I’ve always been fascinated by Star Trek’s vision of the future
This article was written for us by A.S. Williamson, about the new Star Trek Victory game which launches soon. We don’t normally post articles that are adverts for games, but I thought this showed an insight on roleplaying which was quite interesting. – Onion
I’ve always been fascinated by Star Trek’s vision of the future
It’s not just the spaceships and the aliens, the technology and wonder – it’s this really unique look at the way that humanity evolves over the universe’s run. Star Trek’s various shows have been made during cynical times, but they’re not a cynical view on humanity. They’re a look at how man became a better creature by looking out towards the stars.
And yet…it’s a universe about the failure to reach those goals.
For every Kirk or Picard, Star Trek’s always been full of these characters that haven’t quite met the stated goals of the show’s societies. Most often, they’re aliens who are used to represent the worst of what man struggles with today. From time to time, though, they’re all-too human – people who aren’t bad people, but are deeply flawed. Sometimes, these are our protagonists – other times, they’re the foils, the object lesson in why the good guys are right.
Victory’s a game about those guys.
I’ve had the pleasure of playing in a game called Star Trek: Eternity for the last year. It’s a game about Star Trek on the macro scale, dealing with huge events, universe-endangering menaces and Big Questions. We’ve spent as much time talking about what it means to have a soul as we have escaping the Borg, and I’ve loved every moment of it. It’s Star Trek writ larger, albeit darkly.
It’s come time for that universe to expand a little bit, and I’ve got the wonderful chance to take the reigns. Instead of trying to replicate Eternity, I’m focusing on something rather smaller – on an old ship, a crew of misfits, and what it means to live up to the impossible ideals of a society that might be falling apart around your ears.
SEE ALSO: Need a scifi avatar for your character?
Victory takes place in the Prime Star Trek Universe, only a few years after the destruction of Romulus by the Hobus Supernova. The Federation has come out of a war with a group of Romulan fanatics victorious, but possibly at the cost of its soul. Worlds are seceding from the interstellar alliance, and Starfleet is turning dangerously inwards – the ideals are still there, but few are living up to them.
The USS Victory is an old ship, and her mission is simple – carry out Starfleet’s mission of protecting the Federation, beholden to no one but a shadowy cabal of Starfleet admirals. Her crew was handpicked for loyalty, but her mission lies in her cargo – a team of highly-skilled individuals, each of whom found themselves with no place else to go. Recruited from brigs, penal colonies, and backwater assignments, these men and women are given one last chance to live up to the high stands of Starfleet and save the Federation – even if that mean saving it from itself.
Victory will be launching on January 8th, and we’d really love to have more involvement. We’ve got a good core of players making the move to Ongoing Worlds with us, but we want more – we’re looking for people who like to write, who view roleplaying as a cooperative story-telling format and who aren’t afraid to go big.
Expect to hear more from us soon, but for now…Victory’s waiting.
Star Trek: Victory Launches on 1/8/15 – Link to the homepage
