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What is distinctive about fantasy RPGing? Or sci fi?
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<blockquote data-quote="chaochou" data-source="post: 7274469" data-attributes="member: 99817"><p>By and large I agree that most of what gets called science fiction is really space opera - and acts just like reskinned fantasy. The science bit usually doesn't matter.</p><p></p><p>The original Star Wars trilogy can be turned into a sword and sorcery fantasy yarn with pretty much no changes. The scale would be different - no planet hopping - but the evil empire is here and the rebels are over there and the ewoks live in those woods and yoda is in that swamp and the boy learns he's got magic powers and the princess needs rescuing from Darth's castle and wise old obi wan gives him a magic sword and sends him on his way.</p><p></p><p>Stuff like Star Trek doesn't pose faster than light travel and spaceships where people are magically stuck to the floor (thank the heavens for convenient gravity generatation) to show us how life is with faster than light travel and convenient gravity. It just's the window dressing on a different mini-drama each week in which Scotty says "The engines cannae tek it, Cap'n" and Spock waggles his eyebrows. </p><p></p><p>Whereas, say, Blade Runner isn't using science for window dressing or episodic handwaving. It asks the audience to consider the essence of being human, by introducing an artificial alternative created by science. And since artificial intelligence may be possible it draws its power from offering a window on a possible future - a window that 'fantasy' doesn't try to create. </p><p></p><p>I think this feeling of curiosity about the future is a key element of science fiction, whereas fantasy is about the wonder of the impossible.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="chaochou, post: 7274469, member: 99817"] By and large I agree that most of what gets called science fiction is really space opera - and acts just like reskinned fantasy. The science bit usually doesn't matter. The original Star Wars trilogy can be turned into a sword and sorcery fantasy yarn with pretty much no changes. The scale would be different - no planet hopping - but the evil empire is here and the rebels are over there and the ewoks live in those woods and yoda is in that swamp and the boy learns he's got magic powers and the princess needs rescuing from Darth's castle and wise old obi wan gives him a magic sword and sends him on his way. Stuff like Star Trek doesn't pose faster than light travel and spaceships where people are magically stuck to the floor (thank the heavens for convenient gravity generatation) to show us how life is with faster than light travel and convenient gravity. It just's the window dressing on a different mini-drama each week in which Scotty says "The engines cannae tek it, Cap'n" and Spock waggles his eyebrows. Whereas, say, Blade Runner isn't using science for window dressing or episodic handwaving. It asks the audience to consider the essence of being human, by introducing an artificial alternative created by science. And since artificial intelligence may be possible it draws its power from offering a window on a possible future - a window that 'fantasy' doesn't try to create. I think this feeling of curiosity about the future is a key element of science fiction, whereas fantasy is about the wonder of the impossible. [/QUOTE]
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What is distinctive about fantasy RPGing? Or sci fi?
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