The Pale is set in the present. There is internet, cellphones, etc. The World History is also the same.
Location: Rocket Ridge, Arizona (fictional city, based on real geography)
The area that the story takes place is a border town just south of the Navajo Reservation...
We actually took a mini vacation exploring the area and getting a feel for the people there (Arizona and the Navajo Rez). Surrounding towns, like Winslow and Wickenburg (not shown on the map) influenced the town set up, structure, and popluation that we wanted to convey.
Fictional Highway
Fictional City based on real mile math...
And there are real locations
and buildings
At first, we were going to erase Winslow from the Map and replace it with Rocket Ridge. But after much thought, we decided that the location really needed to be grounded where we wanted the story to take place, and it made sense to locate it just north of Winslow, but separated by the freeway systems that seem to be common in the area.
So it is based as much on real life as possible. We want it to be grounded and give a feeling that you can actually visit and have been in a place such as Rocket Ridge. We're also making a city map, mostly just points of interest so we know where everything is in relation to each other.