Tibet - The Roof of the World Thread

HI there,

This MOD idea diverges a bit from the mainstream in that it is an historical adventure based on recorded and mytho-historical events which have happened in Tibet. It also diverges in that it will have RPG elements based on real-life models of Character and Personality Development culled from Developmental Psychology and related disciplines... the main consequence of this being that, if you want to avoid serious future psychosis and rebirth as a flatfish, you should avoid killing people willy-nilly! Actions considered inhumane, gratuitous and otherwise mostly detrimental to health and well-being will cause similar results in-game.

Obviously this introduces a whole new set of problems and opportunities to writing a mod... and hopefully a dangerous new precedent in Morally Positive Gameplay. As such is could be somewhat experimental!

The main ambition however is to render in wonderful detail some of the central characters and events of Modern Tibet and it's Historical Mythology.

The recreation of pre-1950's Tibet, the windswept grandeur, the hardy nomads, the majesty of the Himalaya, the pageantry and medieval resonance of an society unchanged for over a thousand years. There is also a wealth of wonderful imagery... The Tibetans are filled with colour and art and music, both Religious and Secular. I was told this is because they spend so much of the year behind closed doors, they had to find hobby's! It must be for this same reason that they have ended up with such a wealth of Story and Myth involving the most Excellent Gods and Awesome Demons....

The Tibetan Worldview is ideally suited to being placed in the 'quest' environment, indeed many of the great Tibetan Buddhist Heroes have those same trends of questing in search of Learning or Wisdom (rarely for loot or fame!) in their biographies... with the inevitable tests and challenges... and then there is the Chinese invasion itself...

So there is much material, much of which I am familiar enough with... as a practising Tibetan Buddhist... to be certain of a number of compelling and unique storylines and scenarios...

So that's the outline.

I have no Website yet... the webspace but no site... but I can do that, no problem. I will also be doing most of the writing and research for historical accuracy, unless there are some of you who really want to help in that area? (It could be really interesting) And I shall be gathering all of the base assets upon which all modelling and level design will be done (photographs, designs, artwork etc). It will be rather complex as, in order to maintain accuracy, all mod assets and level designs must be consistent with the evidence. E.g. Religious Paraphenalia (ritual objects, robe colours, artwork etc) is pretty much unique to each of the many Lineages within Tibet and rises and falls away historically too... so there is much work in maintaining Historical Congruence. I shall also initally design and work closely with a programmer to implement the character development engine. Other than that I will be sitting back watching you lot do the real work

Actually I will be doing as much of the incidental Modelling, and the Landscaping, as I can fit in, as I imagine there will be a lot of Meshes and the landscapes will be based on exisitng landscape data ... and that's where my skill set will end... Oh yes, I will be able to do Music too as I have access to a great Tibetan singer!

So give me a shout. Any help appreciated. (BTW, I am doing this mainly for the pleasure and because I have a strong personal interest in Tibet... I also think it will be good to present Tibet and Buddhism in context as much as possible and it could act as great introduction to Tibetan Culture and History, an educational or teaching resource even. I am not a fascist leader, nor will I impose deadlines, nor will I get pissed at anyone who drops out for whatever reason...Life should be fun... hobbies should be even more fun...)

You get the picture.

Engine: Aiming at Unreal3
Timescale: 2006
Email: ekajatik@yahoo.co.uk

SysTheo