Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Episode III - Third time's not so charming

Getting a little closer but the conclusion stinks as usual. Some of the stuff is the same, but I have tried to make it flow better and get some of those ideas tighter. Hopefully the final version is within sight.

Star Wars has had a pervasive impact on the modern human psyche and has left its mark on directors, fans and video game designers. It is responsible for several changes in popular culture, the rise of the blockbuster, the franchise movie, the use of computer generated special effects and for leaving an indelible mark on popular lexicon. (Emerson n.d; Jenkins 2005) Countless references from the series have been used in commercials, video games, books and other mediums.

For those born after the inception of Star Wars, they have accepted it as a site of shared cultural knowledge. (Booker 1997) Peter Krämer (2001) cites during a class, he asked students the role of Star Wars had in their lives and was surprised by the response. They recounted that as children; they inhabited a 'Star Wars universe' and still felt that was still applied even as adults. "... the saga's characters, stories and catch phrases had been a primary reference point for their peer group and also within their families." (Kramer 2001)

Star Wars has a video game industry has spawned over 100 video and computer commodities. Much of the series continuing popularity and perpetuation of Star Wars over our society is due to the production of video games. (ref) Video games have offered a way for Star Wars to continue their dominance of popular culture; this spread also has had an effect on video games as a source of inspiration, reference and parody.

The biggest game in the industry that Star Wars has inspired is Tomohiro Nishikado's Space Invaders. Nishikado recalls that he was inspired by news of the American movie that was coming to Japan. He had felt that setting the game in space and having aliens as opponents would be less immoral than shooting human enemies. "Human movement would have been easier, but I felt it would be immoral to shoot humans, even if they were bad guys." (Nishikado cited in The Creation of Space Invaders 2005)

Space Invaders is considered to one of the seminal arcade games which launched an industry. The influence on the games industry can still be felt today. It pushed video games culture into mainstream consciousness; it created the genre of games known as top-down shooters and became a historical icon of video games. (Edwards n.d)

Its conception could not have happened without Star Wars' interpretation of space as an adventure. It paved the way for space opera and aliens to be acceptable serious topics for movies and video games. (Edwards n.d) While Star Wars is considered the quintessential space adventure movie, it has also created the archetypal video game moment.

`Star Wars' didn't create video games but it totally influenced them... The Death Star trench run in the original `Star Wars' is the archetypal video game climax: Fire a missile, hit a weak spot and everything gets destroyed. (Schneider cited in Caro 2005)

The battles set in space have been an inspiration to game designers Ted Michon and David Rolfe who in 1979 released the arcade game Star Fire. Due to licensing and publishing issues the game never bore the Star Wars brand but players have made connections between Star Fire and its muse.

David Rolfe admits that Michon wanted to create a game in the same genre as Star Wars. The graphics created for the game attracted Star Wars fans through their similarity to the original product. It has been described by some to be a digital equivalent to piloting a vehicle from the movies. (Thomasson 2006; Minter 2003) The sheer volume of fan media is overwhelming; the desire for others to relive and recreate the experiences of Star Wars and its characters is not limited to fans. (Jenkins H 2005; Caro 2003)

Star Wars and Star Fire would later lead to an unusual game inspired by an official Star Wars product.

The review in question described the Walkers as “giant mechanical camels”. “And that just got me thinking about giant camels in general,” says Minter. (The Making Of: Attack of The Mutant Camels 2009)

Drawing inspiration from a review of The Empire Strikes Back, Minter created an imaginative experience which pitted the player against shielded camels that could fire lasers. (The Making Of: Attack of The Mutant Camels 2009) With an aesthetic borrowed from the Parker Brother's game, Minter's game could be seen as a parody but also as a retelling of the original game.

It is difficult to imagine a cultural landscape without Star Wars, much of it has become ingrained into our communicated media such as films, books and video games. It has remained one of the most popular space operas, a prime example of man's obsession with adventure and the unknowns of space. Space Invaders and its space themed game play originate with Star Wars; this little seed of inspiration gave rise to one of icons of video game culture.

Conclusion is not finished, again. I will get around to it once I figure out just how to sum this essay up.
Following the rise of Space Invaders and Lucas' films, video games, aliens, space operas became pop culture standards. The thrill of exciting frontiers opened by digital media continues today. Scenarios, characters and lines from the films have often been referenced in different mediums and still provide stimulus for developing works.

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