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 Post subject: Cobha-specific technology
PostPosted: August 5th, 2011, 6:28 am 
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Cobha is a fascinating thing. Often people will integrate it into their worlds and never consider the technological and historical impact it has.

Humans have built a powerful infrastructure of technology based off of the way our world works. If our world worked in a slightly different way, that technology would have been developed in a commensurate fashion.

So if you have a dramatic difference in your world's natural systems, taking the time to consider the impact it would have on its technology will go a long way in making it realistic and believable, not to say awesome.

But trying to simulate the industrious inventions of thousands of geniuses building upon each other across the span of an entire world and epochs of time is really an impossible challenge. But! It gets easier when you realize you only have to come up with ideas and not with really functional inventions. You don't need to work all the intricate kinks out (at least if you don't want to of course). Just come up with something like, “they would think to invent something like this” and go on from there.

So, how do you integrate technology into your cobha developments? I'll be posting in my world subforum with some of what I've done, if you are curious to see some examples of what I am talking about. :)


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 Post subject: Re: Cobha-specific technology
PostPosted: August 5th, 2011, 12:10 pm 
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Sir Emeth Mimetes wrote:
Humans have built a powerful infrastructure of technology based off of the way our world works. If our world worked in a slightly different way, that technology would have been developed in a commensurate fashion.

So if you have a dramatic difference in your world's natural systems, taking the time to consider the impact it would have on its technology will go a long way in making it realistic and believable, not to say awesome.

But trying to simulate the industrious inventions of thousands of geniuses building upon each other across the span of an entire world and epochs of time is really an impossible challenge.

...

So, how do you integrate technology into your cobha developments?

I don't have any "dramatic" differences---I don't think, anyway---and I don't have "epochs of time" (as my story begins only a few years after the world's creation and has only gone a couple of centuries so far---though I plan to revise the timeline again Real Soon Now), but I do have one feature that has had some impact on technology. I call it "applied metaphysics"; it's a general-purpose power that some people have. (To summarize too briefly.) But I've limited its effect on technology to a few areas by making a guideline that using applied metaphysics to do something is almost always "cheap, easy, or effective---choose at most one." Because of this, mages usually get involved only in cases where you'd spare no expense anyway (medical diagnostics and crime investigation, for example) or where there's no alternative.

I did a blog post a few weeks back about this limitation, but I haven't thought much about how applied metaphysics (or any of the other "cobha" (like the existence of fairies, dragons, elves, and the like, or the fact that that universe's Fall had less intrusive effects and was more recent, or the world being flat, or ...) could be worked into technological development. Hmm. Need to think about this.

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Originally inspired to write by reading C.S. Lewis, but can be as perfectionist as Tolkien or as obscure as Charles Williams.

Author of A Year in Verse, a self-published collection of poetry: available in paperback and on Kindle; a second collection forthcoming in 2022 or 2023, God willing (betas wanted!).

Creator of the Shine Cycle, an expansive fantasy planned series, spanning over two centuries of an imagined world's history, several universes (including various alternate histories and our own future), and the stories of dozens of characters (many from our world).

Developer of Strategic Primer, a strategy/simulation game played by email; currently in a redesign phase after the ending of "the current campaign" in 2022.

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 Post subject: Re: Cobha-specific technology
PostPosted: August 5th, 2011, 4:42 pm 
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Over on SF I have a world where, in its past, a plant virus wiped out most that world's oxygen supply. Because of this virus, the people had to quickly develop a way to create oxygen. This technology was put to good use when they finally developed space flight as they could produce oxygen while in space and on other planets.
I know this isn't quite Cobha related... but the idea sounded similar ;)

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I am Lady Vilisse Mimetes. Humble servant of the Lord our God and warrior in His name. Though my actions are feeble and prone to failure, I shall never falter in my call. I am pledged to combat those ideas that are rooted in mindsets that are contrary to my Master.
My name is outward proof of my promise to follow, closer and closer, the words and will of my Lord and Father.


note:
Vilisse is Quenya for a person's spirit or general personality.
Mimetes is Greek for an imitator or follower.

and so my spirit is one of a follower



Visit my revived, er.... dead blog! RSSharkey


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 Post subject: Re: Cobha-specific technology
PostPosted: August 6th, 2011, 2:11 am 
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Yes, that's in the right direction. :)

As a snippet of a tease, my Sylphs can manipulate air into material objects by the power of command. And so they build roads, cities, bridges, and cities in the air with this ability. But they also make something like wingsuits out of it, and fly with them.


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