#used future

[dnschmidt]

The Used Future Trope and Writing Science Fiction

I love science fiction where the technology is both amazing and junk. This kind of mixed technology is an example of the used future trope. Learn about the used future trope and how to use it to write better stories.

The Used Future Trope and Powerful Science Fiction - D.N. Schmidt

I love science fiction where the technology is both amazing and junk. Learn about the used future trope and how to use it to write better st

[grayrazor]

Firefly did a really good job establishing a “used future” aesthetic for itself that’s distinctly different from the Star Wars/Alien one.

At the Battles of Du Khang and Serenity Valley both sides have a crazy mix of anachronistic gear: WWII helmets, WWII antiaircraft guns with LEDs all over them and digital targeting displays, Old West dusters, chainmail armor, and of course bullpup assault rifles with all kinds of optics.

[grayrazor]

I think the big thing that makes Star Wars aesthetically unique among sci-fi settings is that it all has the look like its form had to be constrained by its function.

Like an engineering team were operating under conditions that required some sacrifices of aesthetics/symmetry for the sake of utility in the final product.

It's something that you see all the time in real vehicles and machinery but that's kind of rare in sci-fi (and in Star Wars it might be partially because they kitbashed everything out of things like old cameras, engine parts, and model kits).

Even the lightsabers, the “elegant weapons from a more civilized age,” just look like a random piece of machinery with buttons and knobs jutting out at odd angles (aside from the fancy ones in the prequels like Mace Windu’s).

[silverslipstream]

we're making out (I'm explaining the importance of used-future/utilitycore aesthetic in hard science fiction to you while a playlist entirely made up of tactile switch clicks, raster monitor buzzing and 80s-era electronic notification chimes is playing in the background)

[dnschmidt]

The Used Future Trope

I’ve always loved science fiction where the technology is simultaneously amazing and a piece of junk.  Give me interstellar spaceships that are so rusty and worn out that they barely make the journey, robots and computers that need a little “percussive maintenance” to make them work, and groundbreaking gadgets that could change the world, if only they had a fresh battery, some new wiring, and… never mind, it’s on fire again.

The most popular name for this trope is “used future”. So, what is so great about used future and how can we use it to tell stories?

Exploring the Used Future Trope in Science Fiction - D.N. Schmidt

I loved science fiction where the technology is both amazing and junk. Learn about the "used future" trope and how to use it to write better

[dnschmidt]

Exploring the Used Future Trope in Science Fiction - D.N. Schmidt

I loved science fiction where the technology is both amazing and junk. Learn about the "used future" trope and how to use it to write better

I’ve always loved science fiction where the technology is simultaneously amazing and a piece of junk.  Give me interstellar spaceships that are so rusty and worn out that they barely make the journey, robots and computers that need a little “percussive maintenance” to make them work.

Learn how to use the "used future" trope to write more believable, grounded science fiction stories.

[cinemaquiles]

Dica de cinema: A estética "Used future" no cinema e como reconhecê-la!