Futuristic Sports & Entertainment

[Sir Ra]

In ST:NTG Riker plays a game of ambujitsu with his father.It's like dueling with quarter-staves but blindfolded.

[mrinku]

This is actually something I've put a lot of thought into.  In the Harry Potter books, Rowling put out a version of a sport that frankly is the kind of thing someone who knows nothing about sports would invent.  I want to come up with some alternate sporting craze for my fantasy world, but I can't think of anything unique or that would make sense.  In a world where you have super agile elves and burly, durable dwarves along with humans, catmen, lizard men, etc it can be a bit difficult to work out a sport that takes advantage of all that.

 

I wouldn't want any magic in the mix because it messes up the entire dynamic.  The grand tournament (jousting, melee, tests of skill, etc) makes sense, even in a non-medieval europe world, but others its hard to figure.

 

 

I'm so hoping that I'm bringing this to your attention:

 

http://www.bloodbowl-game.com/

 

Magic can often be regulated if you don't want it banned outright. But it's a given that someone is going to try cheating anyway.

 

Most team sports can be divided between ball-in-a-goal type (All football codes, Hockey, Basketball, Lacrosse, Polo etc) and bat-and-ball games (Cricket, Baseball  etc).

 

It's also worth noting that in fantastic settings where injuries and even death may be mere inconveniences that even non-combat entertainment might get quite rough. Plus in your actual medieval setting life is generally a bit cheaper anyway. Jousting and Village Football are real medieval sports and routinely resulted in maiming or death. Various entertainments that involved animal cruelty were normal up until the 19th C, too (cock and dog fighting, bear and bull baiting, bullfighting etc) and are still done today (though typically illegally).

[IndianaJoe3]

Most team sports can be divided between ball-in-a-goal type (All football codes, Hockey, Basketball, Lacrosse, Polo etc) and bat-and-ball games (Cricket, Baseball  etc).

 

Motor sports are also team sports. There may be only one driver (at a time, endurance races use 2 or more for longer events), but they might be supported by dozens of mechanics and hundreds of designers and engineers.

[megaplayboy]

I have a vague concept for a game called "Battleball".  The backstory is that it was developed to help train supersoldiers, and eventually, with a proliferation of powered armor and various kinds of enhanced human(oid)s, it became a crowd favorite sport.  The basics:

1. Field is 125m x 125m for "full squad" play, 64 x 64 for "half squad" play.  A full squad is 8-12, a half squad is 4-6.  

2. One player on each side is the Captain of the team.  

3. The "Ball" is fairly heavy(8-32 lb, or 4-16kg), but can generally be thrown, dribbled, kicked or carried.  

4. The rules are a mix of football, soccer, basketball and mixed martial arts.  Throwing, dribbling, and kicking the ball are permitted.  Strikes and throws are permitted, within limits(line of scrimmage, strikes to prevent or cause tackles, throws to prevent or cause tackles, etc.)

5. Points can be scored in the following ways: capturing the enemy flag(1 point), knocking down the captain while he has the ball(2 points), scoring a goal(3 points).  

6. A lot of variants can be introduced--obstacles on the field, use of vehicles(typically motorcycles, jetpacks, etc.), superpowers, handicap matches(up to full squad vs half squad), etc.

 

It's generally intended for a superhero campaign setting, but could certainly be adapted for a sci fi setting. 

[mrinku]

Motor sports are also team sports. There may be only one driver (at a time, endurance races use 2 or more for longer events), but they might be supported by dozens of mechanics and hundreds of designers and engineers.

 

Yeah, I'd be good with that. Sailing is another example of a different style where a crew team work together to win a race. Relay racing as well.

 

And doubles tennis is a team of two (though that counts as a bat-and-ball game).

[mrinku]

 

3. The "Ball" is fairly heavy(8-32 lb, or 4-16kg), but can generally be thrown, dribbled, kicked or carried.  

 

 

I like the idea, but have my doubts about the practicality of dribbling that thing, even for supers 

 

And unless required by some "carrying" rule (Basketball, Australian Rules Football) dribbling isn't normally something that's done. Bouncing it off a surface to get it to a spot, as in Real Tennis or Squash, sure.

[assault]

 

And unless required by some "carrying" rule (Basketball, Australian Rules Football) dribbling isn't normally something that's done. Bouncing it off a surface to get it to a spot, as in Real Tennis or Squash, sure.

 

How Australian of you.

 

Apparently soccer doesn't come to your mind when you hear the word "dribbling".

 

[Old Man]

I had suppressed this memory, but:

 

[mrinku]

How Australian of you.

 

Apparently soccer doesn't come to your mind when you hear the word "dribbling".

 

 

Indeed it did not

 

I shoulda known better, though. I'm not soccer ignorant.

[tkdguy]

The future of yacht racing?

 

[tkdguy]

American Gladiators was a mixed bag. Some of the sports were cool, others were just weird. Still, kudos for trying.

 

As for music, here are some strange instruments.

 

Edit: The theremin and moog synthesizer aren't new, but they seem pretty futuristic as well.

[mrinku]

Sims 3 Into the Future had a kind of laser harp. You played it by moving your hands into light beams which triggered synthesised sounds.

[tkdguy]

Laser harp works; I posted a video here. There's also the eigenharp. Here's a performance:

 

 

Electric violin is another option.

 

[mrinku]

The Sims 3 Laser Rythm-a-Con looks like this:

 

 

It has a lot in common with the theremin, though I'd guess digital over analog. 

[megaplayboy]

I had suppressed this memory, but:

 

There's enough feathering there to restock an aviary.

[tkdguy]

I mentioned a couple of sports in this list.

 

And since this one didn't make the list: Zapball

[tkdguy]

We talked about the performing arts. Let's take a look at the fine arts.

 

For example, a museum may have an exhibit of digital photography. [Note: The artist is selling prints of these photos, so downloading these images may count as piracy. Not sure about this; just playing safe. My intent here is just to provide examples for our discussion.]

 

That museum will undoubtedly have its share of sculptures.

[IndianaJoe3]

For example, a museum may have an exhibit of digital photography. [Note: The artist is selling prints of these photos, so downloading these images may count as piracy. Not sure about this; just playing safe. My intent here is just to provide examples for our discussion.]

 

There could also be purely digital tools that don't have an analog in physical media. Kai's Power Tools (KPT) is a modern example.

[Old Man]

I haven't heard of Kai's for twenty years. Are they still around?

[IndianaJoe3]

I haven't heard of Kai's for twenty years. Are they still around?

 

Sort of. Some are still available as free downloads, but they're only 32-bit.

[mrinku]

OH! Just recalled that Dream Park is a spectator entertainment (and highly lucrative). And pre-dates reality TV and competitive video game watching by a couple of decades.

 

Why is no-one already doing this?

[Old Man]

What's Dream Park?

[wcw43921]

This is Dream Park

[mrinku]

Yup. Hmm... hadn't heard they'd done a fourth book. Have to look that up.

 

I miss Larry.

[tkdguy]

Video game competitions like this event are already in existence. Maybe they will be eventually become mainstream.