Star Wars Uprising

Yeah - I'm pretty excited for this. But I'm pretty excitable about ANYTHING Star Wars related these days. It's like all the hopes and dreams of my 6-14 year old self came true.

 

That's an awesome poster!

 

Come join us in the other thread (that is admittedly in the wrong forum)!

http://thecantina.starwars7news.com...obile-game-star-wars-uprising-announced.2995/

 

I have to say, I hate the term "cannon" being used in association with a video game. Things get complicated enough when they declare the comics and novels to be cannon, but at least those are similar forms of fiction to the movies and cartoons. Too often video games have to create more exaggerated villains and situations (for the sake of gameplay) that just don't mesh very well with the films.

For instance, I'm looking at the first artwork for this new game, and wondering about these super-armored stormtroopers.

Back in the day, Dark Forces was a great game, but it didn't fit into the world of the films. The dark troopers were so powerful, that coming up with a reason why the Empire would have stopped using them was impossible. The Empire would not have stuck with poor aiming stormtroopers when they had the resources to build an army of robotic super-kiilers.

Then there's the problematic element of choice. According to Uprising's description, players will have a significant impact on the in-game universe. Does that mean cannon will now be determined by the way people play an app-game? Future Star Wars films and fiction will be beholden to what happens in the app? That's just stupid.

I really don't understand where this desire for everything "Star Wars" to be cannon anyway. I read the Thrawn trilogy and played Tie Fighter on my PC and enjoyed them thoroughly without ever giving any thought as to whether they were part of the official storyline. I guess I just don't see why it matters.

As long as supplemental Star Wars material remains popular, it will be produced in large quantities - that's always been the Star Wars way, and Disney won't change that. If they make everything cannon it will eventually get to be too convoluted. It's unavoidable. And when that day comes, they will just will just de-cannonize it and start over again anyway.

 

I wonder though, is it because it's canon, or because of the current buzz?

Resetting convoluted canon works. DC proved that with their new 52 stunt. Marvel is doing it as we speak. It gets a lot of attention, and it allows new readers to jump in.

But that effect is short lived. I read the first few EU novels, but after a while it got to be too much, and I felt if I didn't keep up with all of it, there was no point in reading any of it. Inevitably, making everything canon becomes a sales anchor.

@Max Rebo you say you're into the new comics and video games because they are canon - but would you still be as interested if there wasn't a new set of movies on the horizon? The old Dark Horse comics were canon too - at least they were when they were published. Did you buy those too?

To me, it seems like the current model is enticing less because it is new canon, and more because they've stripped away all of the old EU canon to make it all accessible again.

And when you get right down to it, you have to know that the new EU canon will only be canon so long as it's convenient to Disney. Eventually it will all become Legends Vol 2.

I guess what I'm saying is that I understand why companies will use the "canon" label as a marketing tool - but it's counterproductive when over-applied. Making everything canon only serves to devalue that status. I'm certainly not going to buy a novel if I feel like I'll be lost if I didn't play the Uprising App. Over time this interdependent connectivity becomes increasingly burdensome to the narrative. Canonizing every single thing licensed by Lucasfilm may have a limited positive effect on sales, but it's a shortsighted strategy.

 

Dark Horse comics were non-canon. My theory is that even though there is a "plan" for movies and stuff, Star Wars will become even more like the Marvel line. I think a key weakness of Marvel is its inability to have meaningful and strong games as Star Wars has always had in the past. So, right now, we're getting the important stuff in EVERY media. Eventually, there will just be silly games with no canonical effect, but for now, it's STAR WARS YEAR!

As for Uprising, I have high hopes. Right now I'm replaying KOTOR on my phone, and it got me thinking - "If this large and important of a game now can run on phones, what's to say the same cant be achieved in the future?" I see Uprising working well because of this and also because of the chapter story idea, much like the popular Walking Dead games.

 

Mirialan is the winner for last month's voting. This month you can vote for either the E-11 blaster rifle (stormtrooper blaster) or the DL-44 heavy blaster pistol (Han Solo's blaster).

Does anyone happen to know if you're only permitted to one vote for all three months (unless you share on Facebook and such to earn more)? I was under the impression you'd get to vote once each month, but I can't seem to vote at all this month.

 

You should be able to vote once each month. Something isn't working right for you, maybe try another browser?

 

Still doesn't work.

 

Huh. Shoot them an email I suppose.

 

Unfortunately there's no way to do so unless you're contacting them about one of their other games; you need a domain number or something from that game.I suppose I'll just deal with not being able to vote anymore. Their contact page is pretty badly set up, though; you should be able to contact them somehow without needing to play a game of theirs.

 

Ah, sorry to hear that.

 

I'm also unable to vote.

 

Really buggy website, for sure. Fortunately I haven't had any issue yet. Wish I could help.

 

The old EU was absolutely considered canon...until it wasn't. Dark Horse specifically had "non-canon" comics that were clearly designated as such, but otherwise their stories fit in with the rest of the saga. As for the books, particularly the post-ROTJ novels: back when we thought there would never be a ST, those were the continuing adventures of our heroes; they happened, which was what made them so engaging. Events in each subsequent book/series followed the events of the previous book/series and it made for some excellent long-form storytelling...something which is already lacking in the new EU, of which I haven't been able to really sink my teeth into yet.

As for Uprising, I'm also highly skeptical of this being "canon"; however, it'll probably end up being "canon" like Battlefront is, in which certain aspects are canon but anything player-controlled is not. Also, if the website is buggy, that gives me a sinking feeling about the game... I hope this is cool, I really do. I just can't tell yet...

 

I agree. BUT, what made it non-canon in my mind was the fact that it made the OT seem very insignificant, in a sense. Luke's ability to hold back his anger and hatred to bring his father back to the light side was a very key example of this. He had such a symbolical example in his father being "more man than machine", and his own look of shock at his own robotic hand, allowing him to not give in. BUT, in Dark Empire, which was "canon", Luke cockily tries to defeat the Dark Side inside out. It didn't fit with his character, and happening so shortly after ROTJ was a reason why I never got myself too involved with anything after ROTJ, and focused in between the movies. Once it was all removed, I was upset temporarily, and seeing the job done by the new canon so far, I am both surprised and pleased that I would find a way to make Vader and other characters even more endearing. I'm hoping the PT gets the same treatment too in comics and books sooner or later.

And don't get me started on the Sun Crusher. Don't.

If what I said before wasn't enough, just the Sun Crusher and what it is should suffice.

I will agree on the long-term storytelling, it was very special in that way, and worked fairly well. Ignoring the New Jedi Order series, it was really solid. Uprising is completely canon- it's an RPG with a great deal of story put into chapter format like the Walking Dead games, and should borrow a few pages from KOTOR (Which I feel strongly about being canon sooner or later in some shape and form). The website will get better hopefully