1. Pointer

    Pointer New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2013
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0

    Post apocalyptic... western?

    Discussion in 'Setting Development' started by Pointer, Jul 8, 2013.

    Just a thought I'm playing with at the moment. Thought I'd see what the consensus was.

    How do you feel about post apocalyptic cowboys?
     
  2. redreversed

    redreversed Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2013
    Messages:
    117
    Likes Received:
    14
    Location:
    Ireland
    Uh, they're fine I suppose?:p
     
  3. mbinks89

    mbinks89 Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 14, 2012
    Messages:
    548
    Likes Received:
    27
    Location:
    Montreal
    Sure. That's a pretty vague concept. Don't see why it couldn't work. Maybe more detail?
     
  4. ArnaudB

    ArnaudB Member

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2012
    Messages:
    37
    Likes Received:
    10
    It more seen in videogames than novels I believe, but if you want some setting Fallout or games like this could undoubtedly provide you with all the world-building you need. (Mutated animals herds?)

    Just try, there is no reason it shouldn't work. Do remember however that 'duels' between cowboys in early US were far more common in literature than in History.
     
  5. psychotick

    psychotick Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2011
    Messages:
    1,526
    Likes Received:
    477
    Location:
    Rotorua, New Zealand
    Hi,

    Post apocalyptic westerns? It's been done well - The Postman by David Brin - a truly great read and in essence a western. And also not so well - that film staring Mark Hamill - Slipstream.

    I think the one thing you always have to avoid if your go down this route is the clash of genres. If you've ever seen Joss Whedon's firefly you'll understand what I mean. Brilliant show, fantastic characterization and plot. But the sheer clash between being in space on space ships etc and pulling out six shooters and wearing civil war uniforms and of course the damned dialogue kept hitting me between the eyes every time. It was just so wrong. Keep the themes and plots of the westerns, but always remember it's is not the wild west of the 1870's or so.

    Cheers, Greg.
     
  6. psychotick

    psychotick Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2011
    Messages:
    1,526
    Likes Received:
    477
    Location:
    Rotorua, New Zealand
    Hi,

    Post apocalyptic westerns? It's been done well - The Postman by David Brin - a truly great read and in essence a western. And also not so well - that film staring Mark Hamill - Slipstream.

    I think the one thing you always have to avoid if your go down this route is the clash of genres. If you've ever seen Joss Whedon's firefly you'll understand what I mean. Brilliant show, fantastic characterization and plot. But the sheer clash between being in space on space ships etc and pulling out six shooters and wearing civil war uniforms and of course the damned dialogue kept hitting me between the eyes every time. It was just so wrong. Keep the themes and plots of the westerns, but always remember it's is not the wild west of the 1870's or so.

    Cheers, Greg.
     
  7. JetBlackGT

    JetBlackGT Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2013
    Messages:
    462
    Likes Received:
    158
    Location:
    Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, United States
    Mad Maxx. Waterworld. The Postman.

    In one way or another, they are "Westerns". My book was one ;-) Although Jed had a mule, rather than a horse, in book two, he goes out to get horses. It worked, in my mind, anyway.
     
  8. Erasmus B. Dragon

    Erasmus B. Dragon New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2013
    Messages:
    39
    Likes Received:
    2
    The new TV show Defiance is another good example.

    I didn't find the seeming anachronisms on Firefly jarring at all. All of the characters grew up on planets with distinct cultures, levels of technology, and dialect differences. Of course they would take those differences into space with them. It seems reasonable that a poor colony world might still use six-shooters as low cost, easy to make and repair weapons, while a more established world with a more advanced industrial base might have laser or energy bolt weapons. Capt. Mal would use the weapon he is most comfortable with.

    It's very likely that that far in the future English would be unrecognizable to us, and the dialect spoken on a rich "big city" planet might be very different from the one spoken on a frontier colony world, much like the difference between an Alabama trailer park, a street corner in Queens, and the halls of the British Parliament. It seems reasonable to use our modern linguistic quirks to illustrate the character's diverse backgrounds, rather than trying to invent linguistic styles that wouldn't have the same connotations to the viewers, and might make those characters harder to relate to.

    Same argument goes for clothes. The clothes that were practical for cowboys and farmers on Earth would be just as practical for agrarian colonists on other worlds.
     
  9. Mouthwash

    Mouthwash Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2012
    Messages:
    476
    Likes Received:
    193
    The Gunslinger could fall under "post-apocalyptic Western," I suppose.
     
  10. AVCortez

    AVCortez Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2013
    Messages:
    390
    Likes Received:
    22
    Location:
    Melbourne, Australia
    Post-apocalyptic worlds draw a lot from westerns - After all, that's what the wild-west was. A vast, lawless land.

