Recorded Tomorrow

We put our money where our mouths are this month! Writer, streamer, podcaster, and game designer Emma Larkins has come to us with the very beginnings of a time travel story, and we apply the principles we've worked out over the last year to help her figure out where to take it, and how to start it. This might be the best episode we've ever done, and we're really proud of it. 

Find Emma:

Twitch: @EmmaLarkins

Twitter: @EmmaLarkins @LudologyPod

Ludology

New Rule: 

Solid time travel mechanics do not a story make - Time travel is a tool a writer uses to tell a story, not the other way around.

Media References:

Home Alone (sort of)Source CodeMarvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Groundhog DayARS PARADOXICAHere and Now and Then, Mike ChenLiving With YourselfAvengers: Endgame

The folks over at The Film Rescue Show invited Jonathan and Jesse to join them to talk about Back to the Future. We had A LOT of fun with this, and they were gracious enough to let us publish their episode on our feed. So sit back & listen to us pitch a couple ways we'd fix the time travel mechanics of the Back to the Future trilogy.

C/W: There's more swearing in this episode than usual, sorry!

Jesse sits down with alternate-timeline co-host Kit Ferguson (no relation) & her husband Brad, to go in-depth on causal loops, using the absolute prime example as a model: Robert Heinlein's All You Zombies, along with its film adaptation Predestination. We do our best to explain the plot to Brad (who's never read or seen it), then go deep on causal loops, talking about how to recognize a causal loop, how to use them, when to use them, and when not to (spoiler: it's most of the time).

Guests:

Kit FergusonBrad Ferguson

Media References:

All You Zombies, Robert HeinleinPredestinationFuturamaBack to the FutureTerminator: Dark Fate

This episode, we catch Jonathan in a time loop! Scott Thomas (of The Infinity Podcast) helps us break down what makes time loop stories tick, and why we love them.

Media references will happen a bit later, we're already late getting this one out. Sorry for the wait, and I appreciate your patience!

Hello, travellers, and welcome to Recorded Tomorrow, the show where we break down the rules & pitfalls of using time travel in fiction & games. Jonathan is caught in a temporal rift, so I’ll be navigating the timestream solo today.

Rather than try to tackle a deep dive by myself, I thought I’d take this opportunity to recap the lessons we’ve covered so far, & consolidate them all in one place. I’ll go over the rules we’ve established & define all the terms we’ve used. I’ll jump around a bit, but hopefully I’ll do it in a way that makes sense. Right, let’s get straight to it:

A traveler isn’t necessarily a person, but refers to anything that’s being sent through time. That could mean a person, or their consciousness, a device, even just information. We might sometimes refer to this as the subject.

The origin is the time and place from which the traveler departs, and the destination is the time & place when they arrive.

Now let’s talk theories: Variable Thread is typically a single, mutable timeline of continuity that can be altered using time travel. In fiction that uses variable thread, as soon as someone or something travels to the past, the timeline resets from the point of arrival, and the original timeline ceases to exist. This is the most common style of explicit time travel. Think Back to the Future or The Sound of Thunder. These types of stories are usually a regret metaphor.

Fixed Thread is an immutable timeline, where the continuity can’t be changed, even by traveling back in time. Any actions taken by a traveler happened before they traveled, the only thing that changes is the perspective. This is your Bill & Ted, your 12 Monkeys, your Prisoner of Azkaban. These stories are generally about trying to be in multiple places at once, taking on too much, and learning to prioritize. 

Lastly, we have Multiverse time travel. This theory involves multiple, timelines, and can come in a couple of forms: in Michael Creighton’s Timeline, the characters don’t actually travel forward or backward in time, but rather laterally into older or younger universes; In Avengers: Endgame, characters do travel through time, but each time they do, it creates a new branch on an existing timeline.

These are the basics. There are variations, like river theory or using flashbacks, but they pretty much all build on these three.

Regardless of which theory you employ, there are a few guidelines you should always keep in mind.

The single most important rule is to Be Consistent. It doesn’t matter what the time travel rules are in your universe, as long as you know them, and you make sure you always, always follow them. Be consistent. Be consistent. Be consistent.

In order to stay consistent, you’re going to need to take notes. Copious, copious notes. If you're traveling to real historical times & places, do your research and get it right. Even if you're in a fictional universe, remember that everything your characters do could be important. Everything they say, anyone they interact with, could cause rippling changes, and the further back the travel, the larger those changes can be. If you're dealing with interactive fiction - like a role-playing game - it's probably a good idea to record your sessions.

