The Limitations of a Borrowed Genre: Star Wars

[Jsc]

Prologue & Advice

George R.R. Martin, when asked giving advice to new writers, once said:

"Write every day, even if it is only a page or two. The more you write, the better you’ll get. But don’t write in my universe, or Tolkien’s, or the Marvel universe, or the Star Trek universe, or any other borrowed background. Every writer needs to learn to create his own characters, worlds, and settings. Using someone else’s world is the lazy way out. If you don’t exercise those “literary muscles,” you’ll never develop them."

Which I think is perfect advice to anyone looking to just become a better writer. Me myself? I've always enjoyed collaborations in shared universes. And, of course... I'm not looking to become a professional either. Lol. This is just for kicks-n-giggles. So when I first heard this I nodded, agreed, and yet was pleasantly surprised that I had been different. I learned writing inside of another writer's universe,

George's.


And Yet, It Oft Confines

Star Wars has it's limits. And after a few years of hobby writing it doesn't actually take very long to find them. One need only look to Jorus' blog posts to find Hyperspace Time-limits, Eight Months to the Kathol Outback, What NOT to do as a Force User for Beginners, and How to Lead an Expedition outside the Known Universe 101. (For Force Sensitive Navigators only.) Whoo doggie. Great info, but stop signs are everywhere. Bleh.

Which, is probably a good thing. Lulz.

Funny that fantasy and science fiction have such defining limitations. And welcome limits too. Yes. For like speed limits, gravity, and old characters which shine and sparkle from spit and polish? It is often what they can't do, that defines and magnifies them. So I suppose like life, death, and taxes? Even fantasy must have it's hard edges too.


Your Experience with, Keeping it Star Wars?

"Keep it Star Wars'y."

Said every Factory Judge ever. Lol.

Okay. Now it's your turn. Because I'm curious and posts like these never cease to amuse me.

• 
  Question 1: - What have been some of your best, (and worst,) experiences where the Star Wars genre itself has seemingly stood in your way of writing, and roleplaying, what you really really want to say or do?
  
• 
  Question 2: - Have you ever subbed an item to the Factory that was obviously not Star Wars'y? (*Of course you have.) ...So then, why? What was the inspiration to try?
  

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[Jsc]

Answer 1

Gundam Newtypes.

I'm an honest fan of Gundam Unicorn's approach to Newtypes. The Japanese Jedi-ish Super Pilots who can communicate telepathically and lol-dodge anything while in a mecha. These guys and gals rock. Not just sharing each other's thoughts, but also linking themselves in emotion and spirit as well. Knowing each other without misconceptions, as the Gundam Unicorn motto often goes. Taking the conflict's of life far out from the physical realm and shedding light on them in the spirit realms too. Giving man-kind a brighter future, not just through bad-azz piloting skillz? But also through a new medium of spiritual telepathic communication. A gift and mutation for the whole human species to grow into. Set apart even from God's all-mighty influence. A new power, and a new future, for man.

I've always wanted to push The Force in this direction with my characters. Put the whole, Dark vs Light-blah-blah-blah aside for once and just explore what the future of humanity would look like if everybody could sense and share with each other inside The Force. That brighter optimistic future that neither Jedi nor Sith ever seem to bother reaching for in lue of everlasting physical conflict. (Though, I'll give George credit. He had his reasons for sticking to his guns here.) Indeed. Writing Karen in the RnR Battlemind X-Wing Squadron was a firm step in this direction of mine but... It quickly became radically overpowered and rushed headlong into the "End Of The Universe" territory, almost immediately. Alas. Like that 3rd "Green" ending to the Mass Effect franchise? Social Utopia just reads as stupid-stupid-stupid to the aged human mind. Meh. ...Aww well. Maybe to the Western mind it just needs a little more Star Trek and a little less Japan-Japan. Sh'maybe?

Erm. Oh! Plus mecha.

Did I mention the mecha? (Also not Star Wars'y) ...Lol. Because the Gundams are awesome too. Wow are they awesome. Pew pew. Lol-dodging everything! Whoosh whoosh. Haha. Using beam cannons and lightsabers to cut even future Space Dreadnoughts in half. Pfft. Pew pew. Thanks Minofsky Particle Physics. (AKA, handwavium.) You rock! If there was one thing I dislike about being stuck in SWLand. It's that mecha are always nerfy nerfed.

...

Aw well. Maybe next time.


Answer 2

Halo armor.

I wanted to write a Spartan fighting a Jedi sooo bad. Lulz.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Question 1: - What have been some of your best, (and worst,) experiences where the Star Wars genre itself has seemingly stood in your way of writing, and roleplaying, what you really really want to say or do? Question 2: - Have you ever subbed an item to the Factory that was obviously not Star Wars'y? (*Of course you have.) ...So then, why? What was the inspiration to try?

1. Anything involving the illogical Manichean morality of Light/Dark as actual literal forces (as it were). That makes so many things weird when trying to come up with legitimate character traits. 'Anakin fell to the Dark Side, but got redeemed now so all is forgiven! But oh no, Tarkin, you wicked person, you don't have the Force so the Dark Side doesn't control you. You're just evil.'
2. Does the Codex count? I may have submitted some things which are slightly not Star Wars (though the Eldorai are legit because there's goddamn space elves all through Legends canon).

