The Shadow of Yesterday design log

[Clinton R. Nixon]

Today, big announcement: the first four chapters of The Shadow of Yesterday are re-written, re-focused, and, in my opinion, much better than before, both in terms of mechanics and writing. In addition, there's a new map of the World of Near for you to check out. Expect to see the rest of the game re-written very soon (by the end of the week), and a new full log entry soon entitled The Origin of Species.

[DaGreatJL]

I have a thematic question for you; in your writing thus far, you seem to have sex and love as being interchangable. Why have you made this choice?

By the way, the game looks really good, and I'd love a chance to playtest it.

JL

[Clinton R. Nixon]

JL,

I'd be interested to know what brought you to your above conclusion. I don't doubt that the text might convey that, as I'm a bit of a romantic, but I didn't mean for it to.

Right now, I'm setting up a chain of species that represent different stages of love and sex, with goblins having only sex and no love (and giving up sex for love, effectively); humans striking the balance with both love and sex, not necessarily together; and elves only having only the most generalized sort of love (non-erotic) and no sex.

[DaGreatJL]

Most of the references you make to 'love' in the text seem to refer to eros, or the love that occurs between two, er, lovers; however, there are other kinds of love, such as agappe, which can best be described as the love between a mother and child. These two aren't the only kinds of love, either. The example that stands out the most is the following quote from the introduction:

You'll notice there's quite a few rules in here that have to do with love and sex, more than in the average role-playing game. I mentioned earlier that this is the game I'd have wanted as a teenager: as one, and even now, I love love and sex.

I don't know, I think that tying them together in this way can detract from the other kinds of love out there, which it also might be fun to explore.

[Clinton R. Nixon]

Ok - I totally get where you're getting this now. That makes perfect sense.

Here's my excuses and explanations:

The system supports other sorts of love, in that the Secret of Love can be applied to any loving relationship, whether friendly, familial, or erotic.

That said, the text does concentrate on erotic love. Why? For starters, I understand that sort of love better - it's much more familiar to me as an author. Second, I think - and this is getting into uncomfortable territory - erotic love is a popular fantasy among gamers.

Lastly, I think it's much more interesting to investigate. Again, this is the author's preferences shining through. Familial love makes sense, and is nearly instinctual. Friendly love kind of happens when you're not looking, and tends to be non-fluctating once it happens. Erotic love is a thunderstorm over a choppy sea, and shifts and changes constantly. I've had women I've fallen in love with while buying a slice of pizza from them, and other women I couldn't stand that I fell in love with nine months later. I've had women I pledged my all to with which love died within a year, and others that I thought were a short-term thing that everyday became more sweet and wonderful.

I should probably make sure to emphasize other forms of love in the game - I do want it to support them. Erotic love'll always come first, though - as the author, I'll make a better game about that than about other forms.

[ethan_greer]

...I think - and this is getting into uncomfortable territory - erotic love is a popular fantasy among gamers.

Change "gamers" in the above sentence to "people" and I think you'll be on the right track.  Advertisers have known this for centuries.  :)

[DaGreatJL]

Okay, that's cool, I know understand where you're coming from.

On a somewhat related note: your writing suggests that 'love' is one of the main things that seperates human, goblins, and elves (or, perhaps, is the main CAUSE of the differences); this is seen in the mechanics as the Key Secrets for elves and goblins where the buy-off is becoming a human (both are in some way connected with notions of love). I am wondering, are there going to be Key Secrets for humans that are also like these, with the buyoffs being becoming a goblin or elf?

JL

[Clinton R. Nixon]

April 9, 2003 Log: On the Origin of (Near) Species

The species (called races in most fantasy RPGs) of The Shadow of Yesterday came to me in much the same way as every other RPG idea I've had: randomly, using while walking down the street. Because of the unstructured nature of my design, I had to spend some time later with my notes weeding out the chaff. Overall, I've been pretty happy - while my original ideas were meant only to subvert normal FRPG tropes, my end design has some unusual aspects that I think will drive interesting stories in the game.

So, here's a quick breakdown of the species:

Old Species - Species that have existed and been known on Near since before the Coming of the Shadow
Humans: Humans are the most populous species of sentient people on Near, and are found anywhere in the world one might look. Their power has waned significantly, though, since the time of Shadow. They are infinitely adaptable, and pick up new things easier than any other species.

Goblins: Goblins live wherever others have deemed too hot, too cold, or too foul. Infinitely adaptable beings, the small wiry things manage to resemble demons, dogs, and men at the same time. Their curiosity drives them into all the forgotten places of the earth, and makes them decent apprentices for just about any job: they catch on quickly, but tend to cause as many accidents as they do help. Their bodies have an ability to evolve to match their environment, and their offspring carry these same characteristic. Left alone, their societies resemble anarchy to any outsider. Most of them do not understand the concept of love: they are poly-sexual, and any mating between them, whether male-male, male-female, or female-female, can generate offspring with only a month-long gestation period. A few goblins have been observed in a bizarre state that resembles love, known only as "the Affliction" in their rough language. These goblins leave their tribe and travel, their only goals to prove their love or die. A goblin has never been observed in love with another goblin, however; they always choose a member of another species as their object of affection.

