Genre and Tone

Eclipse Earth World Bible

Article Contributed by Silverlite_Sword

C: Authorial

It is only natural that a collaborative worldbuilding project will have some variance in tone. Even so, the curators of this wiki are going to attempt to maintain somewhat of a consistent genre and tone so that the world has a consistent "feel" to it. The core elements of that genre and tone are discussed below.

Neo-Noir

The Neo-Noir genre is a loose categorization that describes works that attempt to emulate the feel of Film Noir. In the case of Eclipse Earth, it describes both a certain technological state of the world and also a certain feel. Of course, Eclipse Earth is an alternate universe, so parallels to our Earth are only approximate. Authors contributing to this wiki need not attempt to recreate historical events from our timeline in Eclipse Earth.

Technology

Because of the existence of superhumans whose abilities allow them to create advanced technology, there need not be any hard limitations on what technology may or may not be available. However, there is a certain feel and tone concerning technology that should be established regarding the everyman on the street.
Average people do not have cell phones or personal computers. They get their news from the paper, the radio, or the TV - in color if they're lucky. They write with fountain pens and communicate with walkie talkies or pocket radios. Detectives, private investigators, and reporters take to the streets to find news stories, and record everything on a film camera and a notepad.
This is a time slightly before the camcorder, the walkman, and the ballpoint pen, so while cable news crews abound, investigators can't exactly record everything they find. They still have to use fountain pen and a notepad if they want to be mobile.
Regular people carry cash and a checkbook, because there are no debit cards or credit cards.
Overall, this picture of technology is malleable. Some areas might be deploying new technology. But the overall feel is one where private detectives and investigative journalists still roam the streets looking for clues.

Genre Conventions

This is a world where mysteries, politics, nosy journalists, and organized crime make up a large part of the genre conventions. Contrasting the gritty realism that is common to the noir genre are bright flashes of comic-book color: the superheroes. The larger than life charm of these heroes serves to transcend the dreary darkness of life and instill hope in the huddled masses. The heroes are widely regarded as bright beacons of light - so long as they keep their nose clean in front of the press, that is. After all, even heroes aren't perfect.
As an alternate Earth, it is only natural that some difficult and heavy topics from our world will surface, such as race relations, crime, and addiction, to name a few. While touching on these topics is encouraged, everyone is expected to keep the tone from becoming too dark and to include at least some likable characters the audience can root for. Noir can be dark, but it isn't meant to be grimdark. Be sure to let a little light in at times.
This world is about both the darkness and the light, so try to keep it balanced.
If your content deals with more mature themes, including torture, sexual content, gore, or other content that could be deemed mature content, please mark your submission as NSFW. On this wiki, anything that isn't "PG-13" will be flagged to be on the safe side.

Time and Calendars

Time within Eclipse Earth is deliberately not entirely synchronized with our Earth. Events which happened in our 20th century may not have happened at all within this timeline, or they happened very differently. Even events before the 20th century may have happened slightly differently so long as historical records could support that interpretation of events.

Expectations

Authors are expected to be generally familiar with the content on this wiki, especially other articles that cover content adjacent to the topics in the submission. When in doubt, try to keep to the spirit of the existing content on the wiki while being free to explore new ideas and concepts. This is our story, and it needs your unique perspective too.

How to Contribute to Eclipse Earth

Now that you've finished the World Bible, use this form to submit your material!
Thank you, and happy writing.