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Hey, I've been following this project for quite some time (I heard it on TVTropes, and the worldbuilding reddit server I used to be a part of had a link to it.) I really like the concept that you guys have got--like, a lot of fiction presents the concept of technological singularity as a blinding flash of light, or some other ambiguous "question-mark" event, while even after the singularity here, life goes on...
Anyway, I hope to contribute as a writer and an artist. If anyone wants to hit me up to see my art, I'd be happy to oblige. Literature-wise, I'm pretty happy with the concepts, given that this is all plausible and seemingly implausible (10,000 years is a lot of time for strange things to happen, I doubt people 10,000 years ago could have imagined the automobile, the smartphone, and botox injections.) Anyway, hope to be part of the adventure here.
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Welcome to the forums  feel free to dive right in with any questions, comments or contributions.
OA Wish list:
- DNI
- Internal medical system
- A dormbot, because domestic chores suck!
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So, how would you describe the aesthetic of the Orion's Arm Universe right now? A lot of it gives me this late-1990s vibe--not that that's a bad thing (vaporwave is in vogue, as it seems). But is it ok to include some retro-futuristic elements (I mean, I might design a poster for the NoCoZo, I think)
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05-14-2017, 10:39 PM
In fact, here's an example
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Hey that's pretty awesome There's definitely scope for art like that in the setting. I'd say the aesthetic has walked a bit (if we're talking about the art specifically) over the years as different contributors have come and gone. We've had more abstract art, collages, things that would fit into other settings etc. But overall the trend has been towards realism these past few years I'd say.
OA Wish list:
- DNI
- Internal medical system
- A dormbot, because domestic chores suck!
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Yeah, the NoCoZo in my opinion feels like a form of hyper-libertarianism, so as a little meta thing, I feel like they should have this opulent, art deco vibe
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It kind of is yeah. It was written into the setting back at the start and recently updated to flesh it out and make it a bit more consistent. Market economics is pretty much obsolete in OA beyond niche goods and services. But "niche" can be pretty big in an absolute sense in a setting that encompasses hundreds of millions of systems. The NoCoZo is s place where people wanting to trade in markets, large and small, go to live.
What I guess I'm getting at is that, unlike the real world, participation in a market is quite optional.
OA Wish list:
- DNI
- Internal medical system
- A dormbot, because domestic chores suck!
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Hmm, I see. Well, I'm really hoping to expound more on the world: is it ok to have pop-culture references inserted to an extent (e.g., a virch based off some fad or piece of media in the 20th-21st Century)?
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It's not against the rules and we do have some references like this in the setting but generally we like to avoid them as much as possible. The current era in OA is so far in the future and is the product of so many different cultures and Clades that western 21st century influences are going to be rarer than chicken teeth.
That's not to say there can't be homages or things that are used to explain to the reader (I.e "the term originates from Information Age Fabulist...") but we'd rather not have articles that rely too heavily on things IRL.
OA Wish list:
- DNI
- Internal medical system
- A dormbot, because domestic chores suck!
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(05-14-2017, 06:35 PM)IA190 Wrote: Hey, I've been following this project for quite some time (I heard it on TVTropes, and the worldbuilding reddit server I used to be a part of had a link to it.) I really like the concept that you guys have got--like, a lot of fiction presents the concept of technological singularity as a blinding flash of light, or some other ambiguous "question-mark" event, while even after the singularity here, life goes on...
Anyway, I hope to contribute as a writer and an artist. If anyone wants to hit me up to see my art, I'd be happy to oblige. Literature-wise, I'm pretty happy with the concepts, given that this is all plausible and seemingly implausible (10,000 years is a lot of time for strange things to happen, I doubt people 10,000 years ago could have imagined the automobile, the smartphone, and botox injections.) Anyway, hope to be part of the adventure here.
Hi There - Welcome to OA
We'd be happy to see your art. Do you have a link to an online gallery or the like that you can post here?
As far as stories, we're always looking for new fiction set in the OA universe.
Regarding the overall look of the site - that's probably because the current site was set up some years ago (although not as far back as the 90s  ). We are gradually moving toward a site redesign that will roll out a new look but progress is slow as everything that is done here is done by volunteers and we all have families and jobs and lives outside of OA. But we'll get there eventually.
Regarding the art you posted - as Rynn says that would definitely fit within the project.
Regarding your mention of pop culture references, as Rynn says we've generally moved away from that, although it would also depend on what sort of references you have in mind, how you're thinking of depicting them, and how subtle you are thinking of being about it (subtle references, 'in jokes', or 'easter eggs' are all things we enjoy). Can you provide some examples of what you have in mind and the context in which you're thinking of presenting them so we can more fully consider them, please?
Hope this helps and once again: Welcome to OA!
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