 

[Cyrus Tregessar]

Actually Minovksy Particles aren't really Handwavium. They have a very concrete and generally grounded set of rules and laws they function by, and all effects they can produce are related to these rules. They're absolutely critical, because they provide a reason for and give the justification for nearly every 'fantastic' or 'sci-fi' related aspect of UC Gundam. In terms of tropes, it's so well defined and adhered to that it is its own trope namer. Newtypes are bit less well defined and bit more subject to random sorcerers effects.

This is also part of why the Gundam AU's are mostly poodoo, because they play things fast and loose with physics in the name of rule of cool.

To actually answer the questions.

1. Star Wars tends to feel a bit black and white at times, and efforts to make it otherwise can vary in their effectiveness. On the one hand, I understand why (so damn tired of the old 'good-but-misunderstood-manchild-special-unique Sith') but it tends to make it seem like, idk, the good guys are bloody incompetent. Like the comic where a group of Jedi who survived the purge try and lure out and ambush Darth Vader, and one of them uses a cortosis blade to deactivate his lightsaber, then REFUSES TO STRIKE HIM DOWN BECAUSE NOW HES UNARMED. After which another Jedi GOES AND KILLS HER presumably to represent falling to the Dark Side and gets his ass kicked anyway.

Sorry, that's not clever or interesting, it's just karking bad writing. There's a hundred ways to create a similar event without resorting to contrived stupidity, but one can only assume the writer felt constrained by following exact tenants of the old Jedi vs. Sith conflict. I think this partially ties in to what [member="Valiens Nantaris"] mentioned, which is how the extremes get weird and not very realistic.

2. All the time, mostly based off real-world stuff. Star Wars seems to indicate that most fire control is done my manually steering your twin Bofors 40mm a la WW2, which is karking bonkers for a setting where spaceships are powered by LITERALLY CAPTURED STARS. We had head-tracking cannons on helicopter gunships in VIETNAM. Get karking real.

As it were, nothing says you can't write in Star Wars and your own world. Be wary of taking to much influence from it, of course *cougheragoncough.* But 'write every day' is absolutely the best possible advice for any aspiring author, and you'll see most published writers say the exact same thing.

 

[Kei Amadis]

1, Hate using force powers with little write up on them, I try and it reads like tosh, because it was never given much structure. Did so recently, and the result was fun but the post was still stretching. Its why i've never done alter-earth over the years, even though I really want to give it a go. Very different to using a force power intelligently, or creatively because you have something to build off of in that case.

On a regular fantasy site for example I can kablam magic *insert vague stuff here*! But starwars has such rich lore if I do that in a force power, I instantly think it doesn't have much legs.

2, Starwars tech is very, very broad and while it does have some modular stuff.

Modular rifle would be my furthest sub, it has real world application, but i've yet to see starwars go too deeply into their weapons on screen (only books) it'd be neat if they did. Very old school Jedi originally I shunned armor for the first year here , but I got used to it. #camoflaged jedirobes lol. Most of my weapons subs were counters, as when you had competitive invasions you needed those counters to proceed, especially to keep NFU's viable, tech were their counter to force powers, and people were in an arms race.

Vong stuff - Tensor Tech, Lots of Fire everywhere - Carbonite Gun, Armor that's resistant to everything - alternative damage types. Double personal energy fields on at once - Shield piercing ammo. Guns being incinerated in a shooters hands a lot - anti forcer metals, People reverse engineering designs in a few posts - Tamper Resistance. Level Playing field stuff.

Other than that tech is for fun, and being creative, personal fluff, hidden blasters, surveillance pets, militia that rise up, plot hooks for a story.

 

[Rayth]

The Star Wars Galaxy is huge, the planets encompassing an awful lot of different stereotypes. There's futuristic nobility, tribal clans, wastelands, super cities, etc etc.

There's always room to bring more things into the Star Wars Galaxy. It's why there is a factory and a codex here.

But people often stay close to the spirit of Star Wars and with the WW2 inspired look and feel of stars wars battles and technology.

That's not the same as encouraging people to wholesale port other canon into Star Wars. Personally I always wince when someone ports a Marvel character to Chaos. I've sat through discussions on Skype where people are talking about which of their favourite characters from other genre's they're going to port next. Given the broad range of Star Wars canon and the freedom to take new directions on Chaos, perhaps I just don't get it.

I probably stray away from Star Wars canon the most when submitting tech to confuse lazy slicers.



I'm sure there are many, many Gundam RP sites out there.

There are many original fantasy and Sci-fi sites out there.

I've never seen a Star Wars RP site giving as much creative freedom to its members as Chaos.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

Anything involving the illogical Manichean morality of Light/Dark as actual literal forces (as it were). That makes so many things weird when trying to come up with legitimate character traits. 'Anakin fell to the Dark Side, but got redeemed now so all is forgiven! But oh no, Tarkin, you wicked person, you don't have the Force so the Dark Side doesn't control you. You're just evil.'