Community Craft: Messages Left Behind

[Matt Oostman]

Cross posted from the Facebook group:

Hey everybody! Want to get involved in a Spite Community Craft Project?
We're putting together props, deco, costumes, and other things that we'll need to run Spite, and while we'll have lots of opportunities for you to help out in the next few months, we've got an easy project that anyone (or everyone!) can start helping with right now!

Building an immersive world relies heavily on the details. One of the things we are doing to transform the Camp Kirby of 2015 into the Camp Kirby of 2045 is to highlight the things that illustrate the "recent" history of 2040-2045, when the camp was recently overrun by Dromanae. People had been using the camp as something of a waypoint to get to other islands in Puget Sound and to other parts of the state. While some of the buildings were being used to house civilian refugees for a night or two until a boat would arrive, people were being filed out quickly to be kept out of the way of the (military, scientific, and other) activities that were also using the camp as a staging ground.

With so many people coming to the camp and yet being forced to leave quickly, waiting for loved ones wasn't an option. Refugees would leave messages for family members, notices about missing people, information about where they were headed or where they had been, pictures, and other artifacts behind attached to a set of canvas banners hung in the main gathering place. We would like your help in creating the messages, pictures, and assorted items left behind.

Things to keep in mind:

• Items would have been created by people with the supplies they had on hand or things they carried with them. That said, there is actually an arts and crafts building on site, so use of markers/pens/paint/paper/etc is completely reasonable.
  
• Handwriting is better than type, as it's unlikely that anyone will have had access to a printer.
  
• Keep the size of your item in mind. If it is too small, it will be obscured or lost in the mix and fewer people will see it or interact with it. If it is too large it will probably end up getting at least partially covered with other items (expect a little overlap on all things around the edges at least).
  
• Between events we're probably going to need to store the canvas rolled, folded, or otherwise imperfectly. The submissions will probably get folded, scrunched, or otherwise damaged, but ideally this will add character and make them appear more worn and/or aged.
  
• We're going to affix items to the banners before we ever get to site if possible, so we'll be accepting items from people at our playtest events (TBA), at crafting nights (also TBA), and if someone in a group wants to collect them for a bunch of people and can make it to another event that we'll be at or can otherwise get them to Spite staffers, we'll take them then, too.
  
• Please don't submit anything that you would like to have back; items may get lost or damaged and we can't keep track of all of the items for you.
  
• If you use any photographs or other people's art make sure that you have any necessary permissions to do so.
  
• In Game, people would have been heading South overall, even if their immediate path was west or east. The local Hive is in Vancouver, BC, and everyone wants to get away from it as quickly as possible.
  
• The area is still under quarantine, but the quarantine area is massive, encompassing most of western Washington.
  
• There is a good amount of background material in the book about the major recent happenings in the world, but feel free to create specific minor events ("my house got crushed by a tree in the storm," "our team won the 2042 super bowl," "the Costco was completely raided," etc) that are impact-low but detail-high. Don't try to include plot details, we'll handle those sorts of entries.
  
• You do not have to be a good artist/writer to participate. The people leaving these messages probably weren't, either. They don't all even have to be particularly interesting, we can use a pile of things like, "Bobby, me an mom went to Orcas. If we don't see you by February meet us on Stewart, we heard they're letting people into Victoria from there. Wendy 1/14/43" We'll use lots of these sorts of quick and easy ones around the more in depth, artsy, or longer ones to add to the overall project. A hundred items on the canvas will be way better than ten really awesome ones.
  

Here are some links to similar sorts of aesthetic that illustrate what we're hoping to create:
http://media.battlestarwiki.org/images/f...orial2.jpg
http://media.battlestarwiki.org/images/1...orial9.jpg
http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/…/8/…/The...itings.jpg

[Matt Oostman]

We've already gotten a few batches of these from some people, mostly in English, but some in Japanese as well. If you're comfortable writing in another language, feel free to do so, but avoid using a computer to translate into a language you don't otherwise speak. We mostly need variety, but if enough people contribute just a few minutes we'll have a lot of different ideas and styles represented. Help us build something cool for Game 1!

[Jenna]

Did you still want donations for this even if they'll be brought to site on Friday?

I'm happy to make a few things and don't need points for it, but only if it's useful to you guys. Thanks!

[Barbara Martin]

Yes indeed. Please bring them to the Hive when you get on site, or to Logistics.

[John Pariury II]

Holly and I have a couple dozen or so to bring you all.

[Matt Oostman]

Thanks everyone that's contributing!
If anyone else would like to contribute, please bring your messages to game!

[Deanne Naylor]

Game appropriate graffiti?

[Matt Oostman]

So long as it doesn't damage site property or any other art (like the message wall) that's probably fine. It's hard to both be graffiti and be easily removed.

[Deanne Naylor]

I was going to put them on paper. "UNSCREW CYBORGS" "They are watching", trying to think up some military/bug insults.

[Matt Oostman]

Totally appropriate.