Elves: No one except elves really understand what they are, or where they're from. To hear them explain it, they are native to another world spiritual above Near but travel from world to world. They exist solely as magical beings that create their own bodies, with an immortal spirit that returns to their home upon their death. Like goblins, they do not generally love, but do not have sexual relations: they view love as a want that debases their personality, as they view all wants. Elves spend most of their time wandering from place to place, rarely settling down for more than a few months. Elves usually take on the appearance of perfect human specimens, but cannot avoid the residual glow that always comes off of their skin from their inherent magic. They can be found nearly anywhere on Near, but are most common in places where humans are concentrated.

New Species - Species that have only existed or been known since the Coming of the Shadow
Ratkin: Ratkin resemble nutria, an enormous rodent, standing on their hind legs with prehensile thumbs. About three to four feet tall, they have pointed button noses, whiskers, and are covered in either grey, brown, or black fur, with the occasional albino all-white ratkin. They are generally untrusted by all other species except goblins, and known as dirty thieves. They live primarily in cities, and apparently only gained sentience during the Time of Shadow.

Vulfen: The Vulfen are a southern race, used to thick forests, deep snow, bitter cold, and wild beasts. They resemble half-men, half-wolves, with thick brown and grey body hair, long snouts, sharp teeth and claws, and sharp ears on top of their head. They are known for their prowess in the wilderness and in battle, and have a reputation of being fiery, vigorous lovers. They do, however, have some problems getting along with other species, as they view others as weak and destructive. They claim to have existed before the Coming of the Shadow, but were not known on Near before then - only when the Southern Sea froze over during the Time of Shadow were they able to travel to the mainland from their frozen continent, Vulfland.

I'm going to concentrate on the Old Species first. I like the fact they do change what you normally think of when you think of goblins and elves, but what thematic meaning do they have?

Well, if you look closely, you see the beginnings of not only a way to change a character's species, but an alignment system. (I can't believe I just said 'alignment system.') Goblins represent social chaos, a society of constant gratification, but no long-term goal or love (which I bring into the game as the major goal.) Elves, their opposite, represent stasis, beings that do not change, do not age, do not die, and do not love. To goblins, love represents something that entraps them and takes them away from chaos, while to elves, love represents something that would break down their order.

Now, later in the game, you find out both goblins and elves can become humans, each through accepting love. Humans represent the great balance - a species with want and pain and misery and, most of all, love, which makes them what they are. Looking at this, you see that goblins are merely unevolved (in the loosest sense of the word 'evolved') humans that have not discovered love, and elves are humans who have become spiritually focused and transcended want and love - which might not be a good thing.

So, what's the theme, then? I have to admit that I can't put it into the normal Premise-question form. It's not "Does love make us human?" because that's pretty much answered in the game. To put it into a sentence, "Love does make us human."

Now, to the New Species. I'll admit these aren't as thematically interesting. I did think for a while about trying to portray Vulfen as a very pack-based species and Ratkin as extreme loners, adding a new axis of social structure to the species-alignment metaphor. ("I'm a lawful alpha male!") I might still do this, but feel some reservation, as rats really are social creatures, and I go against that by making them into loners, which I know will turn some people off. It does create the nice visual effect of making being an "elf" into more of a state of mind than a species, as there would be vulfen and ratkin elves as well.

What I do like about the New Species, and why they're there, is that they're very colorful and fun. Wolf-people and rat-people are two ideas not terribly well done in FRPGs, and I'd like to try my hand at them. (You'll note two early games of mine, ImPound and Vermin, started to explore this territory.)

Anyway, that's the sentient species of The Shadow of Yesterday. Feel free to ask questions or make comments.

[Jared A. Sorensen]

Now, to the New Species. I'll admit these aren't as thematically interesting. I did think for a while about trying to portray Vulfen as a very pack-based species and Ratkin as extreme loners, adding a new axis of social structure to the species-alignment metaphor. ("I'm a lawful alpha male!") I might still do this, but feel some reservation, as rats really are social creatures, and I go against that by making them into loners, which I know will turn some people off. It does create the nice visual effect of making being an "elf" into more of a state of mind than a species, as there would be vulfen and ratkin elves as well.

Vulfen having a rigid, hierarchal social structure makes a lot of sense.

For the Ratkin, why not go the other direction (re: group dynamics)? The Ratkin swarms have no discernible leadership or social boundries. The strongest get the most food and the best mates but othjerwise it's every rat-for-himself (so you get the social aspect along with the selfish loner aspect). Plus the color imagery of a horde of Ratkins climbing all over one another/sleeping in a big knot in some stinky den.

