Thanks, I appreciate it—and I’m glad you liked it! I wasn’t sure anyone would really be interested.
I never played the games but I loved reading the incredibly detailed worlds and histories they created at places like TSR and elsewhere. And of course it was mostly guys creating stuff for other guys, so it was fun, with no (or very little) leftist tripe; it was only thirty years ago, but it seems like another world. I sometimes wonder what it must have been like to be a writer or designer for one of those game companies back then, just dreaming up crazy stuff without having to run it through the woke filter. Oh well.
You should be able to find some material out there, but it’s pretty expensive. I think the original boxed set is available in PDF format online; if you can’t find it, let me know and I can send you the file if you want.
Thanks for the info! This is brilliant and your best piece to date. The anticipatory optimism of a future that holds the keys to adventure, excitement, and fulfillment brings back memories of a simpler time when men were still men and women still women. I had never heard of this role-playing game, and I used to play different ones nonstop in high school. I shall have to get my hands on a copy. People want to escape into these non-pc fantasy worlds because they are sick of our deranged present. That is also why Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings' movies were a hit. People want traditional fare and not black elves and gay space cowboys. I will share this piece on Arktos' social media accounts (Telegram, Twitter, Facebook). Thank you! This made my day.
The remarkable thing about Buck Rogers is that there is almost no continuity - beyond character names and the Rip van Winkel starting point - between the successive versions. The first appearance, a pulp novella, was simply terrible by literary standards, so the next version (and it's amazing there was one at all) felt no particular loyalty to the setting, thus establishing a pattern followed by subsequent creators.
Lots of other examples of archaeofuturism in fiction. 40k comes to mind. The Expanse is a notable example because it begins as that 'extension of the present', then rapidly evolves into an archaeofuturist space opera as the Belter barbarians go full Genghis Khan on the Earth. It's practically impossible to have drama and adventure in a liberal democracy; insofar as these are necessary to life - and I believe they may be close to the point of it - that yearning for something more aristocratic or medieval will persist.
You’re right, there’s very little continuity between the various Buck Rogers. I think in the comic strip he’s in a mine or something, and falls victim to a radioactive gas; in the TV series he’s an astronaut that gets flash-frozen or something to that effect.
I did notice, however (which I didn’t mention in the article), that the designers of TSR’s game did make a few concessions to the original Philip Francis Nowlan story “Armageddon 2419 A.D.” In that story, I believe America was a post-apocalyptic failed state (who needs 500 years for that?) conquered by the Han Chinese. In the game, they switched America for the entire earth and exchanged the Chinese for the RAM company on Mars. Anyway, interesting stuff.
I don’t know much about 40k but it sounds fascinating, and a lot of people mention it. I was thinking once about what the Traditionalism of Guénon or Evola might look like in a futuristic setting with space travel and such, and realized it’s pretty much Herbert’s Dune setting. Don’t know if that was his intention or not, but it’s interesting to think about; I might write about that sometime.
Anyhow, I think you’re spot on about liberal democracy—it seems to be strangling the life and sense of adventure out of us. All the awe and wonder is gone, and that’s no way to live. Glad to see other guys think the same!
I liked what you hinted at with these developers creating worlds that people actually want to live in. Nietzsche's main observation in the Birth of Tragedy is heavily connected with this same notion. Like with tragic stories, there is a beauty to dystopia. The worlds presented are perhaps a utopia for some, but for plenty of others, it's actually very dystopian. But, people want to live in this world regardless of that, because either way, it's way more full of meaning then politically correct modernity is.
Excellent point, and I think that gets to the heart of the problem. You’re absolutely right—modernity has stripped all meaning from life, all value and purpose, and that’s why we yearn for these worlds…even the “dystopian” ones.
Yes, there is a certain beauty to dystopia. I think that’s what we’re missing—the modern world has very little beauty, it seems to want to murder anything beautiful wherever it finds it. That’s what I found interesting about the “Buck Rogers XXVc” universe—it was dystopian as hell…but beautiful just the same, in its own weird way.
Thanks, I appreciate it—and I’m glad you liked it! I wasn’t sure anyone would really be interested.
