History Main / UsedFuture

The original ''Franchise/StarWars'' [[TropeCodifier popularised the concept]] (although arguably ''Film/MoonZeroTwo'' (1969), ''Film/SilentRunning'' (1972), and ''Film/DarkStar'' (1974) [[TropeMaker led the way]].) For budgetary reasons, typical science fiction offerings from the pre- ''Star Wars'' era often resorted to kitbashing to create sets for spaceships, space stations, or planetary locations. This meant a lot of quarries, boiler rooms, and power plants acting as futuristic locations. Also, a lot of junked electronics were used to create random consoles and instrument panels. For contrast, the ''Star Wars '' prequels, set in a more civilized time, [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas are correspondingly shinier]]. (''Star Wars'' is a rare example on the "idealism" end of the above-mentioned scale.)

Shows on the other end of the SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty treat the future as a place where blue-collar workers make a living doing unglamorous jobs and where spaceships look dirty, dingy, and used, like heavy equipment that one might find at a lonely truck stop in the middle of the night right now. The ships are [[WhatAPieceOfJunk rusty junk heaps]] of mismatched [[DownInTheDumps scrap]] parts [[{{MacGyvering}} seemingly held together with two pieces of string, chewing gum]], and the will of God. The ships are run on a shoestring by scrappy, hard-bitten characters with a MysteriousPast (or even a DarkAndTroubledPast in LaResistance) who live on the fringe of the galaxy, the SF equivalent of the struggling FilmNoir private eye or WildWest gunslinger. This is the gritty Used Future, and it's home to {{Space Trucker}}s, renegades, SpaceCossacks, a RagtagBunchOfMisfits, VenturousSmuggler, regular working stiffs on spaceships, and anyone on the "cynical" end of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism. Think of it as gritty DieselPunk '''[[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]]'''

* ''TabletopGame/{{Lancer}}:'' IPS-Northstar armors tend towards this aesthetic, with more realistic heavy proportions and visibly weathered yet reliably tough aspect. This establishes them as manufacturers of reliable, implacable workhorses with simple yet effective equipment - and helps them stand out against the slim, shiny and showy Smith-Shimano Corp frames, the hard-edged and visibly militaristic Harrison Armory style, and whatever the fresh hell HORUS is doing.

* The story aspect of ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' portrays MechanicalLifeforms living a tribal lifestyle in a fantasy world mixed with remnants of LostTechnology that vaguely hint at [[AfterTheEnd some old calamity]]. Juxtaposing dilapidated advanced robots and their a mysterious with natural settings past was a huge part of the franchise's concept pitch and unveiling their origin was the franchise's longest unspoken DrivingQuestion. Comics and occasionally even Toys/{{Lego}} building manuals would portray the robotic characters as dirty and scuffed after centuries of use (the toys themselves were, of course, pristine). In the series' 4th year, half of the mystery was unveiled with a {{prequel}} arc about the high tech pre-cataclysm world, after which the franchise returned to its more fantastical roots, culminating in the Bara Magna saga, a desert world of ruined tech. The AnimatedAdaptation ''The Legend Reborn'' put extra emphasis on making the characters' armor and vehicles look as rugged as possible, contrasting them with the new arrival Mata Nui and his shiny golden armor.

* Justified in ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', given the story's borderline post-apocalyptic setting. Even after the economy begins to recover and technology advances again, people prefer sturdy goods and tools that last, and/or can be repaired, over shiny gadgets and planned-obsolescence consumerist items.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' is very fond of juxtaposing the dreams of the '50s and '60s (especially the projects of Jonas Venture Sr.) with the ruins that they became in the present.

* One would be hard-pressed to call the ''USG Ishimura'' of ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' a "[[NoOSHACompliance nice workplace]]", even if one ignores the ravenous, nightmarish [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Necromorphs]].
** It doesn't look like it looked much better even before the infection. It's all rugged-edged metal and screeching doors, hence the developers calling it "an oil rig [[RecycledInSpace in space]]".

* The Terrans from ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'', sometimes portrayed as a futuristic version of the DeepSouth. The art book for ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' describes them as the "junkyard dogs" of the setting. The exception is the Umojan Protectorate whose technology is bright, sleeker, and shiny.

* Creator/AndreiTarkovsky did not like the clean look of ''2001'' and made ''Film/{{Solaris}}'' in 1972 partially as a response. The space station in that movie is made intentionally to look broken down and features loose wires that often shoot sparks, trashed rooms, and bare bulbs.

** It gets worse by the time of ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar3'' where humanity has lost all of its cities and all humans now exist as self-defending tribes. Everything has predictably become dirtier and more desperate. Less Used Future and more ScavengerWorld.

