Why the Apocalypse (blog)
Simply put, the post-apocalypse is my favorite genre. It’s why my favorite franchise is Fallout, why I loved The Last of Us, Mad Max, The Walking Dead. There are so many movies, books, games, and comics that I can’t even keep track of them anymore (The Book of Eli, 28 Days Later, I Am Legend, The Stand, The Road, A Boy and His Dog, Children of Men – hell, I even like Waterworld and The Postman and Snowpiercer – okay, I’ll stop now). But I love the concept. I think the apocalypse appeals to a lot of people because a small part of us likes to think we could be great survivors. And like any fantasy type fiction, it provides a perfect environment for being able to recreate yourself in whatever way you want. It’s the ultimate expression of freedom, only there’s also the issue of extreme calamity that underpins the entire thing. Loads of people would have to die to bring about such an environment, which is why I think this genre is best suited for fiction (and not the real world).
As for this particular game, I already had a lot of setting material created for a project that never came to fruition, and I didn’t want it to go to waste. Given that I have a jumpstart on that front, I also like the idea of recreating a familiar world in ways we might never have imagined. A lot of aspects of society tend to go unnoticed – the social constructs, traditions, laws, etc. I think many titles in the PA genre get some things right, especially the shirking of fashion norms and ideals. Mad Max really took that to the extreme, and you can really see its influence bleeding through the entire genre. Another thing they probably get right is that lawlessness will produce some pretty heinous individuals, groups, and cultures. Without oversight, the shittier aspects of humanity are amplified. This makes it easy to provide “bad guys” for players to go against, if they so choose. But they can also get creative and come up with their own unique cultures, communities, factions, and inventions.
That’s the point of Rainwall. Will you rebuild the world exactly as it was or will you attempt something new? A little old, a little new? What philosophies will you espouse in this new environment? Will you question whether our current social norms are necessary? Or will you try to maintain some semblance of society as it exists today? This is the underlying theme of the game, put forth over a rich setting that takes place only a year or two after a major cataclysm wipes out most of the planet (spoiler: it’s a virus). But from within that theme, players also utilize Influence to survive and gain power, form alliances, and vie for resources. There are six types of influence, and each one offers a unique flavor to the game, rather than spending most of your time on combat.
Lastly, because it’s the apocalypse, I felt it was important to incorporate two more elements: scarcity, and some creatures to add variety over simply battling other humans. Because of this, scavenging is a big part of the game, and I am constantly trying to find new ways to make this as fun as possible. Crafting, of course, is also a mainstay. As for the creatures, well, you’ll have to wait and see how they are involved. Hopefully the setting is as compelling for you to experience as it is for me to create.
The last thing I want to point out is that it is heavily inspired by Fallout (specifically the exploration). It’s meant to be an open-world concept, and I’ve included a lot of “in-character” setting fodder, like unique products, brands, and other things. This is because I’ve been a graphic designer for years, so I like to leverage that to create logos and product mock-ups for my settings. I feel it’s not unlike how Tolkien created whole languages to give his setting so much more depth.
I like the tobacco and liquor options in Fallout, so I put some in here. This is my mock of Sergeant Snuff.
All in all, I hope it comes together nicely, and that it resonates with people. I tried to limit the crunch to only the necessary elements, and leave plenty of room for improvisation and role-play. If it seems overwhelming at first, just know that most of the things in the game I created are there as examples. Clothing, items, gear, weapons, armor, recipes – these are all there to give you a launching point for coming up with your own ideas (and hopefully you can share them with others in the forums, or in our subreddit. Once the game launches for real, I’ll also make a Discord server.
Anyway, that’s it for now. That’s why I made this in the apocalypse. I also want to point out that I created a new mechanical system for this game called Arctix, because I wanted a versatile system that makes sense that can be used in any setting. Why didn’t I use an existing system, you ask? Because I like a challenge, and I’m also not very good at learning everyone else’s systems. I think you’ll enjoy this one, though.