Dystopia Rising: Evolution - An Introduction
over 5 years ago
– Thu, Aug 23, 2018 at 04:30:58 AM
Hey Survivors!
Over the next 29 days, I'll be sharing updates about our funding progress (it's amazing so far!) and Stretch Goals, the manuscript previews, some awesome post-apocalypse fiction, and information about the game from lead developer, Eddy Webb.
Today, Eddy's introduction to the game and our kickstarter campaign...
DYSTOPIA RISING: EVOLUTION - INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the latest Onyx Path game, Dystopia Rising: Evolution! It's the second edition of the original Dystopia Rising tabletop RPG, which spawned a massive live-action roleplaying chronicle. The folks at DR came to an arrangement with Onyx Path about doing a new edition, and Onyx Path asked me to head up the project as line developer.
And it's been a lot of fun! In some ways, Dystopia Rising: Evolution is familiar ground for me -- action-horror games are certainly in my wheelhouse after years of working on Vampire: The Masquerade, and Pugmire is kind of a post-apocalypse game (although with a VERY different tone). I can certainly see why both DR and OPP thought I'd be a good fit for the game.
But in other ways, it's exciting and new. Working on a license that I'm not intimately familiar with is always an interesting challenge, but it means I get to come in with a fresh set of eyes. A game written ten years ago can have areas that feel problematic these days, and lots of established gameplay can build up details that obscure the core of the game.
The holders of the Dystopia Rising license have been very receptive to my thoughts, and we had a lot of conversations to strike the right balance of updating the setting, making it more inclusive, tweaking elements to improve playability as a tabletop game, and keeping the elements that made the original game and LARP organization so attractive.
That's why we decided to call it something more than just "Dystopia Rising Second Edition." It's really an evolution of the original game from start to finish. It's not a reboot -- the old continuity is still in play -- but it works as a fresh start for people not previously familiar with the game.
So, to everyone from old-school DR players to brand new zombie fans, I say to you: Welcome to the evolution!
