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What (to you) is NOT Star Wars
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Esoomian
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 3:32 pm    Post subject: What (to you) is NOT Star Wars Reply with quote

This is an idea for a thread I've had for some time.

We all seem to have a different idea of what Star Wars is but perhaps we have a consensus of what Star Wars isn't.

In your mind is there anything that immediately takes the game out of the Star Wars genre for you?

For me Star Trekk level technology like teleporters, holodecks and replicators immediately change the game from being Star Wars to being Sci-Fi.

So what is it for you?
Is there any race/culture/technology/magic etc... that just does not fit with your idea of Star Wars?
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 3:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For me, a major portion of it is how the back story is written. Many things are possible in the SWU, if you can write the background to make it fit. For high end tech (like teleporters), the key is writing the stats and the description in such a way that it defines why the tech is not commonplace. In Star Trek, transporters are nearly as ubiquitous as in-door plumbing, and the characters take it for granted. In Star Wars, teleport-tech is practically unheard of, apart from an appearance in the Boba Fett comics and a brief mention as part of the ancient tech of the Gree Enclave. And yet, it does exist. The task then is to come up with how such tech would fit. Easiest answer? Make it rare, hazardous and restricted to use by major governments, so that the player characters encounter it rarely, if ever, and only if the plot requires it.
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jmanski
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 5:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What is NOT Star Wars: super-high tech, omnipotent machines, over-complication, time travel, and an antiseptic, surgical feel.

And Sci-Fi. Star Wars is not Sci Fi.



It's Science Fantasy.
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 6:25 pm    Post subject: Re: What (to you) is NOT Star Wars Reply with quote

Esoomian wrote:
This is an idea for a thread I've had for some time.

We all seem to have a different idea of what Star Wars is but perhaps we have a consensus of what Star Wars isn't.

In your mind is there anything that immediately takes the game out of the Star Wars genre for you?

For me Star Trekk level technology like teleporters, holodecks and replicators immediately change the game from being Star Wars to being Sci-Fi.

So what is it for you?
Is there any race/culture/technology/magic etc... that just does not fit with your idea of Star Wars?


Teleporters, yes. Holodecks, depends on how fully trek like they are. Food replicators, i would say are borderline.
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Luwingo_Spince
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 7:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For me Star wars isn't a gritty bloody Mature setting, their are those who will disagree (especially the recent Lucasfilm +Lucasarts products) but I think star wars roots has always been a family friendly fantasy setting.

Yes they are about war and the consequences of said war but have done so in a fairly serene light. I guess i just don't like the direction Star wars seems to be going with excessive violence, Sex, blood and zombies. It just seems like pandering to the masses and not about the almost mythological struggle between good and evil.

Sorry for the rant, I don't mean to hijack this thread. I will delete this if becomes a problem.
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Guardian_A
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 8:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

To me, Star Wars has always been a gritty, lived in world that is larger than life. The universe feels "lived in" for lack of a better way of putting it. Its like a fairy tale where the characters are flawed and the world around them is held together with duct tape and super glue.

What dosnt feel like Star War to me? Too much technology (Star Trek), or too many places that feel clean and "Sterile." While the galaxy is filled with suspense and adventure, it should never be a dark and scary place (Like during the vong war and the civil war that followed.)
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thedemonapostle
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

until a few years ago i think han solo and chewie were the only true space cowboys. now since firefly came and went, sadly, theyre not the only ones. but for whats not star wars, well some of the modern stuff thats coming out even star wars isnt star wars anymore. maybe disney will take it back to its roots that allowed it to garner its huge following. for me the only part of star trek that couldnt fit into star wars wasnt so much their technology, but their philosophy. huge ships with tons of awesome technology already exist within star wars. but the philosophy that everyone is willing to work towards the greater good, be it for their own species/empire or for the overall greater good is just too fantastical of a dream to really fit into star wars.
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lurker
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jmanski wrote:
...

And Sci-Fi. Star Wars is not Sci Fi.


It's Science Fantasy.



That is a lesson I'm learning the more I dig into the game/setting/etc.

Quote:

To me, Star Wars has always been a gritty, lived in world that is larger than life. The universe feels "lived in" for lack of a better way of putting it. Its like a fairy tale where the characters are flawed and the world around them is held together with duct tape and super glue.

What dosnt feel like Star War to me? Too much technology (Star Trek), or too many places that feel clean and "Sterile." While the galaxy is filled with suspense and adventure, it should never be a dark and scary place (Like during the vong war and the civil war that followed.)


Rgr on that ... Well for gritty, define the terms ... a place where Hon shoots first, yes, so gritty to a point, but not a dark place where fear is everywhere

Quote:

huge ships with tons of awesome technology already exist within star wars. but the philosophy that everyone is willing to work towards the greater good, be it for their own species/empire or for the overall greater good is just too fantastical of a dream to really fit into star wars.



Rgr on that !!!

Now for what it is, all the above points but a place where there is HOPE
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Guardian_A
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 10:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I say gritty, I mean a world that is lived in. Things are broken, things are dirty. Floors and tables need to be cleaned. Machinery breaks down or dosnt work quite right. As for the people, its filled with people who havent had perfect lives, they've had tragedies in their past, their good experiences are tempered with life's hard lessons. While good people and bad people exist, they are the exception to the rule in a galaxy that is filled with shades of grey. Thats what I mean when I say "gritty."
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jmanski
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 11:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree with the gritty and lived in aspect of star wars. I also see it as a universe with incredible technology that can be fixed with a wrench.
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jmanski wrote:
I agree with the gritty and lived in aspect of star wars. I also see it as a universe with incredible technology that can be fixed with a wrench.


Seconded.
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Fallon Kell
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Star Wars is not a duck.

"Wikipedia is not" (not necessarily appropriate for all ages.)
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Luwingo_Spince
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree with the gritty when defined as the lived in look that Guardian described. What I meant by gritty was the darker elements that have cropped up. When i think gritty its more like somewhere between a Horror movie and a action movie. That is a line I don't think Star Wars should cross.

Han Solo is a fine antihero but he is not and ever should he be Dirty harry.
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Guardian_A
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree, I loved nearly all of the Star Wars fiction up until the Vong war. At that point, it stopped feeling like Star Wars as they started killing off major characters one after another, and slaughtring entire civilizations. It stopped feeling like a fairy tale, and started feeling like a dark thriller and horror story. To me, the Star Wars universe has always felt like it had a G - PG-13 rating. A lot of the newer stuff feels like it should be rated R and include a parental advisory instead.

While I still read all of the books that come out, the "sweet spot" for me has always been between Shadows of the Empire and the Young Jedi Knights series on the timeline.
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ZzaphodD
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 4:23 pm    Post subject: Re: What (to you) is NOT Star Wars Reply with quote

garhkal wrote:
Esoomian wrote:
This is an idea for a thread I've had for some time.

We all seem to have a different idea of what Star Wars is but perhaps we have a consensus of what Star Wars isn't.

In your mind is there anything that immediately takes the game out of the Star Wars genre for you?

For me Star Trekk level technology like teleporters, holodecks and replicators immediately change the game from being Star Wars to being Sci-Fi.

So what is it for you?
Is there any race/culture/technology/magic etc... that just does not fit with your idea of Star Wars?


Teleporters, yes. Holodecks, depends on how fully trek like they are. Food replicators, i would say are borderline.


Im thinking of having food replicators in an experimental ship the PC will get their hands on. However, the food will all taste the same, like stale school food. The ship will be named The Heart of Gold.
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