Basically, Omega is a bunch of us who wanted to write comic book stories, but who didn't see anything on RACC that really fitted them. So we made something, namely the Writer's Group and Shared Universe whose FAQ you happen to be reading.
The Omega group started with a post I made to RACC saying I was interested in starting a Shared World comic book universe. Other than that, I make no claim to having started Omega...What I had in mind and what this became are totally different, and this is vastly better.
I love comics, always have, but I've got some problems with them...for instance, fifty zillion ways to get powers or the fact that they never seem to have to take a pit stop, if you know what I mean. Plus, I never understood why everybody's powers were totally different. I figured if two people had powers that did the same thing, why should the EXPLANATION be different? Also, many comics proceed around dubious motives (Fer Instance: You wake up, and suddenly you've got powers. Is the first thing that crosses your mind an impulse to wear a silly spandex outfit? I don't think so. Also, how do people around you respond? Do you start acting differently? Wouldn't people with powers look down on people who didn't have powers?) rather than reality. The other writers seemed to agree with me and so we tried to come up with a unified origin, a framework that worked, and stuff like that. Hopefully, we've done so. If not, well, we tried, anyway.
We hope you enjoy, and if reading our stories OR this FAQ helps inspire anyone to write an Omega story...that's why we do this, so get to it and enjoy.
Well, we are a lot LOOSER, continuity wise, then some other universes as we are younger and come out of a hodge-podge of influences and styles. That's not a slam, by the way. It's just a difference. Some people, myself included on occasion, find tight continuity can be an aid. But it isn't what we do in Omega stories. We have continuity (in fact, we have quite a bit of it!), but we don't sweat it. On the other hand, someone once called us a 'Dark and Paranoiac' universe, and I've heard the word 'dystopian' bandied about. One thing we try never to be is SAFE.
We try to keep motivations for our characters within the realm of the plausible, treating them as people with foibles and faults. Covenant is acerbic, and a bit hauty, and he's a MEAN drunk. Danny Anderson is a fanatic. Anne Benson's bewildered by the changes in her life. Loner just wants to enjoy his powers. While this is a part of our stories, we realize something: THESE AREN'T REAL. NOBODY CAN FLY IN REAL LIFE. So we don't go around trying too hard to make everything just like it would be in the real world. This isn't the world outside your window. It's BETTER. That's the POINT. Heroes and myths are real in Omega.
One more thing that's different. We have a lot of unplotted time between 1950-1990 to play around in. If you are interested in writing an Omega story, there's space to spare.
A talented group, if I do say so m'self. Here's everybody I know of.
djh4535@acs.tamu.edu
v092qg5b@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu
Matt Dempster (v534yynn@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu)
Matt is a junior electrical engineering student at The University
at Buffalo. Currently he has embarked on the 8 year program of
study, and hopes to graduate sometime before the advent of the
twenty-first century. Otherwise, he is in reality a very nice and
sweet young boy, and has absolutely no knowledge of your daughter's
pregnancy. (Why, no, I don't know her! I wasn't even in town
that week!)
umgree29@cc.umanitoba.ca
When Kay Green isn't busy being mistaken for a woman over the
Internet, he can be found grinning evilly as he plots out future
issues of the Cadre. This 21 year old political science major at
the University of Manitoba can, however, be distracted by one or
more of the following: coffee talk, arguing Socialism vs.
Capitalism, going way too fast for his health on a motorcycle,
learning the intricacies of chess, discussions of Shakes-
peare, Italian food, and renting Terminator 2 or The Stand.
Tick (pmilan@fscvax.fsc.mass.edu) knows absolutely nothing about the Roswell Incident. He was never affiliated with Project Blue Book, has never beaten up Travis Walton, and has never watched "The X-Files" all the way through. And he certainly doesn't have four Zeta Reticulii bodies stored in his freezer. Nosiree bob.
Marc Singer (marcs@wam.umd.edu)
The paragraph on Marc has been mysteriously deleted, his friends
always grin nervously and say "Marc who?" when asked about him,
Marc was photographed on the Grassy Knoll, and you never read this.
