The Sci-Fi Genre

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I can remember it like it was yesterday. October, 1976, Sunday night, 7pm.

I was already dressed for bed and I settled down in front of the TV.

“When you wish upon a star” played from the speakers and the opening credits of “The Wonderful World of Disney” played across the screen. This was a normal Sunday night for me and it is the reason I am a huge Kurt Russell fan to this day.

But this night of television was going to be very different.

This night was going to change me forever.

The music swelled and the screen was filled with stage curtains in blue, lights like waves splashed over the opening credits as the title card “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” played across the screen.

That movie started my love of Science Fiction. The next day I checked out the Jules Verne book from the library and when I finished that, I went back for more. The Journey to the Center of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon, Mysterious Island, and Around the World in Eighty Days just to name a few.

Since then, Science Fiction has been my go-to when I am reading, watching TV or films, and gaming.

The Science Fiction Genre has been described as the “Literature of Ideas” and it’s one of the most versatile and expansive genres in existence. From the fantasy landscapes of J.R,R, Tolkien, to the time travelling HG Wells, to the Ringworlds of Larry Niven and the depths of the human mind from Neil Stephenson, Sci-Fi can do it all.

On this episode Christina, Mike and I are going to talk about the Sci-Fi genre and how to bring it to life in your roleplaying games.

Christina, do you remember your first exposure to Sci-Fi?