While I know that our theme year is 1920 - 1930  but, I feel as though a modern day themed era would work just as well if not better.  I don't want to go too much into detail as I'm mobile.  I just want to know what everyone's thoughts are. How do you think a modern day 2000 theme could effect roleplay and gameplay ?  Comment below.

the problem you run into is that 1920-1930 where when the mob was biggest. now you could push and say the 60's and 70's but with probation and such this time frame works better. Plus you wouldn't be able to just randomly kill with better tech that is around nowadays. Crimes would be mostly cyber-related so would really lock down what you could do... even from an RP perspective. 

There was a suggestion posted long ago that dealt with this topic:

https://mafiareturns.com/comm/thread/351014#129347822

I personally feel that most of our collective knowledge of the Mafia resonates primarily in the 60s, 70s and perhaps 80s and I would be more than happy to jump forward a few decades in the timeline as I think the new possibilities for stories as well as a lower threshold for roleplaying would bring more value and accessibility into the game. 

In order for this to happen there needs to be a larger input on an idea like this than has gained traction in the past, but when it comes to changing the era by a few decades to an era most of us are a lot more familiar with.. I'm all for it.

to changing the era by a few decades to an era most of us are a lot more familiar with

Who are you speaking for here? :)

I'm more familiar with the 1920's and 30's, and like that era more in a mafioso sense. It's when the mafia truly ran shit. When gangsters really did have the bull by the horns, so to speak.

It is a very intrigueing era. If you dig into it enough, you might just become as familiar with it as you are with other periods. I think it's easier to do it this way, to research the time period that the game is already set in, rather than changing it completely to another one.

The entire draw of this game, for me, is the time period. There are few if any other games like it. Plenty of other PC and console games out there that offer current-era, mafia-style of gameplay...please leave this one alone.

It's when the mafia truly ran shit. When gangsters really did have the bull by the horns, so to speak.

I would argue that most of the wealth and power from the Mafia was concentrated in the late 50s, 60s and 70s when most of the organized families got involved in the drug trade and into the business of illegal gambling in earnest.  The era we currently play in is set in the great depression and the activities we do - like deal in cocaine, heroin, etc - were all more or less legal save for the Prohibition aspect of the game.  The current era lends itself more towards the beginning of the American Mafia's origins, but I would be inclined to disagree that this period represents the peak of Mafia activity.

I'm familiar with the era given how long I've been here - and clearly you are as well - but to say that it's easier with a time period that's pushing close to 80 years ago versus the 60s and 70s, an era that was much more represented in media and our collective memory, seems like a bit of a stretch.  With the exception of your Al Capones and Lucky Lucianos and Albert Anastasias, I feel like most of the representations of the Mafia that I find here resides in the later decades when movies like The Godfather, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, Scarface et al take place, and I feel like that era is a little more representative of what most of us are familiar with off of the bat without getting into the weeds with stuff like cellphones and iPods.

I'm against the suggestion of moving it to modern day for that reason, but as the years go by I'm happy to explore going forward to the 50s, 60s and early 70s as a natural progression for the game that can help make it a little more accessible moving forward.

We have an OOC forum and streets and business district forums, etc.

Maybe a request  for  several decades   forums for the various decades people would like to role-play in . Maybe have the players say what decades they like and pick 3 of the top decades . 

 I have no issue with the 20's and 30's. Let me know when it that happens.

I hear ya Spaceman. I meant when they truly ran things, not when they made the most money or what movies our generations players are closely tied to. Joseph_Ligambi the mafia encyclopedia may be able to shed some light on this.

In my opinion, in the current game era, the mafia was unstoppable. They had everyone in their pockets and openly did what they did without a fuss. As time went on things became less simple, as law enforcement became more of a threat which caused things to go more underground.

I play a Christmas Elf currently lol. But, it dosen't change what time period had the most influence on Italian-American mafia culture. From the flooding of immigrants that kicked it all off, to prohibition which saw gangsters really running neighbourhoods and territories without much fuss from authorities, to the forming of the commission (around the period), this time period has more to offer imo. A decade or two before and after, it sits right where it all began and took firm roots. And where such stories that fit this game can be easily told.

