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What makes sci-fi look like sci-fi?

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AuroraCelestine
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 9:21 pm


Besides aliens and tons of metal, and expensive tech, what (in terms of setting and clothing) makes sci-fi look like sci-fi?

Gaarasgirl and I are making a comic soon (sci-fi/ fantasy), and I thought it would be fun to discuss the genre. and get some different views on the subject.
PostPosted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:02 pm


It all really depends on what your vision of the future is.

An stereotypical Utopia is usually indicated by bright, even lights and smooth edges. We don't see much dirt, or exposed machinery, and the whole world can look a little sterile, and lifeless. Colour contrast is very minimal. Typically these settings have some form of clean and reliable energy, pollution is nonexistent. We also don't see many crowds or over-population. The general idea is that society is good, and that any criminal elements are either insane, or simply power hungry. It's easy to flip these elements around, and create an Orwellian Police state. Where the government is in complete control of the populace. forced sterilization, behavior altering drugs, and constant surveillance are common place in such settings. Clothing wise, everyone usually dresses conservatively, variation between fashion styles are minimal.

In a more Cyberpunk dystopia, we see darkness and decay beneath a sea of neon. Overpopulation runs rampant, and the planet is quickly being depleted of natural resources. Cities have grown, becoming huge, almost cancerous entities, swallowing up the last few remnants of nature. In more futuristic settings, the entire planet could lay buried underneath the urban sprawl. There is a sharp division between the social classes. The rich live in towers, above the smog. The poor live in dark, rotting buildings, the more cramped and claustrophobic, the better. Crime and desperation go hand in hand. There are no super villains robbing banks, there are only people desperately trying to claw their way out of the gutter. Typical Cyberpunk fashion is dark and subdued colours for men. For women? the more outlandish the better.

Those are just the two extremes, of course. There's plenty of space in between. You'll have to ask yourself what role technology plays in your society, and how serious your going to be taking the science. Is FTL travel a possibility, or is deep space exploration conducted by robotic probes? Where do the Fantasy elements come into play? How far into the future are we talking here? Is Earth a distant memory, or are we still stuck in our own gravity well?

Maltese_Falcon91
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AuroraCelestine
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 1:13 am


Maltese_Falcon91
It all really depends on what your vision of the future is.

An stereotypical Utopia is usually indicated by bright, even lights and smooth edges. We don't see much dirt, or exposed machinery, and the whole world can look a little sterile, and lifeless. Colour contrast is very minimal. Typically these settings have some form of clean and reliable energy, pollution is nonexistent. We also don't see many crowds or over-population. The general idea is that society is good, and that any criminal elements are either insane, or simply power hungry. It's easy to flip these elements around, and create an Orwellian Police state. Where the government is in complete control of the populace. forced sterilization, behavior altering drugs, and constant surveillance are common place in such settings. Clothing wise, everyone usually dresses conservatively, variation between fashion styles are minimal.

In a more Cyberpunk dystopia, we see darkness and decay beneath a sea of neon. Overpopulation runs rampant, and the planet is quickly being depleted of natural resources. Cities have grown, becoming huge, almost cancerous entities, swallowing up the last few remnants of nature. In more futuristic settings, the entire planet could lay buried underneath the urban sprawl. There is a sharp division between the social classes. The rich live in towers, above the smog. The poor live in dark, rotting buildings, the more cramped and claustrophobic, the better. Crime and desperation go hand in hand. There are no super villains robbing banks, there are only people desperately trying to claw their way out of the gutter. Typical Cyberpunk fashion is dark and subdued colours for men. For women? the more outlandish the better.

Those are just the two extremes, of course. There's plenty of space in between. You'll have to ask yourself what role technology plays in your society, and how serious your going to be taking the science. Is FTL travel a possibility, or is deep space exploration conducted by robotic probes? Where do the Fantasy elements come into play? How far into the future are we talking here? Is Earth a distant memory, or are we still stuck in our own gravity well?

Wow, that was really helpful! Hopefully once college is back from the three day weekend, I can meet with her and discuss stuff like this.
I think I have an idea of where to go now, and for the questions at the end, I am not sure of any setting stuff except that it doesn't take place on Earth. Since creating worlds is so fun, I volunteered myself to make the world.:
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa241/silverstream716/WorldMapFull-1.png
It's really simple at the moment, and we still need to decide what continent it takes place on, but it's a start.