I never played the games but I loved reading the incredibly detailed worlds and histories they created at places like TSR and elsewhere. And of course it was mostly guys creating stuff for other guys, so it was fun, with no (or very little) leftist tripe; it was only thirty years ago, but it seems like another world. I sometimes wonder what it must have been like to be a writer or designer for one of those game companies back then, just dreaming up crazy stuff without having to run it through the woke filter. Oh well.
You should be able to find some material out there, but it’s pretty expensive. I think the original boxed set is available in PDF format online; if you can’t find it, let me know and I can send you the file if you want.
Thanks for the info! This is brilliant and your best piece to date. The anticipatory optimism of a future that holds the keys to adventure, excitement, and fulfillment brings back memories of a simpler time when men were still men and women still women. I had never heard of this role-playing game, and I used to play different ones nonstop in high school. I shall have to get my hands on a copy. People want to escape into these non-pc fantasy worlds because they are sick of our deranged present. That is also why Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings' movies were a hit. People want traditional fare and not black elves and gay space cowboys. I will share this piece on Arktos' social media accounts (Telegram, Twitter, Facebook). Thank you! This made my day.
I enjoyed this immensely.
The remarkable thing about Buck Rogers is that there is almost no continuity - beyond character names and the Rip van Winkel starting point - between the successive versions. The first appearance, a pulp novella, was simply terrible by literary standards, so the next version (and it's amazing there was one at all) felt no particular loyalty to the setting, thus establishing a pattern followed by subsequent creators.
Lots of other examples of archaeofuturism in fiction. 40k comes to mind. The Expanse is a notable example because it begins as that 'extension of the present', then rapidly evolves into an archaeofuturist space opera as the Belter barbarians go full Genghis Khan on the Earth. It's practically impossible to have drama and adventure in a liberal democracy; insofar as these are necessary to life - and I believe they may be close to the point of it - that yearning for something more aristocratic or medieval will persist.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
You’re right, there’s very little continuity between the various Buck Rogers. I think in the comic strip he’s in a mine or something, and falls victim to a radioactive gas; in the TV series he’s an astronaut that gets flash-frozen or something to that effect.
I did notice, however (which I didn’t mention in the article), that the designers of TSR’s game did make a few concessions to the original Philip Francis Nowlan story “Armageddon 2419 A.D.” In that story, I believe America was a post-apocalyptic failed state (who needs 500 years for that?) conquered by the Han Chinese. In the game, they switched America for the entire earth and exchanged the Chinese for the RAM company on Mars. Anyway, interesting stuff.
I don’t know much about 40k but it sounds fascinating, and a lot of people mention it. I was thinking once about what the Traditionalism of Guénon or Evola might look like in a futuristic setting with space travel and such, and realized it’s pretty much Herbert’s Dune setting. Don’t know if that was his intention or not, but it’s interesting to think about; I might write about that sometime.
Anyhow, I think you’re spot on about liberal democracy—it seems to be strangling the life and sense of adventure out of us. All the awe and wonder is gone, and that’s no way to live. Glad to see other guys think the same!
I liked what you hinted at with these developers creating worlds that people actually want to live in. Nietzsche's main observation in the Birth of Tragedy is heavily connected with this same notion. Like with tragic stories, there is a beauty to dystopia. The worlds presented are perhaps a utopia for some, but for plenty of others, it's actually very dystopian. But, people want to live in this world regardless of that, because either way, it's way more full of meaning then politically correct modernity is.
Excellent point, and I think that gets to the heart of the problem. You’re absolutely right—modernity has stripped all meaning from life, all value and purpose, and that’s why we yearn for these worlds…even the “dystopian” ones.
Yes, there is a certain beauty to dystopia. I think that’s what we’re missing—the modern world has very little beauty, it seems to want to murder anything beautiful wherever it finds it. That’s what I found interesting about the “Buck Rogers XXVc” universe—it was dystopian as hell…but beautiful just the same, in its own weird way.
Thanks for the comment!
Greatly enjoyed your essay Dexia. Played some of the TSR games back in the day (downtime in the barracks) and brought back some good memories.
I always appreciate anyone writing about archeo-futuristic vision of the future.
Very nice.
Glad you enjoyed it. I’m amazed at how many guys fondly remember those old TSR games…I thought they were largely forgotten.