Sci-Fi IC: Cool 80s Kids, or Edgy 90s Teens?
I've started to read Tales from the Loop and the beta of it's darker sequel Things From the Flood and I'm really loving its mix of science fiction mystery, mundane drama, and themes about age, wonder, and growing up. I'm rather interested in running the game, although I still have a bit of reading to do before I can run either. I was thinking of taking on an interest check to see if there are people interested in either concept, and see where I should lean things.
Tales from the Loop takes place in a more fantastic version of the 80s, where robots, time travel experiments, titanic flying machines and more exist alongside the bikes, early VCR and other technology and pop culture of the period. The player characters are innocent and idealistic children. The mundane life of homework and the like is boring, but the kids get wrapped up in supernatural adventures known as Mysteries, experiencing amazing and magical happenings that give them a reprieve from their ordinary lives but also endanger and change them. It reflects the idealism seen by many in the time period, as well as youthful excitement and adventure.
Things From the Flood, by contrast, reflects the cynicism, social unrest, and horror that defined the 90s and its media. The fantastic technologies of the past are failing, while strange threats and new ideas are disrupting the status quo and horrors are emerging around the world. The player characters are troubled teens stuck between the idealism of childhood and the rigors of an increasingly adult life. Their home lives are filled with mundane struggle and conflict, but there is worse waiting out there too. The teenagers will have to risk life and limb to deal with Threats ranging from mysterious conspiracies and reality warping madness that seems poised to destroy any semblance of a normal life. It reflects the cynycism of the time period, and the awkward place where childhood idealism is shattered without the responsibility and wisdom of adulthood.
Both ideas are incredibly enticing to me, and either can be run through a more linear 'campaign' or through a more freeform set of mysteries to solve and threats to deal with. What I was wondering was who might be interested, and does it lie in either direction?