Oh, and the fantasy comes in with the (slightly cliche) magical powers. I'll try make it less every day magic, and add some interest through story and stuff.
PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:00 pm


AuroraCelestine
Wow, that was really helpful! Hopefully once college is back from the three day weekend, I can meet with her and discuss stuff like this.
I think I have an idea of where to go now, and for the questions at the end, I am not sure of any setting stuff except that it doesn't take place on Earth. Since creating worlds is so fun, I volunteered myself to make the world.:
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa241/silverstream716/WorldMapFull-1.png
It's really simple at the moment, and we still need to decide what continent it takes place on, but it's a start.

Oh, and the fantasy comes in with the (slightly cliche) magical powers. I'll try make it less every day magic, and add some interest through story and stuff.

Don't worry so much about blurring the lines between Science Fiction and Fantasy. Star Wars wouldn't have been Star Wars without the force, nor would Dune have been so special without the all it's psionics. Every culture on Earth had some form of mysticism, so you'll have plenty to draw inspiration from, if you need it.

Maltese_Falcon91
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Monday Delirium

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PostPosted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 1:56 pm


The great masters of sci fi (nearly every single science fiction writer from the Pulp Fiction era) would lead one to believe all it takes is some space action or maybe something has simple has a super computer that controls everything electronic.
You don't need a futuristic set! Just a date and if you feel like it, just add a tiny little detail that makes it count has scifi
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 4:48 pm


Monday Delirium
The great masters of sci fi (nearly every single science fiction writer from the Pulp Fiction era) would lead one to believe all it takes is some space action or maybe something has simple has a super computer that controls everything electronic.
You don't need a futuristic set! Just a date and if you feel like it, just add a tiny little detail that makes it count has scifi

That is true. Since no one really knows what the future will look like, it leaves many possiblilites open.

AuroraCelestine
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Monday Delirium

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PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 7:46 am


AuroraCelestine
Monday Delirium
The great masters of sci fi (nearly every single science fiction writer from the Pulp Fiction era) would lead one to believe all it takes is some space action or maybe something has simple has a super computer that controls everything electronic.
You don't need a futuristic set! Just a date and if you feel like it, just add a tiny little detail that makes it count has scifi

That is true. Since no one really knows what the future will look like, it leaves many possiblilites open.

Like Bio Shock!
You don't it's future until the big robots kick in and you realize there's a huge dome stopping the ocean from flooding the city!
In BioShock Infinite it's like you gave a step BACK! Everyone dresses in the like and uses the architectural styles of the 1900's! Then you realise the entire city is suspended by hot air balloons and big rocket like engines.
H AH HA!" It's like a joke! They have all of this and more (like robots and cyborgues) but when they want to listen to music? Gramophone.
"BioShock! We can make cyborgs but not iPods. PROBLEM?"
PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 9:16 am


Since comics are visual, you've also got to take into account how you want to introduce and explain the various aspects of the world. What sets sci-fi apart from everything else that includes technology and alternate-reality futures is the science part of the science fiction. If you're a creative person and can come up with some amazing sci-fi premises and awesome technology, good for you. Now how are you going to present the information to the readers?

You could go the "Hard Sci-Fi" route and have lengthy, detailed explanations of the world, how it came to be like that, and how the technology advanced to that level before you even introduce the characters, let alone the plotline.

On the other hand, you've got the "Soft Sci-Fi" option, where you introduce the important stuff as it comes up using characters and plot points to elaborate on certain points that you think the reader needs to know.

Isaiah Moretti


Maltese_Falcon91
Crew

PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 1:50 pm


Monday Delirium
AuroraCelestine
Monday Delirium
The great masters of sci fi (nearly every single science fiction writer from the Pulp Fiction era) would lead one to believe all it takes is some space action or maybe something has simple has a super computer that controls everything electronic.
You don't need a futuristic set! Just a date and if you feel like it, just add a tiny little detail that makes it count has scifi

That is true. Since no one really knows what the future will look like, it leaves many possiblilites open.

