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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 7705670" data-attributes="member: 3285">The unstoppable franchise that is Star Wars is back in the headlines thanks to the <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/star-wars-rogue-7513883" target="_blank">blockbuster success of </a><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/star-wars-rogue-7513883" target="_blank">Rogue One</a>, a film that delves into the sci-fi epic's detailed backstory.  It's easy to forget that when Disney acquired the Star Wars license and redefined what was canon, the company declared that the tabletop role-playing game was an integral part of defining the universe.[ATTACH=full]263849[/ATTACH]<h3>The Legacy of the Star Wars RPG</h3>When Disney took over the Star Wars license from George Lucas, fans were curious as to what would be considered canon.  Right out of the gate, Disney made it clear that <a href="http://www.starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page" target="_blank">the role-playing game was part of the official universe</a>:How did a tabletop role-playing game come to define one of the most beloved franchises in sci-fi history? To understand that, we have to understand the state of Star Wars in the 1980s.<h3>"Star Wars Was Dead"</h3>Rob Wieland explains the state of the franchise in the late 80s on <a href="http://geekandsundry.com/how-the-star-wars-rpg-influenced-star-wars-canon/" target="_blank">Geek & Sundry</a>:Shannon Appelcline picks up the thread in <a href="http://amzn.to/2ieN379" target="_blank">Designers & Dragons - the 80s</a>:Chris Baker <a href="http://www.glixel.com/news/how-a-dd-style-rpg-brought-star-wars-back-from-the-dead-w457301http://" target="_blank">explains on Glixel</a> how West End Games picked up the license:Costikyan left West End Games in 1987 before the game was ready for release, which is when Bill Slavicsek entered the picture. Slavicsek created the Star Wars Sourcebook, which would flesh out everything from how Star Wars' technology worked to the various creatures and aliens populating the galaxy. It didn't hurt that Slavicsek was a huge fan, having watched the movies nearly 40 times:Fortunately, Lucasfilm didn't have strong opinions about the universe at the time -- a level of freedom unthinkable today with a popular franchise:It was the role-playing game that came up with names for ithorians (originally known as "Hammerheads") and twi'leks. Slavicsek didn't know it then, but he was creating a setting bible for all of Star Wars.<h3>The Word of God</h3>Creating a role-playing game requires enough tools so that the game master can adapt on the fly, which means systemizing the universe in a way similar to setting bibles for television and movies.  The Game Narrative Toolbox explains the <a href="http://amzn.to/2hYCwwb" target="_blank">importance of these bibles</a>:Of particular import is the possibility of transmedia spinoffs, which was not as common in the 80s as it is today. The importance of a game bible would be <a href="http://www.glixel.com/news/how-a-dd-style-rpg-brought-star-wars-back-from-the-dead-w457301" target="_blank">a turning point</a>  for Star Wars when Timothy Zahn wrote Heir to the Empire, which picked up where Return of the Jedi left off:Zahn later said in an interview, as quoted in Designers & Dragons - the 80s:<a href="http://geekandsundry.com/how-the-star-wars-rpg-influenced-star-wars-canon/http://" target="_blank">Things progressed from there</a>:The impact of West End Games' work reverberates even in other role-playing games:<h3>Going Rogue</h3>Which brings us back to the fateful decision when Disney decided what was canon in the new universe.  It turns out the Story Group that oversees Star Wars canon includes Pablo Hidalgo,<a href="https://index.rpg.net/display-search.phtml?key=contributor&value=Pablo%2BHidalgo&sort=system,systemversion" target="_blank"> who wrote several sourcebooks for West End Games</a> before <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1924528/" target="_blank">joining Lucasfilm</a>. The influence of the tabletop role-playing game continues even today, and it echoes in the plot of Rogue One.  As Matt Burnett, writer for Cartoon Network's Steven Universe, <a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4VSz4ehN4Y0J:https://twitter.com/mcburnett/status/754019077572534272+&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ushttp://" target="_blank">put it on Twitter:</a>Gamers everywhere can take comfort in knowing that the Star Wars we know today is a descendant of the efforts of tabletop game designers.</blockquote>

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