More fiction than science?

[Groffa]

I have this idea for a small sci-fi game about more or less dumb astrobots (which corresponds to the players, of course). I want it to take place on asteroids and possibly planets. My main concern at the moment is this: how realistic (in terms of accurate facts) must the game be? Can it be more fiction than science?

I'm asking this because I suspect that people interested in sci-fi also have deeper knowledge in one or more technical areas (such as anything related to space) - they know what's possible and what's not, to put it bluntly. Comparing with fantasy - which starts with the premise that nothing is real and works its way from there - science fiction (as I see it) tends to be more about "this and that isn't possible at the moment, but there is research going on and it may very well be someday".

Is it possible that I'll alienate players by emphasising fiction over science when writing a sci-fi game, even if it's clear that's more about fun and silliness?

[Chainsaw Aardvark]

The website is the definitive resource for information about designing realistic spacecraft and propulsion units.

However, even this resource is willing to discus "Burnside's Zeroth Law of space combat: Science fiction fans relate more to human beings than to silicon chips." Another idea might be to consider Gene Roddenberry's note "we don't explain how a car works every time we drive, we just accept that it does".

You can take shortcuts in the science department to make for a more flowing story, but often a more interesting story comes from the constraints science gives you. SF is about following through on the assumptions you make and how they change the world.

There are probably more people who will complain about you spending too much time discussing the rotational gravity systems than there engineers that will point to your ignorance of the Coriolis effect on objects thrown within said rotating system. When all else fails, a good story will trump doctoral thesis.

The is possible with current technology, and could get hundred of tonnes into orbit on one vehicle, and reach .5-.1 of light speed. However, its powered by hydrogen bombs, which puts some - constraints - on who might be allowed to operate, and where. Still, its a fun thought experiment to consider a society that makes uses of this system - what kind of laws and measures are there to control captains with hundred of bombs apiece.

So the question remains, what kind of story do you want to tell? Is this pioneers on the edge of technology and space or is interstellar travel by wormhole gate a fact of life? Are the robot PCs the last lifeline of a newly terraformed colony that needs raw materials, or really bored AI's playing poker because someone forgot to tun off obsolete expert systems forty years ago?

For some more inspiration, be sure to check out . Its a 24 hour game written for a 2009 1km1kt design competition which features PCs as robot probes. (Probably rather different from your idea though, so don't be discouraged if it seems already done before.)

[Groffa]

[Onix]

[Groffa]

Onix: good points. Yeah, I'll probably write it such a way that the average person will accept the technology presented. E.g. most people have seen cards being inserted into computers and such, making them "better", so that's one imagery I can use without having to explain voltages and interfaces and so on.

(This is why 1km1kt is such a great resource - fast and thought-through answers!)

[Rob Lang]

I have nothing useful to add to the exceptional comments above apart from:

I'd call it 'Space Opera'. It's code for "Get away with anything". Icar is a Space Opera, whereas The Artefact feels more Sci Fi.

[Onix]

[Rob Lang]

I'd include Star Trek too.

[Onix]

Usually Trek is considered Sci-Fi Somewhere in between Fiction and Fantasy. I was debating on Hitchhikers and if I would put it in Sci-Fi or Science Fantasy. Adams does have a basis for a lot of the ideas (just taken to ridiculous conclusions) which would lead to Sci-Fi but a lot of them are really far out there which would lend toward Fantasy.

Yes, yes, I'm saying that Hitchhikers is more realistic than Star Wars. Sue me.

How's that for a take on how to gauge how realistic you have to be Groffa?

[Groffa]

Well, I guess I'll call it Space Opera, so people will completely surprised when they realise that a lot of what I have written actually is true...