What is Project Violacea?
Project Violacea is a vision of the future that serves as a setting for various creative works by the Sugar Gamers, such as games, fiction stories, art, movies, and comic books. In the sci-fi setting of Project Violacea, the members of Sugar Gamers have designed their own personal characters – writing their backstories and dressing up as them in cosplay. Our hope is that you, our readers and fans, will come up with your own character in the world of Project Violacea and contribute stories, art, cosplay, or whatever you like to this ever-evolving fictional world.
We have also spent long nights discussing the vision of the future that is Project Violacea. Because Sugar Gamers has such a unique composition of members, Project Violacea possesses a very distinct flavor and focus than traditional sci-fi. For example, most of the Sugar Gamers are black women who care more about biology, sustainability, culture, empathy, and collaboration than the individualistic, mechanical, and isolating themes we often find in sci-fi.
A Diverse Cast of Character
Historically, women and people of color (especially in America) have had a very different relationship with science and technology than many other demographics. In the past, women and POCs were more likely to be the ones being experimented upon, rather than administering the experiments. This has led to many inhumane tragedies, such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, the research conducted on inmates at the Holmesburg Prison, James Marion Sims’ research, forced sterilizations, and the complicated story of Henrietta Lacks.
This history combined with our post-millennium world laid the foundation for our vision of Project Violacea. Because collaboration and diversity are so important to us and the story, we are building a structure to allow our audience to contribute to and fill in the gaps in this fictional world. Read below for more details of the specific world of Project Violacea and who you can become involved.
The Project Violacea World So Far
In a dystopian future ruled by an oppressive totalitarian regime called the MOX Hierarchy, a group of super revolutionaries is waging a war for liberty, knowledge, and justice. The MOX took control of the world as it teetered on the brink of world war, environmental collapse, and global pandemic.
To save humanity, the MOX built great, domed cities covered in solar panels. The walls of the cities protect the citizens from the blasted, plagued wasteland the outside world has become, but they come at a cost. Because climate change, pollution, and environmental destruction have made life on earth so harsh, the MOX is forced to make difficult decisions to protect the cities daily.
To protect the cities from the within, the MOX maintains an iron grip on society by controlling the dissemination of knowledge and innovation. They target those who could inspire revolution or empower people through education. Information repositories (libraries, schools, laboratories, and universities) are heavily scrutinized and controlled.
Brainwashing, Surveillance, BioChemicals, Drugs and Soldiers
The MOX subjects its citizens to harsh brainwashing, surveillance, and genetic experimentation. Soldiers are injected with biochemical cocktails of synthetic nootropic drugs and steroids that vastly enhance the capabilities of humans. Once inoculated, these soldiers transform into unstoppable killing machines obedient to the MOX regime.
Despite these dire circumstances, there is hope. There is a secret underground uprising. With the help of the thinkers of tomorrow, the teachers of today are creating their own revolution.
A group of fugitive scientists and philosophers developed an implant using a mutated flower found outside the protected walls called Violacea. Once inside a person’s body, it greatly enhances their abilities — physically, mentally, and even potentially psychically. However, the implant works in unexpected and volatile ways.
Despite its monolithic appearance, individuals like you or I can stand before the MOX. The revolution is small, and we here at Sugar Gamers want you to be a part of it.
Create a cause, invent your story of triumph. We encourage you to design your own identity, good, evil, or anywhere in between. In Project Violacea, all are welcome. Now the fate of humanity rests with you.
Why Does Project Violacea Matter to the Sugar Gamers Community?
Sugar Gamers has been an advocate for underrepresented demographics in the video gaming and geek community since its inception in 2009. Now, we are taking our stance on inclusion in geek culture to the next level with Project Violacea, an open-source multimedia experience that allows players, writers, illustrators, game coders, and cosplayers to take part in this creation shared by all.
The approach to content creation in Project Violacea is unique. Taking cues from software development firms producing open-source programs that allow users to improve upon a company’s initial offerings, Sugar Gamers has created a transmedia platform allowing users to artistically interact with the source code/core concept.
#CreateNotCompalin
This crowdsourcing iteration is part of their nationwide #CreateNotComplain Campaign. Rather than complain about the underrepresentation of women, minorities, and members of the LGBTQA+ community in geek culture, Sugar Gamers has produced a creative platform that allows users to create their own stories within the larger world, designing characters that they identify with and creating stories that can potentially affect the main Project Violacea story line.
Project Violacea also is a functional demonstration of the power of diversity in action. Outside the game, having a diverse creative team led to a compelling fictional world unlike anything else. Within the game, genetic diversity and new ideas will be critical to the future of humanity. Even more broadly – having a diverse audience that contributes to the story will demonstrate how meaningful collaboration and inclusion is.
Check out the game on WBG.com
Sign up to join the revolution!The first release of Project Violacea will be a tabletop Roleplaying Game focused on collaboration, creativity, and storytelling – made in collaboration with Wrong Brothers Gaming. You and a group of your friends play as biologically and chemically enhanced super revolutionaries fighting for freedom and knowledge in a futuristic, solar-powered genetic dystopia.
Your group seeks to foster the revolution, be it through running rescue missions, heists, and assassinations, or recovering cultural artifacts, disseminating important information to the public, and teaching people to care for themselves.
Overthrow the MOX and Propel Humanities Survival
To overcome the MOX, you rely on coordinated teamwork, ingenuity, and the power of your Violacea implant, which grows inside of you and supercharges your abilities. With the right actions, you can help propel humanity in a better direction as it teeters on the brink of collapse
Because we are releasing the game as a ttRPG, you will can easily make your own characters and stories in the world of Project Violacea. This structure will lay the foundation for future works, such as comics, short stories, movies, and cosplay.
To make this dream a reality, we will be crowdfunding the Project Violacea RPG through Kickstarter in the near future! If you are interested in hearing more about the game and how you can get involved, sign up in our “Join the Movement” section at the bottom of this page.