Arcadia

Week 1: The Concept

Tasks

• [x] Get / create a notebook
• [x] Develop your pitch: write down 3 to 7 (no more!) bullet points that "sell" the idea to the players
• [x] Gather your sources of inspiration: no more than 7 sources

Extra

• [x] assemble a mood board (e.g. on Pinterest )

Develop your pitch

• Animal Planet: There are no humans on Arcadia, instead the world is inhabited by walking & talking animals. Size differences are less extreme than in our world - mice are still small and elephants big, but they can sit next to each other on a cable car.
• Greenpunk: Much like our own world, Arcadia has been terribly exploited. Many, many generations ago, billions fled their dying home in huge colony ships, leaving the poor behind. But those who remained didn't sit idly by... Though Arcadia is still broken, it has been recovering over the past century thanks to a concerted effort to reconnect with nature and fix their ancestor's mistakes. Technology still exists, but on a much smaller and less connected scale. As it's not based on our modern world, the aesthetic for reclaimed green technology is steampunk.
• Kibo: The main city, sprawling and green, though not overpopulated. Think of it as Hobbiton built on the ruins of Ankh-Morpork. This is the base that you will return to between adventures. You can also stay and find many things to do here!
• Pastoral: Kibo relies on a huge network of farmers, craftsfolk, and workers in the countryside and wilderness around the city. Most adventures will see players set out to interact with these folk in one way or another, or just simply explore.
• Ruins Everywhere: Most of the cities and industries of the old civilisation were left for nature to reclaim, but Kibo's technical innovation relies on recycling the materials from the past. This means there is a constant demand for artifacts and reclaimed materials. Players will have the opportunity to explore these ruins to search for "treasure". But they will need to keep their wits about them — for there are dangers hiding in the depths.

Sources of Inspiration

Zootopia - for the anthropomorphic animals and an idyllic urban sprawl - there is a lot of inspiration here when it comes to different animals living in harmony together, though Arcadia will have less of a modern, and much more of a greenpunk / solarpunk aesthetic.

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts - featuring a post-apocalyptic setting where nature is reclaiming the ruins of a modern civilisation. Perfect material for Arcadia (and Kibo)!

Laputa: Castle in the Sky - a Ghibli masterpiece about the conflict of industry and nature, though in this case the conceit is reversed to what I'm doing with Arcadia. Interested in it mainly for the steampunk aesthetic.

Dinotopia - a utopian community featuring different species living in harmony. The aesthetic is also interesting in that it is a melting pot of cultures and mostly pre-industrial.

Mouse Guard - adventures focused mainly on the wilderness between mouse settlements and nature as a potential source of threat.