropy takes its course, the Machine breaks down, and nobody knows what to do - so they all die.
[17:39] <Venae_Rell> Squeesh.
[17:39] <Kieve> If you want a human angle, I'd say it's the conflict of desire between our want of technology, and our reliance on it
[17:41] <Kieve> or, more broadly, the scope of human desires (to expand, thrive, advance)
[17:43] <Venae_Rell> Comfort and security.
[17:43] <DoctorXanadu> we're going to eventually want the player to be able to choose venusian, and there is conflict embedded there also, and a whole culture to develop
[17:43] <DoctorXanadu> that's what I mean by romantic ideals Venae_Rell, ditch the term poetry, go with striving for the future, yearning for the past. In a world of smoke and steam and noise there's a longing for fields and trees and flowers.
[17:43] <DoctorXanadu> we can also produce conflicts based on the rights of AI
[17:43] <Venae_Rell> See, that's something we can stick on the site to offer emotional hooks.
[17:43] <DoctorXanadu> the possible replacement of mankind
[17:44] <Venae_Rell> Do we want AI, and if so, with what sort of parameters? That can be another tech voting thingy.
[17:44] <DoctorXanadu> yes
[17:44] <Venae_Rell> How does one add the voteythingy?
[17:44] <Kieve> AI would be playable steambots, IMO
[17:44] <DoctorXanadu> you add the question then klick the widge and it pops in
[17:45] <DoctorXanadu> Kieve that's possible
[17:45] <Kieve> What I mean is, you can't really have one without the other
[17:45] <DoctorXanadu> let me say that our focus on humans at first is to be able to take advantage of what ps doesn't
[17:45] <Venae_Rell> Well, in the tech wave we were discussing supercomputers being the size of several city blocks, and being super more in impressive build than capability.
[17:45] <DoctorXanadu> few models
[17:45] <DoctorXanadu> many animations
[17:45] <DoctorXanadu> many faces
[17:45] <DoctorXanadu> many clothes
[17:45] <DoctorXanadu> many colors
[17:45] <DoctorXanadu> many hieghts and weights
[17:45] <DoctorXanadu> etc
[17:45] <DoctorXanadu> that's not to say robots can't be done
[17:46] <DoctorXanadu> as they don't need all that
[17:46] <DoctorXanadu> :)
[17:46] <Kieve> Venae_Rell, that was my contemplation of Asimov earlier - positronic brains & such
[17:46] <DoctorXanadu> we can't use his terms etc
[17:46] <Venae_Rell> Ah.
[17:46] <DoctorXanadu> his work is still in copyright
[17:46] <Venae_Rell> Use Babbage's analytical engine.
[17:46] <DoctorXanadu> but we can use the concepts
[17:46] <Kieve> The concepts I meant
[17:46] <Venae_Rell> And check Victorian sci-fi for other examples.
[17:47] <DoctorXanadu> we'd prefer it explained as nano versions of lovlace's work I'd think
[17:47] <Kieve> Verne & HG Wells are period, though
[17:47] <DoctorXanadu> lovelace's (remember she doesn't die young in our world)
[17:48] <DoctorXanadu> lovecraftian enemies will probably arrive from another solar system in a later expansion
[17:48] <DoctorXanadu> (kieve should enjoy that)
[17:48] <DoctorXanadu> :)
[17:48] <Kieve> Yay Clthulhu
[17:48] <Venae_Rell> Yey!
[17:49] <DoctorXanadu> anyway robots fine, ai fine, it just depends on if we get the art for it.