fuck i'm old :P

And a birthday in two weeks. joy

Me, sort of...I really enjoyed the Jedi Knight games, but never cared that much for the movies. I've seen the original trilogy, but never was that impressed by them. Saw Attack of the clones in cinema back when it came out...was somewhat silly, but I didn't actually find it that bad. The basic premise (how a republic turns into an empire) is a classic theme, at least Lucas tried to create something original (at least that was my impression as a very casual viewer).
Personally I think the Star wars movies are bizarrely overrated, but Star wars has certainly produced some very good games...if it weren't for the Jedi knight series, I might not care about Star wars at all (and maybe other people feel similarly about games like Kotor, TIE-Fighter etc.).

Lookout this will become the BIG birthday thread.I wonder how many more threads are going to be hit with it's my birthday soon.

1. Return of the Jedi
2. A new hope
3. The empire strikes back
The rest don't exist.

For me, Star Wars is fantasy but not a classic fantasy like LOTR.
Classic fantasy take place in a Middle Ages-like world with magical creatures and the classic races or very similar variants (humans, elves, dwarves). The magic and dragons are not mandatory but they are almost always present in some form.
The story have to be epic-like (that's why I think harry potter is not a classic-fantasy).
True classic-fantasy are Eragon (books of course), LOTR, Dragon Age Origins, Narnia, Morrowind etc...

For me, Sci-fi is more closer to Cyberpunk. A really simple "fairy-tale" like Star Wars is not my idea of Cyberpunk.

Maybe Star Wars is a space-fantasy, while Star Trek is a space-sci-fi (but it is not cyberpunk).

I think, however, that there is some influence from other genres.

What?

WHAT?

Seriously, I can't leave you guys alone at all, can I? I log out to catch some shuteye, and it's total chaos and anarchy when I get back.

A New Hope
The Phantom Menace
Revenge of the Sith
The Empire Strikes Back
Attack of the Clones
Return of the Jedi

I'm honestly surpised at the dislike for The Force Awakens. For me, although I have watched it more often obviously, it had stronger characters than Rogue One. TFA definitely felt like a Star Wars story, hecky Rey's home is an abandoned AT-AT walker!

I will happily watch TFA over and over again before I would ever sit through the turgid romance and zero chemistry of Natalie Portman (who I otherwise love) and Haden Christianson in AOTC.

I can even tell you which one :P

It's the difference between "Hard Sci-Fi", "Soft Sci-Fi" and "Science Fantasy".

Hard Sci-Fi is more interested in especulating about the technology and how it works. Soft Sci-Fi is more interested in the societal consequences of that technology, but still try to make the technology somewhat plausible by at least giving it a cursory explanation, hence Star Trek's technobabble.

Space Fantasy is a just a fantasy story in space, it gives no explanation of how its technology works or how space travel is possible in that universe, the technology is just a backdrop or a tool to enable the story you do want to tell to happen. Plus it may also introduce outright fantastical elements, such as the Force.

Whether people realize it or not this is the reason why so many people despise the idea of midichlorians, because Lucas was introducing a Science Fiction concept into his Space Fantasy series, that's why it was so out of place.

Midi-chlorians are no more science than an energy field created by living beings. It's all complementary information, and reinforces the theme of symbiosis of the movie. Every living being is connected, with each other and the Force.

Most critics of midi-chlorians don't even know or remember what's actually said in the movie and let their misconception cloud their judgment.

The way Yoda talks about the all living beings being connected it still sounds like something mystical. He doesn't give Luke a Geiger Force Counter to measure how strong the Force is around them. Midichlorians sound like science, or at least what passes for "science" in a setting like that. It's something definite, something you can measure and quantify. Which is exactly what they do. They even have equipment to do it, and it's "scientific" equipment, not some Jedi amulet or holocron or whatnot. It's the equivalent of explaining the immortals from Highlander by making them aliens from Zeist.

Yes, it's complementary information, which demystifies somewhat the esoteric concept of the Force.

Rogue One.

(come at me) :D