Ted Vician (tvician@garnet.msen.com) is the writer of Wildsoul and possibly another series tenatively titled MechSWAT. In real life, he's a 25 year-old mechanical engineer who works for the Army keeping the world safe for democracy. He lives in the northwestern suburbs of Detroit, MI and is originally from Chicagoland. He reads too many comic books and bad science fiction and fantasy novels, which may explain a lot if you ever meet him. He also enjoys riding motorcycles as often as possible and is an Olympic-class bar sportsman.
Poet (wep@unixoit.oit.umass.edu)
Blames his incoherent plot-lines on the fact he watched to much
t.v. as a child and can not stick with one subject for. . . Spends
his free-time analyzing friends, playing with computers, and
creating a AD&D world for a project. On occasion he can be found
at Umass basketball games doing Hoop Band stuff, or editing video
tapes. He is also a chronic liar.
Jeff McCoskey (jmccoske@sedona.intel.com)
At least one of the following is true about Jeff McCoskey: He had
nothing to do with the Pentium goof, he is an Army Reserve tank
company commander and Desert Storm veteran, he owns an extensive
collection of pulp reprints, he is an avid motorcycle enthusiast
despite owning a Japanese Harley, his wife has the patience of Job,
he believes community service is A GOOD THING and that dogs
are in many ways superior to children.
Separating truth from lies is, as always, left as an excercise for
the reader.
Jesse Taylor (taylorjb@vuse.vanderbilt.edu)
Jesse hasn't gotten around to writing a paragraph for us yet. He's
the Rec.Games.Mecha Archivist, he also writes a couple of series
for Superguy, a different kind of comic inspired universe, and he
codes our FAQ and other documents for our Omega Homepage.
Chad Imbrogno (cimbrog@bgnet.bgsu.edu): NOTE: Any resemblance of characters from Covenant to any other persons, real or imagined, are probably intentional. Remeber, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean everyone isn't out to get you.
Craig Rettig (a.k.a. Thrasher, rettigch@ucunix.san.uc.EDU)
We are Omega. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
I'm currently a 4th-year junior at the University of Cincinnati studying Computer Science. Outside of comics, my interests include loud and fast music, computers, whiskey, and role-playing games. Metal concerts are always on my list of fun things to do when I have the money. I also
enjoy cooking and consuming mass quantities of beer. You can
get the whole shebang on me by checking out my WWW home page
at http://ucunix.san.uc.edu/~rettigch/Welcome.html
Specter (gearman@viper.engr.scarolina.edu)
Specter is the third of a set of identical triplets, or so he says.
No one who has seen all three together has remained sane (think
attack of the Warner kids ala Anamaniacs). Specter has written a
couple of titles for the LNH universe but because of lack of
attention, he is trying OMEGA on for size. If no one pays attention
to him there, then things get nasty.
Matthew W Rossi III (mr.9767@acc.rwu.edu) just wants you to know that his comics PULSE and TEMPEST are literally autobiographic, and when he takes control of the planet he'll be a kind and benevolent master. He's only doing it for your own good. He's obsessed with the Mike Baron comic series BADGER, and his intrests include Roman Poets (Virgil, Ovid), the writings of Boethius and The Gawain poet, and Omnipotence.
Getting involved is simple enough. Stage one, you should
introduce youself to the group. This is usually done by emailing
ME at mr.9767@acc.rwu.edu and asking to be included. I then send
email out to the others, introducing you to the others.
You should probably READ THE OMEGA STORIES: This is ESPECIALLY
IMPORTANT if you've never done this before. Once you've read a
couple series either by emailing the creator, reading them on RACC
as they are posted, or even by going to the Archive at
eyrie.stanford.edu, (Email Eagle@eyrie.stanford.edu and ask him
how.) you'll get a good feel for Omega and whether or not you want
to get involved in it. This is very important, as Omega has a vibe
all its own, and it isn't one that you can get just by me telling
you all about it...it has to be experienced. While Omega has room
for characters as diverse as Rapidfire, the Seekers, and Allen
Covenant to appear, there are certain things that won't fit. If you
intend on writing really overblown, Marvel-style epic stories, I'm
not sure that Omega's the place for you. (Although I have been
accused of writing in this vein.) Similarly, parody isn't
quite fitting (We do have a sense of humor, but we try to keep it
low key.) as there are plenty of other universes on RACC that
handle parody very well. We tend towards a more serious slant.
