The Meaning of Limit Theory
Maybe you've already read the short little snippet that I wrote concerning the back story of Limit Theory and the meaning of the name, but I'm guessing most haven't. Well, I'd like to share a little bit of the "story" of Limit Theory, because it turns out that the meaning of the name runs a significant bit deeper than just two cool words that I pulled out of the air!
Limit Theory isn't just the name of the game. It's also the abbreviated name of a philosophy, which happens to be the philosophy that forms the back story for the game. The Theory of Nonexistence of Extrinsic Limitation, or Limit Theory for short, says that all limits, all things that oppose you, all challenges, are fundamentally located within your mind, and nowhere else. In other words, the only real limits are within yourself, not within the external world. This mentality directly implies that you can somehow overcome any limit simply by making the appropriate internal change.
To understand how radical of a theory it is, imagine applying it to a situation in your life. Let's say that you've got a corporate job that you're kind of lukewarm about, and that your dream job has always been to become a musician and travel around Europe on tour. Big dreams, but Limit Theory says that the only thing stopping you from doing so is yourself. It says that, if you feel that something external - your boss, financial situations, social obligation, etc - is the thing keeping you from doing so, then you are wrong. Limit Theory posits that a limit is, by definition, internal to your mind. Now, maybe it's true, maybe it's not. But the point is that the mentality, regardless of whether it's objectively correct, encourages one to take action. It encourages one to question whether anything is actually opposing progress towards a dream, or whether it's simply a mental unwillingness to take action.
So why does this theory matter? Well, it forms the back story of the LT universe. The explanation for why you have space ships, space stations, faster-than-light travel, etc. in LT is that you come from an extremely advanced civilization. How did they get to be so advanced? Simply put, they were the original founders of the Limit Theory philosophy, and the greatest proponents of it that the universe has ever seen. They were rabid idealists, believing firmly that all limitations were internal, and that, with enough mental fortitude, any problem would eventually yield to the mighty fist of intellect. And they were right. They terraformed planets that should have been living Hells into magnificent Edens. They produced hyperdrive engines that made the laws of physics bow before them. They sung their song of idealism from one corner of the galaxy to the other, using technology that should have been reserved for gods, not men. And they did so because they believed in the theory of nonexistence of extrinsic limitation.
So that's the backstory. But it goes even deeper than that, because, as you might have guessed already, Limit Theory isn't just the philosophy of the civilization in the game. It's my personal philosophy.
Let's apply it to a situation that comes a bit closer to home. Let's say that you're a 20-year-old college student, and you want to make a space simulation game with a massive scope. Perhaps other people will tell you that it's too much work for one person. But suppose that you believe in Limit Theory. Then you believe, regardless of what other people might say, that the only thing standing between you and the finished product is your mind. You believe that with enough hours of work, thought, code, research, etc...you can succeed.
Perhaps the ultimate, mind-bending irony of the whole thing is that successfully producing the game Limit Theory will be the ultimate proof of the philosophy with the same name. Over the next year-and-some, I intend to complete that proof and show you all that my philosophy is valid, at least with respect to this application!
And there you have it, just thought I'd let you all know that the name is actually a lot richer than your average "select a handful of sci-fi-ish words" space game title!
So...do you believe in the theory of nonexistence of extrinsic limitation? If so, maybe you should stop reading this, and go achieve your dreams!
~Josh
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