Backstory The
Crimson Skies series takes place in an
alternate 1930s in which the U.S. has broken apart into a number of independent
nation states. According to series creator Jordan Weisman: I needed to create a geo-political situation that would result in air-pirates, so I looked at the real political situation that gave rise to the
pirates of the Caribbean in the 16th and 17th centuries. We needed a
balkanized era so that pirates could escape quickly into another country's territory, we needed things of value to be moved by air, and we needed a constantly churning political environment so that things did not settle down quickly. [...] It took only three little changes in the history of the United States to get us the dynamic world of
Crimson Skies. The resulting nation states that formed were no longer unified—distrust between them strained diplomatic relations to the point that several small-scale wars broke out. After the dissolution of the United States, the country's interstate
railroad and
highway systems fell into disrepair or were sabotaged as they crossed hostile borders. Consequently, ground-based vehicles such as the
locomotive and
automobile were replaced by
aircraft such as the
airplane and the
zeppelin as the leading mode of transportation in North America. Europe soon followed this fascination with aviation to make its own strides into the new, aerially-dominated market. Gangs of
air pirates formed in turn to plunder airborne commerce. Although air militias formed to counter the threat, rivalries between the nations of North America reduced their capacity to effectively address this issue, and even encouraged the countries to
sponsor pirates as privateers so as to direct their illegal operations against opposing nations. In Europe, privateers and other mercenary groups were widely adopted by nations who wished to avoid another world war, especially in the case of the
Spanish Civil War. By the end of 1937, North America was a "hotbed of conflict", with multiple pirate gangs and air militias battling for control of the skies. Europe was no better, as
Germany jockeyed for power while
France and Britain looked the other way. The Russian States continued to fight their
civil war, which threatened to spill over into the Eastern European nations and Alaska. Asia, too, was on the brink, with
Japan's
recent invasion of
China and the continuation of the bloody civil war in Australia. Although some planes were modeled after actual 1930s era
experimental aircraft and other "bizarre and outlandish designs" from the early years of aviation, For example, the Devastator aircraft features a
pusher propeller and a
biplane design. Because of the history of the world of
Crimson Skies, especially given that the nation states of North America are constantly at war with one another and that air travel is the primary means of transportation, advancements in both aircraft and weaponry technology would have proceeded at a faster pace than had actually happened in the same time period. Radio-controlled rockets are also available in the
Crimson Skies universe, which can be controlled remotely after launch. Other technologies are exclusive to the world of
Crimson Skies. Magnetic rockets have the ability to track planes or weapon emplacements over a short distance. Aerial torpedoes are similar to sea-based
torpedoes, but are specifically designed to take out airships. The Choker rocket disables the target's engine by bursting into a fireball that burns all oxygen around it. The Tesla cannon is a
tesla coil-style weapon that fires a bolt of electricity at a target, disabling it. Also featured in
Crimson Skies is the wind turbine, a
weather control mechanism designed to generate storms. ==Games==