MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT
As a primarily free-market economy with many trade partners, media and entertainment in the Jade Empire is vibrant and multifaceted. Regulations on mass media content are relatively loose, although the Imperial Palace has the discretionary authority to veto any programming. Rather than a watershed, programmes are simply given a rating that appears before the show is aired, giving parents details of what the program will contain.
BROADCASTING AND RADIO
JCN
The Jade Courier Network is the official media outlet of the Jade Empire. It carries primarily non-fictional documentaries, news reports, governmental broadcasts, sports coverage and music channels. In recent years the JCN network has branched out to produce content including period dramas, children's entertainment and niche reality television shows, such as baking contests, poetry competitions and other culturally significant pastimes. One of the JCN's most prominent figures is Sir David Cattenborough, a felidaen biologist and researcher who has produced and presented over a dozen award-winning nature documentaries.
IDAI ENTERTAINMENT
The IdaiTech subsidiary, Idai Entertainment, is a major provider of entertainment shows ranging from blockbuster film and serialised shows to sports and children's programming. It also carries brief '60 Second Segments' which provide brief updates on current affairs. Popular IdaiEntertainment franchises include the fantasy-historical drama Renegade Lord, the buddy-cop movie series Katana Cat and the gritty colonial drama Breaking Rocks.
ON DEMAND
Multiple local and international on-demand content streaming platforms are available in the Jade Empire of Ingen, including ShowTime, BitDirector, Idai Prime and several proprietary studio and network platforms. Popular video upload sites include Lotus and Varietea, user-driven monetized content sites with accompanying apps.
WEBSITES
Popular websites include Citizapp, a social media platform for sharing posts, images and personal content amongst a friends network, and the ForTune image boards, an anonymous image posting board with a controversial reputation which has found popularity among young Imperials wishing to express themselves in defiance of the unwritten social mores of Ingenious culture. Other popular sites include the LegionWare forums, a social media platform dedicated to videogaming, HoloNations national governance simulator and roleplaying forums, and TroopNet, an online forum and site for active and former servicemembers.
GAMING
Videogames are an increasingly popular pastime in the Jade Empire. Virtual Reality sets are commonly available and advanced multi-sensory VR suites are available at a premium price tag. IdaiTech has pioneered on-demand gaming with its LegionWare desktop client which allows users to purchase, download and install a large library of current and retro titles on a variety of client platforms, as well as providing a platform for smaller developers to test, develop and publish their titles. Other platforms include the light handheld Yoshibox and the popular Gameway console.
Successful titles include the Prophesies of Harlaus semi-historical fantasy roleplaying franchise, the Super Super Yoshi Dragon platforming franchise, the Banners of Glory RTS franchise, the IIHL ice hockey simulator series and the serialised shooter franchise Sheaker's Soldiers.
Successful titles include the Prophesies of Harlaus semi-historical fantasy roleplaying franchise, the Super Super Yoshi Dragon platforming franchise, the Banners of Glory RTS franchise, the IIHL ice hockey simulator series and the serialised shooter franchise Sheaker's Soldiers.
MUSIC
The music industry is alive and well in the Jade Empire of Ingen. Popular foreign genres include Imaginariumese hardbass and Ystovian metal. Domestic trends include neonwave, a combination genre of electronic music and visual art that emphasises colourful retro graphics, sampling and remixes of other songs and sounds. Videogame soundtracks are a popular source for neonwave composers, as is classical Imperial music. Felidaen music, including salsa, flamenco and other upbeat genres has become widely popular despite the decline in the felidaen population.
Popular Imperial bands include Young Kakejiku, an anonymous musician producing neonwave songs on a variety of topics, subjects and issues, and Big Little, Friendly Kami and Sake For My Mother, mainstream pop artists who sample multiple genres. Recently rising in popularity are Vanrheim, a self-described Sattran music project that "blends authentic historical instruments and themes with modern production and beats".
Ingenious folk music relies on bamboo flutes, light percussive instruments and stringed instruments. Common motifs include pastoralism, tranquility and, on occasion, militaristic themes, evoked by heavier taiko drums. Sattran folk music makes heavy use of horns, singing, stringed instruments and drums to create rhythms that gradually build in intensity. Suedian music uses flutes, fiddles and percussive instruments to create light dancing jigs and songs with a repeated, learnable refrain such as Where Hast Thou Been Since I Saw Thee? Sattran folk songs are popular in the Imperial Jade Navy, where former sea shanties are now used to keep time during menial labour or simply as a way to keep entertained. Mediolanii folk music is often choral or organum, with only light accompaniment by bells, pan flutes and other instruments.
Popular Imperial bands include Young Kakejiku, an anonymous musician producing neonwave songs on a variety of topics, subjects and issues, and Big Little, Friendly Kami and Sake For My Mother, mainstream pop artists who sample multiple genres. Recently rising in popularity are Vanrheim, a self-described Sattran music project that "blends authentic historical instruments and themes with modern production and beats".
Ingenious folk music relies on bamboo flutes, light percussive instruments and stringed instruments. Common motifs include pastoralism, tranquility and, on occasion, militaristic themes, evoked by heavier taiko drums. Sattran folk music makes heavy use of horns, singing, stringed instruments and drums to create rhythms that gradually build in intensity. Suedian music uses flutes, fiddles and percussive instruments to create light dancing jigs and songs with a repeated, learnable refrain such as Where Hast Thou Been Since I Saw Thee? Sattran folk songs are popular in the Imperial Jade Navy, where former sea shanties are now used to keep time during menial labour or simply as a way to keep entertained. Mediolanii folk music is often choral or organum, with only light accompaniment by bells, pan flutes and other instruments.