A lot of folx ask why the Lighthearted #rpg is set in the 80s when stuff Buffy (tv), Clueless, and 10 Things I Hate About You seem like great touchstones. Time for a thread!

First, here are a few things that weren't available to most people in the 80s.

internet
cell phones
constant surveillance

The characters aren't constantly being recorded, don't have instant access to information, and can get into a little trouble.

My favorite reminder is when the characters get separated or don't make a plan on where to meet and now it's a whole thing to find each other again. Or when they need to make a call and I say "You see a payphone on the corner."

It also means that authorities don't have surveillance everywhere. They can break into a place or fight a monster and not expect that it will be on the news unless they left some kind of evidence behind.

I'll pick this up later, but if those things sound cool to you check out the Kickstarter for Lighthearted, A magical 80s RPG. http://lighthearted.games 

Let's get back into why Lighthearted is set in the 80s and more specifically set in the version of the 80s presented in music, movies, and cartoons.

HOPE

The pop culture of the 80s tried to sell us hope.

That hopeful future wasn't always real, but in the fantasy world of Lighthearted, it can be. We can experience the magic that technology promised with actual magic, we can fight injustice the way songs said we could, and we can build a world that makes space for everyone.

And if that world covered in denim and lycra, bathed in neon, and sitting behind the wheel of a Porche 911 Carrera with the big ol' whale tail then all the better!

But Kurt, I didn't grow up rewatching Pretty in Pink and Jem and the Holograms. Can I just use Buffy, or Clueless, or 10 Things I Hate About you?

Of course, Lighthearted tells coming-of-age stories. If your touchstone is about teens becoming adults it'll work in Lighthearted.

Next time I'll talk about why Lighthearted is set at a magic Community College and not some exclusive university.

But in the meantime hop over to the Kickstarter and see if Lighthearted is the game for you. http://lighthearted.games