A place to share and discuss Cassette Futurism: media where the technology closely matches the computers and technology of the 70s and 80s.
Whether it's bright colors and geometric shapes, the tendency towards stark plainness, or the the lack of powerful computers and cell phones, Cassette Futurism includes: Cassettes, ROM chips, CRT displays, computers reminiscent of microcomputers like the Commodore 64, freestanding hi-fi systems, small LCD displays, and other analog technologies.
See this blog to know more.
Some text from a constructed world I play around with that leans into an 80s tech aesthetic. FTL communication exists, but the data rate is comparable to a dial up modem. Vibrant multimedia experiences like we see on the modern web do exist, but isolated to planet-wide internetworks. Interplanetary communication is a purely text-based affair.
The text is read from right to left, and is just the word for operating system in one of my conlangs.
It looks like Japanese hiragana! I like it!
Thanks! Here are a few more samples:
Part of the livery of a particular spacecraft, spelling out the craft's name, Dewfall.
The word for 'Mech hangar' (Every sci-fi setting needs some big ol' stompy walking war crimes).
Another attempt at a glowing CRT aesthetic. This is the name of the worldbuilding project as a whole "The Lonely Galaxy".
And here's what the writing system looks like when hand-written. The word is "egg eater", which is a very vulgar insult among these oviparous aliens. The aesthetic of the script leans toward the Brahmic writing systems of South and Southeast Asia.
That's so cool!
Where did you derive the words from, and what do they sound like if they sound like anything?
Where possible I use an Anglish (YouTube Link) translation convention for alien words since their languages are unutterable by humans (and vice versa). As for how they sound, imagine the quiet yipping and growling made by a dreaming dog. The word in the OP is Romanized (if you can call it that) as GJbfrMr, and is pronounced /long rising weak growl, short rising strengthening whine, chuff, long low strong grunt, chuff/. The root word is the verb GJ meaning to work or to make and the suffix -bfr, which forms nouns from verbs or adjectives with a meaning of a software program or digital service described by the root. -Mr is an 3rd person proximal noun suffix roughly meaning "this..." or "this is a..."
I post my worldbuilding stuff mostly on the CBB conlanging forum, and there's a comprehensive grammar for Commonthroat--the most widely spoken alien language--on FrathWiki. Sometimes I put stuff on a worldbuilding community here on lemmy [email protected].
*edit: got my own grammar wrong.
Really cool concept and design!
Thanks!
Looks very much like ASCII art to me
I don't see the resemblance to ASCII art, aside from being monochrome.
I think they mean stuff like what figlet chucks out:
This is correct. I use "ASCII art" to refer mostly to fancy CLI welcome messages
I'm getting wipeout aesthetics