Apr 17, 2022 6:50 pm
In this game, a story is called a Mystery. It deals with a group of friends who try to solve Mysteries together. The friends are Kids, aged 10-15 years old, living in the late 1980s. Everyday Life is full of nagging parents, never-ending homework, and classmates bullying and being bullied.
The Mysteries allow the Kids to encounter strange machines and creatures that exist as a result of the nearby Loop, a huge underground particle accelerator built in the late 1960s. The Kids get to escape their everyday lives and problems and be part of something meaningful and magical, yet also dangerous. They risk getting injured and also changed by the Troubles they have to overcome to solve the Mysteries.
The '80s that Never Was
Things are not quite as you remember them. The ’80s of this game are filled with strange technology and top secret, government-run projects. The twin large particle accelerators in Sweden and the US are still active.
"Balanced autonomous systems" (commonly known as robots) are commonplace and 10,000 ton gauss freighters traffic the Tundra route to Siberia. This is the era of the Tales from the Loop.
Your Home Town is full of Strange and Fantastic Things
When fusion, particle accelerators and the magnetrine effect were discovered in the 1950s, it broke the boundaries between the possible and the impossible. Huge transport vessels fly, cyborgs and robots can think, scientists create time portals and objects that replace people’s identities. Strange beasts roam the landscape, and humanity can contact people and creatures from other times and places.
Not infrequently, things are created because of experiments that go wrong or random events that spawn something new and unexpected. Only the imagination limits what can happen in the land of the Loop in the late 1980s. The Kids should discover all these strange things. See the world through the eyes of Kids, as they are about to leave childhood with all of their lives ahead of them. They can do anything, and will do it to solve the Mysteries.
Use your own experiences from being a kid – whether you are one now or it was many years ago – to create magic and wonder. Think of how it feels to sneak out in the middle of the night to secretly meet your friends, to dive deep underwater to gather stones or ride your bike as fast as you can on hilly trails through the woods. Think of how it feels to sit sweating in a secret tree hut with friends and how those first days of summer break feel. Think of what it is like to spy on the creepy guy with the dogs, or listen to the older kids’ stories about burglars or the strange old lady. Let yourself be enchanted.
Everyday Life is Dull and Unforgiving
The alarm clock rings every morning, and homework must be done every night. It does not matter that the magnetrine ships sail by outside the window, that mom and dad still quarrel, and your brother seems to hate you. Your house smells fishy and you don’t get enough pocket money to buy that tape you want. The garbage has to be thrown out every day, bullies give you nicknames, and your bike is broken. It’s raining, and you have no raincoat.
Life is full of setbacks and obstacles. The adults decide and do as they please, and Kids are forced to do as they say. Sure, sometimes a problem is solved and you enjoy a nice moment, but it only lasts a short while, then it’s the same as before. Everyday life.
Adults are out of Reach and out of Touch
It does not matter what you say; the adults neither listen nor understand. They live in their own world, distinct from the Kids. There’s no point in asking them for help with problems, Mysteries to be solved or Troubles that must be overcome. The Kids are at the mercy of each other. The adults won’t even believe in all the strange things that the Kids encounter.
The adults nag and whine and argue with each other. They are busy with themselves and their work. Moreover, they are ignorant. It is usually their mistakes that the Kids need to fix – machines that run amok, experiments gone bad, aircraft that crash or explode. The worst are the adults who actually see the Kids and want to exploit or harm them.
Sometimes adults help, like when your dad comforts you, or you call the police and they catch the burglars, but it never lasts and it often comes with a price. The police take all the glory, your stepmom wants you to mow the lawn all summer as payment for her help, or your teacher sees you as an ally and expects you to help her keep an eye on the bad guys in class.
The Land of the Loop is Dangerous but Kids will not Die
The Kids can be hurt, locked up, mocked, displaced, robbed, or broken-hearted, but they cannot die in this game.
