Bridging the Gaming Gap: Star Trek Vs. Star Wars

[the_viscount]

I should begin with a declaration of where I stand.  While I love both universes, if you pointed a gun at my head and made me pick only one, it'd be Star Trek.  Since hypothetical men with guns and obscure, arbitrary demands are relatively rare though, I've had the pleasure of sampling both thoroughly.  And I've noticed that somehow, the Star Wars

Comments

[seannittner]

I agree with your sentiments regarding the attraction to Star Wars from gamers, but I think the influence from industry support is even more pronounced than you suggested.

Before WOTC had Star Wars it was done by West End, which started publishing them in 87 and and put our 73 supplements! Plus a second edition on 96 and support until 99. With WOTC buying the rights and publishing until May 2010, that's over 32 years of Star Wars, more or less continuously supported.

There is s still a question of why it would be so much more attractive to designers/game publishers, but from the player's perspective there was just SO much more available from the Star Wars setting.

I also think the distinction needs to be made between Space Opera and Sci-Fi. Star Wars is essentially a pulp setting, full of epic victories and defeats, implausible coincidences ("wait... you're my sister?"), and non-stop melodrama. It gloms onto the gamers psyche like peanut butter on toast. We just eat that shit up.

Star Trek is full of killer trivia, a bazillion moving pieces, and an incredibly rich setting, but like Forgotten Realms that level of detail can be intimidating to a player. Do I need to know how a deflector dish works work the helm? Is it okay for me to have a Romulan sympathizer who isn't trying to jack the federation? While I think the universe is incredibly immersive, it's also daunting and complicated. I think the question of "what would we do" is harder to answer in Star Trek, which is ironic because in Star Wars the story is TOLD, but in Star Trek, the series never supposes that they have learned everything they could (except Barkley, Barkley is the shit and he knows it all!).

[the_viscount]

I'm familiar with the West End Games version of Star Trek, although I've never played in it, sadly. It seems to maintain a small but dedicated following in a few corners of the internet. My understanding is that WEG was bought out by a shoe company? I've heard it told as this story of rise to glory and fall to ignominious defeat. I don't know how much of that is fact and how much is creative storytelling though.

I'd disagree with the assessment that Star Trek is a more complicated or detailed setting. I've flipped through "alien race" type supplements for both WEG Star Wars and CODA Star Trek. Both are incredibly detailed listings of every race to occupy so much as a single frame of screentime. Ditto for spaceship books.

I think you're on to something with the space opera bit. It's certainly more dramatic and high stakes. But Star Trek spends a lot of time exploring issues like what it means to be human (see Data), growing up (see Jake Sisko) and family and tradition (see Nog/Rom/Quark). That is roleplaying gold right there. In theory, at least. We'll see if I ever run another game of Star Trek.

[seannittner]

Ohh... good point about all the Star Wars alien race minutia, that's at least as complex as Trek. I guess it seemed a simpler universe a) from the pulp perspective and b) if you just watch the movies (rather than if you take the entire canon of the books).

You don't have to worry about "if" you'll find out about good roleplaying bits, just a matter of WHEN. You will run Star Trek for me!