History of the Multiverse, Part 1

[Endoperez]

HoneyBadger said:
I think you'd be surprised at how much depth a few committed (read: crazy) fans could come up with, were they unleashed.

I've seen some of that in various contexts. It could happen, but only if it was organized - and what you suggested wasn't organized. You hoped everyone would act together to create a better world, and that never works out.

I don't think a movie could happen, any more than a novel. But while you're thinking of a short story, I'm thinking of an animation of few minutes. Something like a really crappy game trailer or cutscene.

[HoneyBadger]

I was hoping, but yes, I agree with you. It does need organization, which is why I started with a set of rules, just to lay out an outline of what I felt would be appropriate.

I'm not quite to the point of short stories, I had in mind just a basic timeline, and then adding to that until it reached a saturation point of information, at which time
it could lead to/inspire the writing of short stories, as a reference.

I think your idea of a cutscene sounds great. You might also consider, if it appeals to you, creating a slideshow/screensaver animation for Dominions. I've always thought that was a good solution to the dullness of having to wait for turns to complete, and a good enough example might inspire the devs to include it in some form or another-it's something I'd like to do myself, but I don't have a scanner, and I can't do good enough artwork with paint programs and a mouse.

[HoneyBadger]

I was referring to the other Johan, Johan.

But...I do agree with you, in part. I like things to be ambiguous, vague, surreal even. BUT...NOT pitch black.

There's a whole lot of material that can be added, and background information suppliments the imagination.

To use Tolkien for example-tons of background on every aspect of Middle Earth, and yet, it still inspired hundreds of thousands of people to imagine, and a respectable percentage of those to create their own universes in that same model.

You can't convince me that happened because their imaginations were being stunted by Tolkien's encyclopedic background.

And with Dominions, you can offer atleast 50 or 60 different perspectives, one for each nation, on the objective history. Probably a lot more than that, and each one relatively valid.