Why dystopian?

[morfiction]

We all know something is bound to go really wrong in the world we live in so I think that's one of the reasons why Post Apocalyptic pops up a lot.

I would like to discuss my game and how its different but I'm on a NDA and am still getting permissions to tell about things.

So until I'm sure about the details, what do you think makes the apocalypse so entertaining?

[SlimShady]

I think the general hopelessness of post apocalyptic settings make them awesome. It's so hopeless that when something good happens it feels even better than usual. But, the thing that will make or break it is interesting characters.

[T.Allen.Smith]

Because it's the paramount of loss.

For thousands of years (longer really), humanity across the globe strived for security. We moved from hunter-gatherers to agriculture, developed food stores, technologies that separated us from the wild of nature. This allows us the false impression that we, as a species, control our environment. In reality, nothing can be farther from the truth.

The deep-seeded understanding that our idea of harnessing the world around us (our control of nature) is nothing more than a self-induced illusion is, in my opinion, the base reason of why post-apocalyptic stories resonate so strongly. Man again has to scratch out a life amidst harsh and unforgiving environments.... The achievements of thousands of years lost.

If you are talking about Pre-apocalyptic, then take the above and throw in the ultimate ticking clock for suspense.

[JonSnow]

To me, the most interesting thing is watching humans degenerate from metropolitan, pampered, socialized beings back into savages as resources become scarce, and the survival instincts kick in.

[Lorna]

what do you think makes the apocalypse so entertaining?

I think as a race we've always had a fascination with cosmology- beginnings and ends. Many people would like to see the end of the world (but probably not live through it). So we speculate about it.

I'm interested in apocalypse in its original sense as revelation. Not the apocalypse at the end of the world but APOCALYPSE NOW. For me The Book of Revelation and apocalyptic works like William Blake's The Four Zoas are based on insights into mystical realities that can be accessed through the imagination. Apocalypse can take place on an individual level as well as universal, and apocalyptic insights can suggest ways of shaping the world.

[Feo Takahari]

The apocalypse creates an adventure-friendly world. With limited resources, everyone squabbles over what's left, and without law enforcement, the protagonists must defend themselves from bandits and raiders rather than relying on others.

[ShortHair]

For one thing, stories set in our world are kind of boring.

For another, once you've put the Apocalypse in play, you can hold up our world to a funhouse mirror.

[CupofJoe]

For one thing, stories set in our world are kind of boring.

For another, once you've put the Apocalypse in play, you can hold up our world to a funhouse mirror.

I might have to disagree with you a little bit...
I love the idea of fantasy on a mundane background. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is almost perfect for being a 90 degrees view of London, but there again that is a fun-house mirror of sorts...

[Benjamin Clayborne]

For one thing, stories set in our world are kind of boring.

Don't tell the crime fiction genre that.

[Steerpike]

Don't tell the crime fiction genre that.

There are lots of great stories set in the real world. I agree. And not just crime fiction, but thrillers, horror novels, classics, and so on.