- J

[Clinton R. Nixon]

Jared,

How do you stay full of good ideas, man? It's amazing.

Anyway, that's some great thoughts, with Vulfen having an extremely caste-like hierachy, and Ratkin taking some notes from GURPS Goblins and being surly, every-man-for-himself beasts which manage to cooperate as a group, but usually only when they have a common enemy. And writing up the Vulfen hierachy could be a lot of fun.

[Valamir]

Pretty funny, I was just about to post something along those lines, when I read farther down and discovered Jared beat me to it.  The only thing left from my post that he didn't already cover better than I, is that you would probably want to to tone down the "looks like anarchy to an outsider" part of goblin culture, to more clearly emphasize the anarchy of the ratkin.

Related to that, I think goblin culture would be thematically stronger if you shifted the emphasis a bit.  Right now I'm not seeing a clear difference between Goblin and Elf.  The both seem pretty oblivious to love, just the elfs engage in abstinence while the Goblins are fornicators.

Maybe I'm off the rail a little here, but it would be stronger for me if they were more clearly opposites.  Elves being "above" love (in which case the story of an elvish character becomeing human, sort of parallels Spock).  Goblins then, in my view, should love everything.  They sort of do now, but from your text it seems more casual.  I'm seeing it as being more of a universal emotional bond.  

I'm not sure that's making sense...let me try this.

Love for a human is about feeling that special powerful unifying bond with another individual.  For Goblins...this is totally alien...how can you have a bond like that with just a specific individual...goblin relationships are more communal.  For Elves it is alien because they don't have a bond like that at all.

So the difference becomes Elves love no one....humans have a "soul mate"...goblin love is communal.

[Jared A. Sorensen]

Jared,

How do you stay full of good ideas, man? It's amazing.

Anyway, that's some great thoughts, with Vulfen having an extremely caste-like hierachy, and Ratkin taking some notes from GURPS Goblins and being surly, every-man-for-himself beasts which manage to cooperate as a group, but usually only when they have a common enemy. And writing up the Vulfen hierachy could be a lot of fun.

Well, it would explain why the Ratkin are prone to becoming thieves (it's not yours if I can thwak it, to paraphrase John Wick) and why they would want to travel with non-Ratkin (they get lonely easily because they're used to being surrounded -- literally -- by their extended families).

Awwww...cute.

- J

[DaGreatJL]

Three questions, one I asked before but got missed;

1. Will humans have key secrets that have a buyoff of becoming either a goblin or an elf, ie if they can find balance, can a human find imbalance?

2. Do you intend to explore the reasons why ratkin gained sentience after the Shadow? Is the there a specific and important secret behind this, or is it is simply something 'that happened'?

3. Will the vulfen and ratkin be portrayed as seperate from in their emotional/philisophical makeup? After all, both races are anthropomorphic animals; in their heart and soul, are they more man, or more beast?

[Clinton R. Nixon]

Humans will have a way to become elves, to be certain, which will be handled with a Key Secret. Given the discussion with Jared and Ralph, I think ratkin and vulfen may, as well.

Becoming a goblin - well, I'm torn on this one. I actually can't think of a good way for it to happen.

Re: Ratkin and sentience

I probably won't explore this in great detail. Here's the quick reason they did, though: with the population of humanity shrinking to 1/10th of what it was, cities were emptied. 300 years later, huge walled cities make great areas for characters to explore. And if they're going to explore it, someone should be there, so - voila! Ratkin. They exist because it's a cool thing to have in the game, and no real other reason.

Re: anthromorphic makeup

With the recent discussion this morning, I do plan to discuss both vulfen and ratkin's makeup quite a bit more. In the end, though, they'll be mostly human in outlook, if extreme examples of humanity.

[DaGreatJL]

Okay, since I plan on running a game of this soon (soon=when school ends, which is the end of May for myself), I've been thinking about certain aspects of the game, and there's one in particular that bothers me: Can vulfen and ratkin experience love in the same way that humans can, and if so, what sets humans apart from them, thematically speaking?

I think one of the strengths of your material is the way that love defines humanity and sets it apart from elves and goblins; I further think that for vulfen and ratkin to be alike with humans in this way takes away the human's fire, and needlessly so. After all, the vulfen and the ratkin are cool in their own right; I don't think they need to be on the same emotional level as humans.

Think about it; both the races are anthropomorphic animals; why not have their emotional make-up be derived from that, rather than just have them be furry and eccentric humans? I mean, you've got predators known for intelligence (wolves), and scavengers known for intelligence (rats) as the basis. Both species have well-documented, complex social structures which are also very different from each other. The sociology you've developed for them already are extrapolated from this. Simply use it to define them. You can make them just as sophisticated, intelligent, and complex as humans, both individually and as a group; however, I think you should make sure to keep them distinct from humans, with a focus on making sure that what makes humans unique when compared to the old races keeps them distinct from the new.

That's my two-cents worth.

JL