Synchronous transcreation is a narrative principle which states that real-world cultural references made while recounting a Tale of Quelmar can be interpreted in-game as a canonical reference of comparable cultural impact. In practice, this allows Players and Game Masters to more easily express ideas at a table without expanding the lore of Quelmar in unintended or anachronistic ways.
For example, if a Player Character were to say "Shrek is love, Shrek is life," this does not necessarily mean Shrek now exists in Quelmar; but rather, it can be assumed in-game that they referenced a separate work which is canon to Quelmar and that other in-game characters would recognize in the same capacity people in the real world recognize Shrek.
This principle is a discretionary storytelling tool and by no means universal. Quelmar contains many explicit examples of parallel cultural development with the real world, an example being the city of Zobeck being rechristened as Scranton, the Electric City following its reconstruction just before the start of the CR Era.
Definitions
Transcreation is the practice of adapting media for foreign markets in a way that accounts for cultural differences more comprehensively than a direct translation would.
Synchronous refers to the improvised nature of tabletop storytelling, thus the principle is applied instantaneously.
Examples
- Hexflix = Netflix
- Wraithbook = Facebook
- QTube = YouTube
- Shudderstock = Shutterstock
- Qwitter = Twitter
