# Mixing Science Fiction and Fantasy. Hybrid World?



## alien (Nov 14, 2012)

That has been on my mind for awhile. I've tried it a few times, but I can never strike a balance between the two genres. I mean, you can't have fairies running around a star destroyer, right? (Well you could but, gah, nevermind...)

So basically, it would be the challenge. The challenge of creating a believable world. I mean an example would be Star Wars. It's not really literature, (In some cases it is,) but it was an example of how to create a believable science fiction world with heavy fantasy elements. (Monarchies, laser swords, 'magical' powers, etc.)
^
But that's not really the case of what I would aim for.

What I wanted to do was mix high fantasy elements with science fiction elements, and see what it would produce. The result?

Well maybe a fantasy/science fiction world with spiritual elements. Even a type of magic. (That isn't a ripoff of the force of course.)

Thoughts? I'm all over the place on this, so I'm not sure if I conveyed myself right. 

Perhaps what I meant to say was, maybe one could create the opposite of star wars, a fantasy world, with heavy science fiction elements. Now that would be something.


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## Cosmolien (Nov 14, 2012)

Yea that would be really cool and i do think that someone should try that. But isn't science fiction almost a form of fantasy because some people would argue that fantasy has no limits and the same with science fiction.

Just a thought
Cosmolien


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## alien (Nov 14, 2012)

Sometimes science fiction is just, well, science. Science that could be, might be, might not be... Not really fantasy. (Take 2001 for example.)

Then there's star wars, which is beyond the scope of reality. (So it harbors fantasy, rather than hard science fiction. Absolutely the polar opposite of 2001, A Space Odyssey.)

But to zero in on such a concept, I was thinking something like a Middle Earth, but with advanced technology, laser swords, and of course schools of magic.

asgfasgfas

Too much for my little mind to comprehend at the moment. This requires thinking. But of course everything comes down to the overall theme and setting, you can't build a word in a single word.


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## Wanara009 (Nov 14, 2012)

What about _Rise of Legends_? Its a mix between steam-clockpunk, Arabian night , and alien-technology and it is glorious.

Also, Ultima 1 have space-shuttle, phazer (spelled Phazor), and a mission where you have to be come a space ace.


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## Chilari (Nov 14, 2012)

Have a look at the lore surrounding the Asura in Guild Wars. They're a technologically advanaced, scientifically-minded race that do experiments on magical stuff. Yes it's for a game rather than a story and thus the lore fits different needs, but it might be interesting to look at to give you some ideas.


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## Queshire (Nov 14, 2012)

Ah, this is one of the things that I have always loved, and it's definitely possible. One big example of this type of thing that I've seen is Final Fantasy XIII, yeah, the game play is only so-so, but I love the story and the setting.


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## Steerpike (Nov 14, 2012)

Yes, this has been done any number of times. It can be done quite well, and when it is I enjoy it.


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## Steerpike (Nov 14, 2012)

Chilari said:


> Have a look at the lore surrounding the Asura in Guild Wars. They're a technologically advanaced, scientifically-minded race that do experiments on magical stuff. Yes it's for a game rather than a story and thus the lore fits different needs, but it might be interesting to look at to give you some ideas.



Doesn't the Charr area look like they crashed onto the planet in some kind of space craft?


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## Centerfield97 (Nov 14, 2012)

What about a fantasy society that evolved its technology through magic? You could have a super high tech scifi setting built upon its previously fantasy roots


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## Penpilot (Nov 14, 2012)

There's an old RPG and its associated tie-in books that combines Cyberpunk and Fantasy. It's called Shadowrun. If you're interested here are a couple of links. Shadowrun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia List of Shadowrun books - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You can used these to borrow ideas from what's been done before.


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## Ankari (Nov 14, 2012)

Penpilot said:


> There's an old RPG and its associated tie-in books that combines Cyberpunk and Fantasy. It's called Shadowrun. If you're interested here are a couple of links. Shadowrun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia List of Shadowrun books - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> You can used these to borrow ideas from what's been done before.



I've played Shadowrun.  An excellent RPG and a great story.  I'm surprised not many authors (including myself) haven't used this sort of premise.  The conflict of supernatural vs technology and racial divides would be a hotbed of great stories.


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## Saigonnus (Nov 14, 2012)

Penpilot said:


> There's an old RPG and its associated tie-in books that combines Cyberpunk and Fantasy. It's called Shadowrun. If you're interested here are a couple of links. Shadowrun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia List of Shadowrun books - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> You can used these to borrow ideas from what's been done before.



I was just thinking the same thing when I read the title for the thread. I used to play it for a change of pace and I must admit we had alot of fun with it. 

I would think you can take any fantasy world, one that you already have for a WIP or whatever since it's already populated fleshed out and move it forward in time to the future. I have already begun working on a similar concept, taking a fantasy world and all it's elements and simply moving it forward to "modern times". I posted a thread about magical yet modern communication in the world building forums, but I have gone beyond that quite a bit. 

The basics for any world building is much the same whether you are talking fantasy or science fiction:

Societal structure: Who does what?, caste systems?, hierarchy?

Geography: What does the world(s) look like (start with a managable area, one you'd use for the story)

Government: Oligarchy? Tyrant? Republic? Religious Commune? How does this affect the ordinary people.

Transportation: Trains? Shuttles? Planes? Magically-powered wagons? Getting around is important for the characters and you should have at least a good idea of how they would travel in the world.

Communication: Holograms? Video phones? magical devices?



There is alot more involved, and there are plenty of threads on the subject of fantasy world building in the forums.


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## VanClash (Nov 14, 2012)

I wrote a story a while back about a fantasy world invaded by a hive minded alien race.

Either way I really like when sci-fi is mixed with fantasy. It feels really awesome when you have people with swords cutting through aliens.


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## Zero Angel (Nov 14, 2012)

I've done this in my main series so if you have any questions or hurdles you need help overcoming feel free to ask my opinion.

My series appears to be high fantasy, but it has steampunk, fantasy sci-fi and hard sci-fi as well.


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## alien (Nov 14, 2012)

Very interesting opinions, and thanks for the pointers! 

Although building such a world might not be my top priority at the moment, it has been on my mind... just... hmmm...


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