* The ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' series as of the [[VideoGame/JakII second game]] takes place in a CrapsackWorld TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, where everything looks like it came from 1984.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect''

* ''Literature/RevelationSpace'':

* Everything Peter Watts ever wrote. ''Everything''. Well, no, that's not strictly true; some of his stories are set in futures [[AfterTheEnd so used they've fallen apart]]; but the rest of them are [[JustBeforeTheEnd just severely used]]. The prime example of this trope is, of course, the ''Literature/RiftersTrilogy'', particularly Lenie Clarke's cross-country tour-o-death in ''Maelstrom''.

* ''Literature/TheCityOfEmber'' has an underground shelter city that was supposed to keep the remnants of humanity safe from an unspecified apocalyptic event for 200 years, but keeps being used because everybody misses the critical event that should have provided the call to leave. Decades pass and everything starts to degrade - spares for everything run out, pipes are held together by rags and duct tape, and the hydrogenerator that drives the whole thing regularly breaks down. Eventually the generator gets so bad fires become a daily occurrence, and the main characters realise the only viable long-term plan is to leave Ember.

Shows on the other end of the SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty treat the future as a place where blue-collar workers make a living doing unglamorous jobs and where spaceships look dirty, dingy, and used, like heavy equipment that one might find at a lonely truck stop in the middle of the night right now. The ships are [[WhatAPieceOfJunk rusty junk heaps]] of mismatched [[DownInTheDumps scrap parts [[{{MacGyvering}} seemingly held together with two pieces of string, chewing gum]], and the will of God. The ships are run on a shoestring by scrappy, hard-bitten characters with a MysteriousPast (or even a DarkAndTroubledPast in LaResistance) who live on the fringe of the galaxy, the SF equivalent of the struggling FilmNoir private eye or WildWest gunslinger. This is the gritty Used Future, and it's home to {{Space Trucker}}s, renegades, SpaceCossacks, a RagtagBunchOfMisfits, VenturousSmuggler, regular working stiffs on spaceships, and anyone on the "cynical" end of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism. Think of it as gritty DieselPunk '''[[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]]'''

Some SpeculativeFictionSeries focus on a CoolStarship or two that's [[ShinyLookingSpaceships shiny and new]] and full of all the latest AppliedPhlebotinum. The shows are all about idealistic and well-funded explorers or warriors, boldly going where angels fear to tread.

Shows on the other end of the SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty treat the future as a place where blue-collar workers make a living doing unglamorous jobs and where spaceships look dirty, dingy, and used, like heavy equipment that one might find at a lonely truck stop in the middle of the night right now. The ships are [[WhatAPieceOfJunk rusty junk heaps]] of mismatched spare parts [[{{MacGyvering}} seemingly held together with two pieces of string, chewing gum]], and the will of God. The ships are run on a shoestring by scrappy, hard-bitten characters with a MysteriousPast (or even a DarkAndTroubledPast) who live on the edge, the SF equivalent of the struggling FilmNoir private eye. This is the gritty Used Future, and it's home to {{Space Trucker}}s, renegades, SpaceCossacks, a RagtagBunchOfMisfits, regular working stiffs, and anyone on the "cynical" end of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism. Think of it as DieselPunk '''[[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]]'''

Sometimes, there will be ShinyLookingSpaceships alongside dingier ones; usually these new, [[AsceticAesthetic ascetic and shiny ships]] will belong to the [[TheEmpire Galactic Military]] or elite rulers which have access to constantly churning shipyards and the newest heights of technology while the heroes must survive on surplus gear and homegrown repairs. These shiny-looking spaceships, however, can denote that the crew piloting these über-ships is formed of [[NewMeat completely green recruits]] with no real combat experience, often led by a [[TheNeidermeyer pompous noble]], while the battered ships are piloted by grizzled veterans who can fly circles around them.

** The relatively advanced Minbari and Vorlon stuff, on the other hand, is plenty shiny. When it comes to ships and space stations, it seems that human manufacturers have had a decades-long preference for dingy-looking, mostly unpainted metal paneling with no easily discernible regular pattern. Ultimately, this aesthetic is not reflected in the ''Victory'' class produced [[Recap/BabylonFiveFilm04ACallToArms a few years after the series proper ended]], but [[spoiler: since only one prototype is left and its spacedock is busted]], Earthforce is gonna stay looking that way for a while longer.

%%* ''Anime/{{Patlabor}}'', with giant robots.
* ''Anime/{{Planetes}}'' focuses entirely on the blue collar workers whose job it is to clean up space junk that endangers flights.

* ''The Sword'' outright has a song titled "Used Future". The AnimatedMusicVideo is a 16-bit RPG reminiscent of ''Fallout'' and ''Terminator,'' where the band members fight some evil robots in a post-apocalyptic desert.