Difference between revisions of "User:Murgh/A fourth school"
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==Overview== | ==Overview== | ||
| − | Some narrative ideas are difficult to reconcile with the existing "schools" of ''[[Elite]]'' (and ''[[Oolite]]'') [[lore]]. Alienated by the ''Syncretist'' ideas, and dissatisfied with the apathy of the ''Pragmatist'' approach, it is | + | Some narrative ideas are difficult to reconcile with the existing "schools" of ''[[Elite]]'' (and ''[[Oolite]]'') [[lore]]. Alienated by the ''Syncretist'' ideas, and dissatisfied with the apathy of the ''Pragmatist'' approach, it is more tempting to elaborate one's stories in the ''Purist'' realm. |
| − | But at what point does a sub-category of ''Purism'' deviate too much, and become its own school of thought? This is the '''''Brutalist''''' branch as it | + | But at what point does a sub-category of ''Purism'' deviate too much, and become its own school of thought? This is the '''''Brutalist''''' branch, as it is emerging. |
==Divergence== | ==Divergence== | ||
| − | To make sense of the ''Elite'' universe, we are given the peculiar game data, | + | To make sense of the ''Elite'' universe, we are given the peculiar game data, alongside [[Robert Holdstock|Holdstock]]'s ''[[The Dark Wheel]]'' and ''[[The Space Traders Flight Training Manual]]'' to make of it what we wish. We decide what we take at face value, and some certainly have reservation about the information offered by Holdstock. |
| − | + | The ''Purist'' makes sense of the Elite game data by accepting it all. Lobsters, edible poets, unusual mating traditions and all, the wonderfully clever maths of [[Ian Bell|Bell]]&[[David Braben|Braben]] that pushed the technology of its day to the limits provide the whimsical world-reality that is there to accept.. | |
| − | + | But if the information you are willing to accept diverges before any of that, it is no longer ''Purism''. If your instinct says that the data itself feels corrupted or artificially engineered, it is '''''IronAss Brutalism'''''. | |
| − | If you are abruptly dropped into the middle of a maze, and given a limited set of very strange instructions, you have to suspect the possibility that the information is wrong, and that someone is lying to you. The scepticism suddenly places everything under a dark, harsh light. If you can't trust any of the information, you are on your own, to solve the challenge from who ever is in authority, and what ever sinister intentions that lay behind. | + | ===The red flag=== |
| + | The unnatural symmetry should be the first warning. | ||
| + | *8 galactic charts/sectors | ||
| + | *256 (2<sup>8</sup>) systems per chart | ||
| + | *8 government types | ||
| + | *8 economic models | ||
| + | *8 non-human races.. | ||
| + | |||
| + | These "limits" are usually dismissed as low constraints of early 1980s computer code, but to the ''Brutalist'' they are deliberate clues. Why shouldn't the artifice be a crucial key to the story. | ||
| + | |||
| + | If you are abruptly dropped into the middle of a maze, and given a limited set of very strange instructions, you have to suspect the possibility that the information is wrong, and that someone is lying to you. The scepticism places the entire universe under a dark, harsh light. If you cannot trust the manual, you are on your own to solve the challenge of ''who'' is in authority, and ''what'' sinister intentions lie behind. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==The philosophy== | ||
| + | Where the rational Purist thinks, | ||
| + | |||
| + | "The universe is weird, so I must find a scientific explanation for the weirdness to make it feel real" | ||
| + | The IronAss Brutalist thinks, | ||
| + | |||
| + | "The universe is weird because the machine controlling it is broken or evil. The weirdness is the story."suddenly places everything under a dark, harsh light. If you can't trust any of the information, you are on your own, to solve the challenge from who ever is in authority, and what ever sinister intentions that lay behind. | ||
Where the rational ''Purist'' thinks, | Where the rational ''Purist'' thinks, | ||
Revision as of 17:26, 8 February 2026
Overview
Some narrative ideas are difficult to reconcile with the existing "schools" of Elite (and Oolite) lore. Alienated by the Syncretist ideas, and dissatisfied with the apathy of the Pragmatist approach, it is more tempting to elaborate one's stories in the Purist realm.
But at what point does a sub-category of Purism deviate too much, and become its own school of thought? This is the Brutalist branch, as it is emerging.
Divergence
To make sense of the Elite universe, we are given the peculiar game data, alongside Holdstock's The Dark Wheel and The Space Traders Flight Training Manual to make of it what we wish. We decide what we take at face value, and some certainly have reservation about the information offered by Holdstock.
The Purist makes sense of the Elite game data by accepting it all. Lobsters, edible poets, unusual mating traditions and all, the wonderfully clever maths of Bell&Braben that pushed the technology of its day to the limits provide the whimsical world-reality that is there to accept..
But if the information you are willing to accept diverges before any of that, it is no longer Purism. If your instinct says that the data itself feels corrupted or artificially engineered, it is IronAss Brutalism.
The red flag
The unnatural symmetry should be the first warning.
- 8 galactic charts/sectors
- 256 (28) systems per chart
- 8 government types
- 8 economic models
- 8 non-human races..
These "limits" are usually dismissed as low constraints of early 1980s computer code, but to the Brutalist they are deliberate clues. Why shouldn't the artifice be a crucial key to the story.
If you are abruptly dropped into the middle of a maze, and given a limited set of very strange instructions, you have to suspect the possibility that the information is wrong, and that someone is lying to you. The scepticism places the entire universe under a dark, harsh light. If you cannot trust the manual, you are on your own to solve the challenge of who is in authority, and what sinister intentions lie behind.
The philosophy
Where the rational Purist thinks,
"The universe is weird, so I must find a scientific explanation for the weirdness to make it feel real" The IronAss Brutalist thinks,
"The universe is weird because the machine controlling it is broken or evil. The weirdness is the story."suddenly places everything under a dark, harsh light. If you can't trust any of the information, you are on your own, to solve the challenge from who ever is in authority, and what ever sinister intentions that lay behind.
Where the rational Purist thinks,
- "The universe is weird, so I must find a scientific explanation for the weirdness to make it feel real"
The IronAss Brutalist thinks,
- "The universe is weird because the machine controlling it is broken or evil. The weirdness is the story."