Finally, you'll probably want to write something. That is,
after all, what we do. If you intend to just read Omega stories,
well, we'd be happy to have you do that...but you really don't need
to be reading a sanctimonious FAQ for that, do ya? Just make sure
that what you write fits in with the buzz of Omega, and you'll be
fine.
Here, for your edification, are summaries of some of the series, written by their creative teams.
Doctor Susannah Lipton: Head of the Nancy Spungen Drug Clinic. She doesn't like drugs, but she tries to help the people that use them. She and Altman have a "thing".
William Lee: The janitor at the Clinic, he's a former junkie who may be back on heroin again.
Cameron Yasbeck: A reporter with a spitcurl and glasses. THat would be a little obvious, wouldn't it?
Amy Diaz: A female reporter who works with Yasbeck. Any reports that she has her hair cut in a short bob are totally false.
Lawrence Delancey: Crystal City's new crimelord. Okay, so maybe he _isn't_ Rapidfire.
TITLE: TEMPEST
AUTHOR: Matthew W Rossi III
MAIN CHARACTERS:
Eric "Tempest" Anderson. He's usually enough.
PREMISE:
Born of two races, at a time when those few with powers are
becoming either the new underclass or the future rulers of mankind,
Eric Anderson is one of the more extreme examples of what power can
be. Is he human, Harrakin, or something entirely different? And
what we be the result of the forces tugging on his life?
FUTURE DIRECTION:
The more power you have, the more costly your mistakes. Eric
will be the target of a mysterious Multi-Governmental effort to
control or destroy him, he'll explore what love means to someone
who can do nearly anything, and he'll decide how much he can allow
himself to affect the world. He's unsure of his past, and unaware
of his future. And he's also probably both the greatest hope and
the greatest threat the world has.
Badger,
I'm about ready to release a series called Wildsoul. It's magically-based but set in the Omega universe. You should see a draft of the first issue by this weekend, but I'm away on business, otherwise I would have released it by now.
Ted Vician DoD #0831 SOHC/4#0008 AMA 317378 | My opinion, no one else's.
[Warning: This comic contains adult themes, sexual conutations, controversial issues, and super natural themes. If you can not take seeing a dirty word in print, or think I may be over exaggerating how people act in college, then proceed with caution.]
That, in my opinion, is totally up to the writers. The best
part about doing OMEGA has been the cooperation between us in
deciding our universe's fate. We have no boundaries on that, no
limits on each other's characters save what we agree to. If an
OMEGA writer decided he wanted to take his character out, than he
does. You control your book. Together, we control the universe. So
far, I'd have to say it's worked remarkably well. I'd like to say
that's because we're such great guys, but the truth is closer to
the fact that we are still growing.
Nevertheless, the future in OMEGA is not set in stone. What
will happen? WE DON'T KNOW. Isn't that great? I think so. Anyone
joining up can do so without fear that there will be constraints
on his or her character or plans for the future, save those that
keep from impinging on the others. "The right to swing your hand
ends where our noses begin."
That's our only real rule on that.?
As vast a tapestry as time itself. Hopefully, this FAQ will be followed by the OMEGA TIMELINE, which should go into detail.
DISCLAIMER: By the time this FAQ is posted, half of it may be out of date. This is a problem in many shared world universes, but in the fast-paced world of OMEGA, it's an especial danger. So, if that's the case, we plead that we tried our best. Coming soon: THE OMEGA GAZETTEER, detailing the people, places and things that make up the Omega universe.
Send comments to Jesse (the guy who coded the FAQ)
Send comments to Matt Rossi (the guy who wrote the FAQ)