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Is there a limit to the scope of a Crapsack World?

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fanman "To watch it all burn." from Earth-Prime/Earth-1218 Since: Feb, 2022 Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
"To watch it all burn."
#1: Nov 8th 2024 at 4:21:08 PM

I asked this in ATT, but the person who responded said it'd be better suited here, so I'll just restate my question:

If the setting is primarily limited to a city, can that city be both a Wretched Hive (the city itself) and a Crapsack World (the general setting)?

Reymma RJ Savoy from Edinburgh Since: Feb, 2015 Relationship Status: Wanna dance with somebody
RJ Savoy
#2: Nov 10th 2024 at 2:26:19 PM

My inclination is to look at the world as far as the story is concerned. If it's limited to the city, then that can be taken as the world. Wretched Hive would apply if it were contrasted to another location.

Stories don't tell us monsters exist; we knew that already. They show us that monsters can be trademarked and milked for years.
DoktorvonEurotrash Lex et Veritas from Not a place of honour (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#3: Nov 11th 2024 at 4:53:30 AM

[up][up]My hunch is that it would be a Crapsack World only if we're given no indication that the world outside the city is better.

StarSword Captain of USS Bajor from somewhere in deep space Since: Sep, 2011
Captain of USS Bajor
#4: Nov 11th 2024 at 9:31:13 AM

[up]I tend to agree with this: they can coexist but don't automatically coexist. A Wretched Hive can exist in an otherwise optimistic setting, or a Crapsack World can surround a utopian city. We have to go by what we know of the setting.

Trust me, I'm an engineer!
Discar Since: Jun, 2009
#5: Nov 13th 2024 at 9:21:08 PM

I'm with Reymma: It's about the scope of the story. If the city is the story's entire world, then yeah it's a Crapsack World. If not, it's something else.

This gets complicated if the world expands later, but overall I think it's a good rule of thumb.

Writing a post-post apocalypse LitRPG on RR. Also fanfic stuff.
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