Plus, World War 2 fits around that era. And radio, when it had its golden years. And the style and culture that oozed of the times. The loose understanding and laws around drugs and pharmaceuticals. And Jazz baby. Mother fuckin' Jazz.

So much more than just the mafia itself had its hold on this era. Hollywood films in the 30's (one of the greatest decades), the great depression, sports, the golden years of billiards. And that's just what has this fanboy hooked. So much to explore. So many stories to tell. It just wouldn't be as vibrant, as fresh, in another era.

Ahhh leave it to my own associate to get to something that I've long been meaning to suggest myself. Good work here by the way on that, I've procrastinated far too long. I feel like we should be advanced in time. Sure, was the 1930's a profitable time for the mafia and a time when the were more untouchable and what not? Yes, but at the same time is that the most fun way to go? When you sit and watch a mob movie or show the thing that pulls you in is resistance. I look at the Sopranos and The Wire. Part of the intrigue in both of those fabulous shows is watching the characters, or the bad guys that we grow to love and care for, handle situations and maneuver wisely to avoid police detection and surveillance.

The Wire isn't as NEARLY an interesting show if I wasn't able to sit there and watch Avon and his crew outsmart the cops at every turn before they finally get theirs. And I liked Tony Soprano but seeing him and his crew just go ape shit the whole time and not have to worry about anything but Phil and Johnny Sac wouldn't have been as entertaining as that show ended up being.

Also as we can see I'm a writer. I've been a writer many times over on many characters for a few years. I have to agree with Spaceman here on the fact having to go back and see if this was around or that was around in the 1930's, is much more creatively stifling than it would be if I only had to think back to like the 60's or the 70's or my own timeline now.

The movies and the shows that people see these days go back to about the 40's or 50's. And I like the fact that the mafia has to be a secret organization that has to use it's power underground to survive but still are well in hand at ruling over things. It worked for them all the  way up until around the 70's when the RICO law got passed and things became a bit more complicated or very complicated I should say. Things didn't even get tough until Robert Kennedy acknowledge them in the 1960's. So I think that you can use the mafia ruling aspect well into the 50's or the 40's. Which is fine because I mean the biggest draws mafia wise were The Godfather (which starts in the 40's) And Goodfellas (Which is in the 70's I believe maybe 80's.. It's been awhile so please excuse me for not having the exact fact.)

Most importantly and lastly, this game is barely, BARELY even a mafia oriented game anymore and I think the timing at this time is pointless. As I look around I see more crews and profiles take on aspects of things outside of the 1930's anyway making having it in this timeline pointless. Looking around I see more profiles and crew aspects take on things that are outside of the 30's. I see a lot of writing that would much better benefit not having to be constrained to the time of the 1930's. Hell even the game isn't. The biggest money maker in this game is drug dealing in cocaine and heroin and in the 30's people were still selling alcohol until like midway through that decade as prohibition didn't even end until 1933. Yet when is the last time you seen RP about someone making their business off of selling alcohol in the streets or speakeasies being opened in the business district? I knew they were big back in the day but not so much now and even I'm guilty of this. When I came in I thought it was fun to go back to a different time when things were different but after writing that for 7 or 8 characters it starts to wear on you unless you start writing about entirely unrelated mob characters now which seems to be the trend now.

I just think in my personal opinion the game would greatly benefit from a time change. I think more people will get out there and write more and the writers will feel less restricted that they can include more things in and not have to worry about getting clocked for having something in their story that wasn't time relevant. I remember one time I wanted to use a ziploc bag in one of my RP's but I couldn't because they weren't even around.. Come on man, I can make millions, MILLIONS off coke but I can't write about using a Ziplock bag because it wasn't around in this time.. Smh.. But that's just my own personal opinion and feelings.

As a side note @ChelseaUccelo can you please share some of those successful games that are based on the modern day mafia with me please in a mail or here or whatever. I'm very interested to know some. Because I looked hard and cannot find any other than like GTA or something which doesn't count. And I'm not trolling or talking shit I'm genuinely interested I'm always looking to expand my mob game library with some good shit. Thank you :)

Sorry ChelseaUccello I misspelled your name please refer to my last post.

I'm open to when the 20's and 30 era kick in. Ler me know when that happens.