Hello!
I'm Blask, the developer for the Victopia mod.
The mod is set in an alternate timeline, set between 1980 and 2100. Franklin Delano Roosevelt dies on December 1944, which leads to a more aggressive early Cold War, the use of tactical nuclear weapons, widespread riots and revolts in the 60s, culminating in a vastly different world by the start of the game in 1980.
I try to stay close to the original gameplay and flavor of Victoria II, rather than the more realistic and complex approaches of similar Victoria mods, such as NWO and CWE. Similar to the base game, the game goes through social, political and economic revolutions, albeit at a faster and more dramatic pace.
The name of the mod is a portmanteau of Victoria and -topia (Greek suffix for place, but in this case, referencing both Utopia and Dystopia). It will be possible to lead nations into totalitarian techno-dystopias, environmental continental communes, laissez-faire mega-corporation paradises, engaged pluralistic democracies, and pretty much every conceivable system. The world of Brave New World is just as possible an outcome as Nineteen-Eighty-Four, as is the world of Neuromancer, or Gattaca.
The mod also possesses a narrative of sorts: having nation-states duke it out for supremacy in a grand strategy simulator is fun, but having specific entities pursuing specific goals, sometimes openly, sometimes covertly, adds to the world and the goals. A chaotic world is fertile ground for power-hungry individuals, organizations, and cabals, seeking local and global power. From the United Nations to the Bilderberg Group, from the Club of Rome to the Fifth International, transnational groups will have an effect on the world, sometimes openly, sometimes covertly. They may aid or hinder the player, depending on their goals and, if ambitious enough, could take direct control of nations. Perhaps we should line our thinking caps with tinfoil, just in case.
Technology plays a central role as well: not only it improves your nation, but it opens up new dilemmas and problems. Mass media is great, but it's easy to manipulate by domestic and foreign factors (and, perhaps, yourself). The Internet gives people the capacity to work remotely and access nearly limitless information, but it makes you vulnerable to cyberattacks. Nanomachines bring forth a medical and industrial revolution, at least until a madman unleashes a grey goo flood on the world. Perhaps we shouldn't dabble into exotic matter too much, lest we ignite the atmosphere.
Ultimately, the vision that I have for the mod is a balance of fun and engaging gameplay, with interesting world political, social, economic and technological development and challenges over time, within a realistic plausible path.
There's much to be done on the mod right now: localization, lots of techs, UI redesign, the entire economy... But I aim to work on it slowly, albeit surely, over time. As of right now, it's playable (albeit the game crashes every time a war is declared) and I'd love to get feedback: comments, suggestions, tips, bugs, and the like. Feel free to message me if needed :)
Thank you, and I hope you enjoy.