Forgive the pun, but you’ll also want to be sure you take your time with your story. Any time a character or characters travel through time (either forward or backward), stop and check your notes. Make sure you've got everything lined up, extrapolate answers to questions, figure out as many ramifications to changes made as possible.

If you're writing a novel, end the chapter or section here.

If you're writing a screenplay for a film, use this as a scene- or act-break.

If it's a TV show, go to commercial.

If it's interactive fiction, end the session there.

Now, I said you have know the rules of time travel, but that doesn’t mean your characters have to. 12 Monkeys executes this brilliantly, with Cole traveling back in time to try and change hi

Generally, how time travel works in your story isn't important, because time travel should be a MEANS to tell a good story, rather than BE the story itself. That being said, there are some instances where the how can inform the why, or complicate it. In this episode, Jesse & Jonathan go over the various modes of time travel, how they can impact a story, and the true meaning of time travel.

New Rule:Your time travel story should never JUST be a time travel story. Use time travel to tell a more interesting story.

Media References:PredestinationUmbrella AcademySee you YesterdayHarry Potter & the Prisoner of AzkabanBill & Ted's Excellent AdventureBack to the FutureBack to the Future IIIThe TerminatorTravelersPrimerAll Our Wrong TodaysQuantum LeapJourneymanThe Butterfly EffectThe Time Traveler's WifeFrequencyThe Future of UsStargate: SG-1IdiocracyAvengers: EndgameGroundhog Day

Jesse brings on guests Bebo (of Be Bold Games) and Rich Malena-Webber (of Atomic Game Theory) to talk about how time travel is used in games. We dig deep into how videogames use time travel, including one secret time travel mechanic that's been a staple of videogames since the beginning.

We also talk about several board games that use time travel in different and interesting ways, and even brainstorm how we could bring time travel into Dungeons & Dragons!

New Rule:

When using time travel in games, keep the mechanics highly constrained: time travel is hard enough to work in when you have complete control of the narrative; adding multiple authors (players) complicates that exponentially. Make the rules very clear, and limit the ability of the travelers to affect the narrative to something you can manage.

Media References:

Super Mario Bros.Chrono TriggerQuantum BreakMax PayneViewtiful JoeBlack Mirror: BandersnatchPrince of Persia: The Sands of TimeSuper Meat BoyCelesteDark Souls Serieshttps://www.sekirothegame.com/MoonlighterLegend of Zelda: Ocarina of TimeLegend of Zelda: Majora's MaskGroundhog DayT.I.M.E. StoriesBraidDungeons & DragonsEscape from Monkey Island

We dig deep into the time travel mechanics of Avengers: Endgame (we also SPOIL THE WHOLE MOVIE, so if you haven't seen it yet, you'll probably want to wait on this episode). We talk about how they could have done things differently, what the consequences of their actions are, and we speculate on how various timelines might resolve. Then we get really nit-picky about the mechanics, discuss various characters at various ages, and the secrets of eternal youth.

New Rules:Never time travel on an empty stomachNever time travel when you're angryNever time travel after midnight

Media References:Avengers: Endgame (duh)Back to the Future

Jonathan and Jesse team up with Alex Shaw (School of Movies, New Century Multiverse) to tackle paradoxes. We go over several specific examples, then do our thing and talk tips & pitfalls. (spoilers: If your story runs into a paradox, you're probably doing something wrong)

 

We were really crunched for time getting this ready, so we'll update the references & other pages later this week. Cheers!

This episode is two days late, but it's huge, so maybe that makes up for it? We discuss less common theories, including some that don't appear to count as time travel at first glance. 

Theories Discussed:MultiverseFlashbacks (variation of Fixed Thread)Mental Projection (variation of Variable Thread)Information-OnlySuspended Animation (variation of Fixed Thread)

New Rule:Don't tie events of the past to events of the future in real time - that ticking clock never works

Media References:Harry Potter Azkaban12 MonkeysBill & Ted's Excellent AdventureRick & MortyTimelineHighlanderHow to live safely in a science-fictional universeAssassin's CreedX-Men: Days of Future PastQuantum LeapTravelersT.I.M.E. StoriesPrince of PersiaFrequencyEarly EditionBack to the FutureArs ParadoxicaAll Our Wrong Todays, Elan MastaiThe Flight of the Silvers, Daniel PriceNextFlasforward, Robert J.SawyerFuturamaIdiocracyLeverage