XCC Designer Diary: Spellphones
by Brendan LaSalle
Hey all, Brendan here with a bit about the Technomagic item your character definitely wants when they make their first real money: the Spellphone.
Xcrawl has always been about media. Professional wrestling, celebrity culture, game shows, video games – those are all influences. But it all came to me through the lens of media, and that’s what really makes the scenario unique.
When I was first creating Xcrawl, modern media looked like television, movies, newspaper, magazines, and blogs. Now I get most of that from my cellphone.
In thinking about how cellphones would work in Xworld, I had two certainties. One: the Imperial Government of the NAE would absolutely monitor everything commoners said, saw, or watched on their cell phones. Two: American aristocrats would absolutely not stand for having their communications monitored.
Add to that the extant Technomagic of the Xcrawl world, the Arcane Video Screen (AVS) network that had always been a part of the games, and the presence of mysterious Media Mages, and the solution presented itself: the Spellphone!
When you are really rich in Xworld – I mean, Division I superstar, your own brand of sneaker, crash-a-sportscar-just-to-hear-what-it-sounds-like rich – you get yourself a Spellphone.
The spellphone is a magical marvel; a sleek handheld device that allows the user to make calls, send text messages, access the AVS network, take perfectly clear pictures, store and share data and images, and access/create information nodes. Spellphone activity can be monitored by government wizards, but for the most part, user data is private.
Like their real world counterparts, Spellphones vary widely. Some have actual magical protections that can even extend to protecting their owner’s person, or alert users to nearby magical dangers. If you have the gold, the artificers of Xworld can make your private communication dreams come true!
What about commoners who don’t have thousands of gold pieces to spend on a magical phone? Well, there is always the Citizen’s Cell Phone. Make calls, chat via text, slowly look up data online . . . they aren’t that bad! Mind you, they have a limited charge, only work in their city of origin, and are very carefully monitored by the Imperial Bureaucracy. Not an ideal medium for complaining about the Emperor!
The Spellphone becomes the ultimate status symbol for up-and-coming crawlers. But be warned: the Media Mages hold unchecked, unchallenged power over the AVS network. Does this mean they can see everything your Spellphone sees, hear everything it hears? Sift through your holiday snaps, re-write your old posts? Only they themselves know, and they keep their secrets very carefully.
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