Like Bio Shock!
You don't it's future until the big robots kick in and you realize there's a huge dome stopping the ocean from flooding the city!
In BioShock Infinite it's like you gave a step BACK! Everyone dresses in the like and uses the architectural styles of the 1900's! Then you realise the entire city is suspended by hot air balloons and big rocket like engines.
H AH HA!" It's like a joke! They have all of this and more (like robots and cyborgues) but when they want to listen to music? Gramophone.
"BioShock! We can make cyborgs but not iPods. PROBLEM?"

I know this is a minor nitpick, but BioShock isn't set in the future, it's set in the (I think) 1960's, and while it is true that it's visual styles differ greatly from it's much more futuristic predecessor, SystemShock, those visual styles borrow heavily from the already well established SteamPunk genre. Bioshock Infinite looks like a step back, because, well, it is a step back. It's set in 1912. They can't manufacture iPods, or personal computers, because they haven't developed the microchip yet.

Isaiah Moretti
Since comics are visual, you've also got to take into account how you want to introduce and explain the various aspects of the world. What sets sci-fi apart from everything else that includes technology and alternate-reality futures is the science part of the science fiction. If you're a creative person and can come up with some amazing sci-fi premises and awesome technology, good for you. Now how are you going to present the information to the readers?

You could go the "Hard Sci-Fi" route and have lengthy, detailed explanations of the world, how it came to be like that, and how the technology advanced to that level before you even introduce the characters, let alone the plotline.

On the other hand, you've got the "Soft Sci-Fi" option, where you introduce the important stuff as it comes up using characters and plot points to elaborate on certain points that you think the reader needs to know.

Most hard science webcomics I've read get around that by leaving technical notes at the bottom of the page, unless some aspect of the world is important to the story or something.
PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 1:59 pm


Maltese_Falcon91
Monday Delirium
AuroraCelestine
Monday Delirium
The great masters of sci fi (nearly every single science fiction writer from the Pulp Fiction era) would lead one to believe all it takes is some space action or maybe something has simple has a super computer that controls everything electronic.
You don't need a futuristic set! Just a date and if you feel like it, just add a tiny little detail that makes it count has scifi

That is true. Since no one really knows what the future will look like, it leaves many possiblilites open.

Like Bio Shock!
You don't it's future until the big robots kick in and you realize there's a huge dome stopping the ocean from flooding the city!
In BioShock Infinite it's like you gave a step BACK! Everyone dresses in the like and uses the architectural styles of the 1900's! Then you realise the entire city is suspended by hot air balloons and big rocket like engines.
H AH HA!" It's like a joke! They have all of this and more (like robots and cyborgues) but when they want to listen to music? Gramophone.
"BioShock! We can make cyborgs but not iPods. PROBLEM?"

I know this is a minor nitpick, but BioShock isn't set in the future, it's set in the (I think) 1960's, and while it is true that it's visual styles differ greatly from it's much more futuristic predecessor, SystemShock, those visual styles borrow heavily from the already well established SteamPunk genre. Bioshock Infinite looks like a step back, because, well, it is a step back. It's set in 1912. They can't manufacture iPods, or personal computers, because they haven't developed the microchip yet.

The more you know!

Monday Delirium

Super Humorist


Monday Delirium

Super Humorist

PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 2:23 pm


Isaiah Moretti
On the other hand, you've got the "Soft Sci-Fi" option, where you introduce the important stuff as it comes up using characters and plot points to elaborate on certain points that you think the reader needs to know.

This is what I am doing with my novel! I like how it's been working.
PostPosted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 5:39 pm


Also sometimes, in a sci fi, you could just have... one minor thing going.
Like a world where advanced bionic prosthetics are perfectly common.

Monday Delirium

Super Humorist


Kybia

PostPosted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 12:24 am


So, coming along a couple months later, I'm just curious as to how the comic went/is going. Were you guys able to find a "sci-fi look" that you approved of and worked well? Are you able/want to discuss it at all?
PostPosted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 1:18 am


Kybia
So, coming along a couple months later, I'm just curious as to how the comic went/is going. Were you guys able to find a "sci-fi look" that you approved of and worked well? Are you able/want to discuss it at all?

If you want to read her comic, you can find it here.

I'd say her style worked out pretty well.

Maltese_Falcon91
Crew

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