Parallels: Missing you

I started thinking about parallels I've noticed between "The Tribe" tv-show & our game. One very obvious parallel is the death of all adults on the planet and how that affected the children left behind.

This is something that I think every player feels & is consciously aware of, especially when they first join the game. For just about every character introduced into game play, there is some reference to "before," to lost family or lost parents or lost lives. It may be brief. It may be just a throwaway line ... but it's usually there.

What's been left behind for our survivors is childhood. Whether you were 5 or 15 when the Virus hit, suddenly you weren't a child any longer. No Parents. That's huge. No parents telling you what to do or who to do it with ... or providing you with food and clothes and a home. No, in game-world as in Tribe-world, the kids are suddenly instant adults with all the problems & challenges that brings.

Well, except for one twist. The World As You Knew It is totally gone. No tv, no radio. No grocery stores, no burger joints or taco stands. No doctors, no lawyers, no traffic cops. No distilleries or processing plants or sewage treatment facilities. You are, indeed, back in the Stone Age.

From securing the basics (food, shelter, water) to finding ways for you & your friends to be safe -- it's all in your own hands. You can't call dad for advice. You can't run home to mom when the world gets too crazy. Sorry, guys. You just have to deal ...

And yeah, that's gonna make you think of "before." Silly fights with your parents. Sibling rivalries that didn't really mean anything. Sunday dinners and watching football on tv. Going to the movies or borrowing dad's car. You're gonna remember, and it will affect your character in this game in some way, shape or form. How can it not?

Because your family is gone. Whether you loved them or hated them, they were your mom & dad. You'll never get another, but eventually you'll BE a parent. Then who will your role models be?

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"