    I think I get what you mean though; wanderers wearing dusters, carrying six-shooters, smokin' cigars, poker, whiskey and shoot-outs at high-noon. I've done a lot of 2d artwork working in this theme, though they were characters within a group, within a world, not the actual world itself. Personally I think it works brilliantly, but I like westerns and really dig the aesthetic.
     
  11. ChaosReigns

    ChaosReigns Ov The Left Hand Path Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2013
    Messages:
    1,155
    Likes Received:
    554
    Location:
    Medway, Kent, UK
    its certainly not a bad idea, fusing westerns with other genres has been done (take a look at Knights Of Cyodonia by Muse, that fuses western with sci-fi)
     
  12. Alesia

    Alesia Pen names: AJ Connor, Carey Connolly Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2013
    Messages:
    1,031
    Likes Received:
    285
    Location:
    Morristown, TN
    I have no problem with it. Large parts of Fallout New Vegas are "Western" influenced and I played that for over 580 hours and loved every second.
     
  13. Darkjester79

    Darkjester79 Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2011
    Messages:
    67
    Likes Received:
    8
    Location:
    Michigan
    Its an interesting world to say the least. So many of the good examples have been used, Mad Maxx, Gunslinger, Postman, and all of these were just great. There is a great vib to that setting. You have survival, lawlessness, isolation depending etc. . . It can work wonders on the silver screen and in story as well.
     
  14. maskedhero

    maskedhero Active Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2013
    Messages:
    365
    Likes Received:
    32
    Location:
    America
    Yee-haw.

    Time to saddle up and go forth, into that radioactive sunset.

    It could work, but when was the apocalypse, and how much is left in the apocalypse?
     
  15. Kyle Lemieux

    Kyle Lemieux New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2013
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Shelburne, Vermont, United States
    i would be interested to hear what caused the apocalypse in this cowboy era story of yours :)
     
  16. Justin Ladobruk

    Justin Ladobruk Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2013
    Messages:
    242
    Likes Received:
    7
    As a person that likes science fiction books but generally hates science fiction shows and movies but ranked Firefly a 10/10 and Serenity a 9/10, I might just have to beat you with Jayne's rain stick.
     
  17. JetBlackGT

    JetBlackGT Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2013
    Messages:
    462
    Likes Received:
    158
    Location:
    Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, United States
    I hope it's Olestra.
     
  18. Kyle Lemieux

    Kyle Lemieux New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2013
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Shelburne, Vermont, United States
    thats a strange hope for how the world reaches its apocalypse haha.
     
  19. JetBlackGT

    JetBlackGT Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2013
    Messages:
    462
    Likes Received:
    158
    Location:
    Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, United States
    I want the world to go out with a splash. ;-)
     
  20. Justin Ladobruk

    Justin Ladobruk Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2013
    Messages:
    242
    Likes Received:
    7
    I Googled Olestra and this statement made me die a little inside. :p
     
  21. MsScribble

    MsScribble Member

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2012
    Messages:
    92
    Likes Received:
    16
    Location:
    Australia
    I love apocalyptic stories, I've written some short pieces myself and hope to turn them into something more one day. Wether or not the western genre will work is up to you and your writing. I know someone said its been done before but really, everything's been done before! A billion zombie movies and we still want more. So if you do decide to do it, go for it with gusto and feel free to contact me if you want any info about horses. (There will be horse's, right?)
     
  22. TerraIncognita

    TerraIncognita Aggressively Nice Person Contributor

    Joined:
    May 28, 2010
    Messages:
    1,332
    Likes Received:
    39
    Location:
    Texas
    I think it would be just fine if written correctly. Like anything else it's all about how it's written. I've seen the fusion of the two work just fine together several times before. So if you really want to do it then go for it! :)
     
  23. JetBlackGT

    JetBlackGT Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2013
    Messages:
    462
    Likes Received:
    158
    Location:
    Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, United States
    What would an end-of-the-world scenario be without an obscure Olestra "anal leakage" reference? :) Yuck!
     
  24. Kita

    Kita New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2012
    Messages:
    126
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Northern Ireland
    It is a fusion that could work quite well. Although it is not a piece of literature, the Undead Nightmare expansion for Red Dead Redemption proved quite successful. Admittedly I have only played it briefly but it was quite appealing and I do love zombies even with the multitude of movies and books about them.
     
  25. Kyle Lemieux

    Kyle Lemieux New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2013
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Shelburne, Vermont, United States
    That's a great history for the people " Do you remember how the world got this bad in the first place? You dont want to know son!"
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice