Culture--yes or no?

The question's been asked: does our KTDARPG game-world have a "culture" of it's own? Or are we just recycling Old World?

Well, let's see...

First, define culture: (a) a set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices; as well as (b) enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic training.

Do the characters in our game share attitudes? values? goals? practices? Yeah, sort of. In the aftermath of the Virus, kids had to find a way to cooperate to survive. Attitudes about the future & goals seem to be global--that there BE a future, that life continue. Values and practices...well...hmm. What we've seen of game-world suggests life has value, even if that value is monetary & decided on the auction block where slaves are sold. (Not many slaves around at the moment, but we hear that may not be the case outside Fort River.) Deaths are mourned; people are willing to fight for their right to survive. It's probably in practices that characters are most widely divergent. Not necessarily a bad thing--some characters practice the back-to-nature way of life that us 21st Century players are familiar with. Others practice an agricultural life style, and still others hold to urban settings. (We've even had city elections for those who will try to govern Fort River.) In that, game-world isn't too different from real-world.

Have we created a unique culture that's more futuristic in nature & less familiar? No.

Then there's definition (b) that focuses on enlightenment & more aesthetic culture. From what currently exists in game, that's probably the area we're weakest in, creatively. Let's see, Fort River has (and continues to have) a media of sorts in the "Fort River after dark" newspaper. But there isn't really a written tradition among our characters. No books, mostly because there's no way to publish them. The tradition of oral history has made a comeback; we have our version of "bards" or "tellers" that preserve & disseminate current events/recent histories across populations. There's music & other forms of entertainment, but that's pretty standard (including the world's "oldest profession"). KTDARPG has singers (popular culture, or what was "popular" when the world we knew ended). We've reached back to the gladiator tradition; the game has seen "cage matches" & other types of fighting to settle disputes or show off prowess. Fort River has had it's Solstice Celebration (parades, fireworks, competitions, trading booths, etc.) & even a traveling carnival.

But do we have schools? Or a formal way of teaching, training & passing on knowledge & learning? Well, there's been talk in game about something that would resemble old-world guilds, but otherwise... No.

Probably everything I've pointed out is just a part of our game's evolutionary process. We've spent 4 seasons trying to get a handle on characters, relationships & "pecking orders." We've spent just as much time trying to figure out geography, climate, game history & the parameters of play.

The evidence shows that the seeds of a true human culture are there. We just have to see where it takes us.

--Chyna [thanks, Dana Z., for asking!]