USH'S STAR WARS GAME- Future discussion
Every so often I ruminate and explore the possible future of the Star Wars game, which has been quite solid for a long time now. Still, with the final Star Wars film approaching, some points do need to be considered.
First of all, the new Episode will start in the New Year. This will firmly establish the new Campaign as successful. I hope to have that Episode finished by the time ROTS comes out in May. The end of that Episode will see the Dark Siders setup in their new position and the conclusion of the current Jedi plotline.
The next episode will start during the grip of SW fever at the point of the Episode III release (that Episode will also, coincidentally, be Episode III of this campaign). It will be set two years after (my) Episode II, and so four years after the original campaign. It will consist of a prologue section for both sides, which the Light Siders will find highly satisfying and the Dark Siders will find... intriguing. The main Campaign plot will kick off around this time.
After that, of course, things become hazy. A series of episodes seperated by years is planned. The finale of the campaign, its Mausoleum of Demnos equivalent... whatever that might be.. is planned to take place at the same time as the Battle of Geonosis- day one of the Clone Wars. It will explain why the Light Siders are not on Geonosis that day- they are required elsewhere on matters of equal importance. Yup, big things are planned.
This will form the end of this Star Wars story as such; the era these games is set in effectively ends there. As well as the standard risks involved in RPing, there is also the possiblity that the Dark Siders will get slaughtered.
However, this is not obligatory, and much depends on play. At this point, any plans to force the death of any of the players, Light or Dark, have been withdrawn. Even beyond the scope of the campaign, we do not see the need to force this, even if this conflicts with Yoda's ROTJ line. Quite what this might mean for the Jedi.. we don't know. The Dark Siders may be able to flee the Galaxy before the Empire catches them.
Now, it will take a long time to reach that point. SW fever will die down after ROTS, never to be so big again. Still, if the tv series comes, interest will always be there, and SW has quite a fan base anyway. Aside form that, I like to think we have a nice community here that will be interested in continual play for another three years- having already played three years- even as you guys grow up and gets jobs etc. So if we do reach that point, we have several options:
1. A Clone Wars campaign. This has no fixed plot as of yet but is possible. The mood will be very different- as I say, the Era really shuts down once the Clone Wars start. However... this would be Light Side only. Plot developments will rule out the Dark Side by this point.
2. An Original Trilogy era campaign. This IS plotted. The players play either Rebels or Imperials ten years after Episode III (and so ten years before the Battle of Yavin). However, this game acts more than just more SW playing in a different era- it is actually a quasi-sequel to the current game, and may even tie up some points remaining from the old days. The intention, btw, is that the Dark Side players play the Imperials- that's not obligatory, but when you see the plot you'll know why. The Campaign would play through until the Battle of Yavin and will see the Rebels grow from a slight annoyance to a genuine threat- in mood, the total opposite of the current campaign, with things starting crappy for the good guys but getting better and better as time goes on.
3. A pre-prequel era campaign. Whilst not plotted, elements exist for a game set thousands of years before the current game, to act as a prequel. Set in the time of Knights of the Old Republic, and most likely happily using that game as the base plotline minus the more absurd bits, the game would involve genuine Jedi versus Sith battles in the classic days- with the Sith villain of the piece being Darth Demnos himself, with Dark Siders getting a chance to work for him, and Jedi seeing what being on the wrong side of him was like. Entirely possible that Zeiton and the Mausoleum will appear- and you may even get the full deal on what was there...
Err, it's all vague right now. But in general. Christmas being a time for reflection and all, I just wanted to keep people up to speed with current potential plans. Please feel free to discuss or comment!