"Beep-boop, Deet - Beep beep - Boop!"
Translation:
Holy Mother-of-Skywalker!
Last month, the annual Star Wars Celebration event in Anaheim, California released a Hutt load of information, pictures, and video footage on the upcoming projects Disney, and their acquisition Lucasfilm, have in store for fans of the franchise this year.
Chief among the presents Uncle Walt gave us was a new teaser trailer for Star Wars - Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
Are those new X-Wing fighters?
Flying in formation?
In an atmosphere and over water?
In DAYLIGHT?
Yes. Yes they are goddamnit.
While some were not moved by this trailer, those people have no hearts, or perhaps they have blackened, corrupted souls lost to the Dark Side of the Force. Others (like myself), gasped, cheered, and cried real man-tears. Even the women.
It was exactly what a teaser trailer should be; it was short enough not to reveal too much, but showed just enough of the awesome to make you want to see more.
I'll be honest, J.J. Abrams is leading the charge on this one, and I have little love, and practically no faith, in that man's ability to make a good movie. Add to that the downer the Prequels turned out to be, and I looked upon the initial announcement of new, Post-Return of the Jedi Star Wars films with a bitter-sour mix of geek pain, and cinema lover contempt.
That was before the first teaser trailer. I got a little excited, though I still figured Abrams would be letting us down. Then, after the second teaser trailer, oh what the hell, I'm in!
I could go on, and on about how cool all the little bits and pieces were, but instead I'm going to direct your attention to the additional WOW! that was revealed after this trailer debuted.
These were some group's Player Characters.
No doubt about it.
I'm quite taken with the Disney XD, CGI animated series Star Wars: Rebels, and the trailer for the show's second season looks pretty damn cool.
I've recommended the series to a friend, and he's not really loving it, but it took me a while to warm up to the show as well. I do hope he comes around, especially since the next season looks so good, and I'd love to compare notes with my buddy.
Why? Well, aside from it being fun to discuss such things with like minded people, he and I are looking at running some Star Wars games. Personally (and I think I may have mentioned it before) I think Star Wars: Rebels feels exactly like a Star Wars D6 RPG campaign, right down to the clearly denoted character types/templates. If I wasn't inspired to run a Star Wars game by the Force Awakens trailer, that one plus this one put me over the edge.
Wait...we're not done...
That's no moon.
Star Wars: Rogue One is the first of a series of films called 'The Anthology' movies. This first one will be a separate, spin-off film that takes place after Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, and Star Wars IV: A New Hope. Basically, Rogue One should be happening around the same time as Star Wars: Rebels, or just after it (maybe around a theoretical Season 3, or 4).
The story will focus on a group of normal Rebel Soldiers, without the assistance of any Jedi, or other Force using individuals, who plan on stealing the Death Star plans. The very same plans Princess Leia will place inside R2-D2 in the original Star Wars film.
It sounds very interesting to me, and I like the fact that they are talking about a female lead, and a slightly less black, and white morality. Honorable villains, and heroes willing to lie, and cheat seem a strong possibility.
I guess that about wraps up...WRONG! Oh no, no. One more thing...
I don't have time to get into another computer ga...Oh OK.
Star Wars: Battlefront is a new action/combat game set in the Star Wars universe, produced by Electronic Arts. It features both single and multiplayer modes, and you can view the game from a first-person shooter perspective, or third-person perspective.
While I am not as much of a computer or video game fan as some (many) of my friends are, I think I may have to check this one out. The original Battlefront games were pretty damn good, and this one is shaping up to be very interesting indeed. Check out the amazing trailer for it, and keep a sharp eye out for updates.
***
Late last year I made a post wherein I mentioned that between the first Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser trailer, and the first season of Star Wars: Rebels, I was pretty jazzed to run a Star Wars RPG game. Add in everything I've mentioned here, and it's like...like millions of voices crying out for adventure that can not be silenced.
There is a tranquility in the Force. I've got a good feeling about this.
This is, of course, despite a rather lackluster performance on my part when I decided to run the West End Games, D6 version of the Star Wars RPG over Google Hangouts a few weeks back. It wasn't a very good outing on my part, at least in my opinion. The players had fun, or at least said they did, but it really wasn't up to snuff with what I know I can do with that setting, and system.
It just so happens that a buddy of mine has started running a series of 'related one-shots' of Star Wars in which we play the same characters each time, but the sessions are much more episodic then your standard, ongoing campaign. The adventures relate to each other only in the most general sense, outside of the reoccurring PCs. It's pretty fun, and I get to be an Astromech Droid, so it's full of win from where I'm sitting.
In the end, all this combines to fuel my desire to run a Star Wars campaign even more. It really is one of my favorite RPGs ever, and it deserves to be recognized as such, and treated well (much like the franchise itself).
Which reminds me...
Charles Atkins over at DYVERS is doing this awesome PDF project in which a bunch (I'm talking about something like twenty, or more) bloggers each describe their favorite RPG, and what is so awesome about it. Neat huh? It's got some really good writer involved, covering a wide range of games.
I will be joining in on this project myself* with an entry on none other than Star Wars D6 by West End Games.
I need to meditate, feel the Force around me, flowing through me, connecting me to all living things. Once this happens, I figure I should be ready to write my entry, and maybe even run another Star Wars session. Right? I mean, it couldn't hurt.
The Force Will Be With Us...Always.
AD
Barking Alien
*I'm going to do a second entry on the Star Trek RPG by Last Unicorn Games. Why? Because Star Trek damn it.
The second teaser for Ep. VII was much, much better than the first, I admit. But I am still not moved, and part of it is beacuse I too don't have much confidence in J.J. Abrams making a memorable film. But I liked Super 8's imitation of a Spielberg movie, so maybe he can imitate a classic Star Wars movie.
ReplyDeleteAnd, truth is, he was one of the two obvious options to direct the movie: he is a fan and he has done two Star Trek films criticised for being too Star Wars-like. The other obvious option was Joss Whedon. Having watched Firefly and The Avengers (another Disney IP, by the way), he was hands down my favourite, but we have what we have.
I have never liked a single thing Abrams has done, except perhaps the first two seasons of Lost.
DeleteI do not feel that he is a talent in any way, shape, or form. I have no idea how he landed Star Trek, which I feel he was highly unsuited for.
Now, to be my own devil's advocate...
That said, the teaser intrigued me, and the trailer got me excited. How much of that was Abrams? I don't know. All I do know is that I like what I saw. A lot.
I will also say I'm not a Whedon fan, or wasn't prior to The Avengers, but he won me over with how good both Avengers films are.
Hopefully, Abrams can do the same.
A nice round up of all the Star Wars goodness out there for fans and gamers.
ReplyDeletePlay on Target's Star Wars episode was interesting as well.
DeleteI found my experience with FFG's Star Wars to be quite different from your group's, but hearing the alternate opinions was very cool.
I also noticed that the opinions on the West End Games D6 system was somewhat different from that of myself, and the people I used to play with.
Well if anyone ought to be writing up a "why you should play" type thing for LUG Trek it;s you man. I'm sure you can do Star Wars right too, but LUG trek comes across as your game more than any other.
ReplyDelete