(Mongoose) Starship Troopers! RPG, miniatures and graphic novels!

[S'mon]

Providing a wealth of information on the Mobile Infantry, the totalitarian government of Earth...

Totalitarian government - Heinlein must be spinning in his grave...

I take it this is 100% Verhoeven then?

I liked both book and movie, the latter is clearly a satire on the former as well as a sly demonstration of contempt for its own core viewing audience - the cattleprod rape of the bug leader at the end was particularly cunning/disturbing/disgusting.

 

[Whimsical]

I'll definately buy this book when it comes out. I loved the book, movie, and TV show. Here's my more detailed perspective on Starship Troopers.

What I suggest is that you provide two versions of earthgov in the book. The idealized book version and the satirized movie version. That will allow fans of either to choose their flavor of earthgov.

 

[Cergorach]

Erm... This is scarry. After looking around on the web yesterday at some Space Above and Beyond material, i was thinking that it would be very kewl to get a D20 RPG and mini game done. Second thought was that Starship Troopers might be a better candidate (commercially speaking that is). Third thought was, please let it not be MGP that would publish something like that. Ack!

Don't get me wrong, i don't (yet) have a irrational hatred of MGP, but their presentation has been... Lacking... As an example, the B5 line, almost all the 'illustrations' are directly taken from the series or movies. I'm a fan, i already have all those images, i want new art, not recycled art. The new art in for example Armageddon 2089 isn't really up to spec compared to other publishers, although it's been steadily improving (just got Soldiers Companion). I hape that MGP finally creates some original high quality art for Starship Troopers...

 

[S'mon]

Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally Posted by Mongoose_Matt
Mike: You know, way before the film, I always took the government of the book to be fascist. Some people I have spoken to agree, others do not - funny thing, interpretation Heinlein himself was fairly ambiguous on this point. . .

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


He went into great depth on this.
The government in the book was a representative democracy, not that different from modern USA (maybe with a stronger participative element), except that only ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen were entitled to vote. So it was a militocracy as well as a democracy but definitely not fascist in any way other than "right wing= fascist". It seems to have been Heinlein's idea of a utopian setup, and of course he's been attacked for it for decades. Note that serving personnel didn't vote, only those who had completed their terms, it's not a militocracy.

Verhoeven clearly doesn't share Heinlein's politics so he twisted Heinlein's vision and hinted at the Earth government in the movie being proto-fascist, as well as clearly militarist. He was primarily interested in drawing out parrallels between the humans and the bugs, not a concern of Heinlein.

I enjoyed the TV show, which in gung-ho spirit is closer to the book although it looks more like the movie. It has a lower death rate than either, though, and this + CGI gives it a very videogame feel in the many battle scenes.

EDIT

...So it was a militocracy as well as a democracy...

...it's not a militocracy...

OK, so I contradicted myself - er, you know what I mean... it's rule by ex-soldiers, not by the generals. You have to cease being in the military before you can vote. Clear enough?

 

[Acid_crash]

All I've seen is the movie, and since I liked the movie, and depending on how this game turns out, I think I will be buying this product...I'm still bummed that its not Transformers, which I like more, and I know that it would work well as a miniatures game also, and it kicks so much butt...and with the live action movie in the works a Transformers game would rock...

Okay, rambling over...I like Starship Troopers, I think will kick some serious butt, and I am glad MGP is doing it the way they are doing it.

Can anybody tell me more about the ST universe beyond what the movie shows? That's all I know.

 

[Mongoose_Matt]

Fascist, perhaps. But you used the term "totalitarian".

I am glad you raised this point! You see when _I_ originally wrote that release, it said fascist. Then some pen-pusher comes along and _changes_ to something 'less offensive'.

Thank you! Thank you very much!!!

 

[S'mon]

What I suggest is that you provide two versions of earthgov in the book. The idealized book version and the satirized movie version. That will allow fans of either to choose their flavor of earthgov.

That sounds like an excellent idea - AFAIK the tv series doesn't feature the government at all, although it's clear they equip their troops a lot better than in the movie!

Even in the movie, there's no way it could be characterised as a truly totalitarian government - nobody onscreen seems to live in fear of the government. Life on earth appears very comfortable. The society Verhoeven presents is in most ways more his view on America-take-to-the-max, ie highly self indulgent and casually violent, with a love of uniforms. Of course there are plenty of Third Reich allusions also, maybe the government oppresses and murders people offscreen while Rico & co party on in blissful ignorance, although this is a stretch.

Despite my criticisms I think this game line sounds very interesting, I'll definitely give it a look. I kinda liked the movie better than the book, anyway (more blood, more nudity - and hey, it's Mongoose...)

 

[Dana_Jorgensen]

Okay...

I read the whole thread, and nobody once asked the question... "Is Dizzy Flores going to be a guy or a girl?"

LOL

I recall Dizzy being referred to as "he" in the novel, but was obviously a gal in the movie and CGI cartoon...

 

[S'mon]

I am glad you raised this point! You see when _I_ originally wrote that release, it said fascist. Then some pen-pusher comes along and _changes_ to something 'less offensive'.

Thank you! Thank you very much!!!

LOL

I guess there are plenty of people who think Mussolini's Italy was worse than Stalin's USSR. I'd rather have lived in Fascist Italy in the 1930s than totalitarian Russia in the 1930s, though. Fascism is about Leader-worship and glorification of Power and the State, Totalitarian means State _control_ and monitoring of _everything_. Totalitarian states are by definition far more intrusive and controlling than fascist ones necessarily are (of course you can be both fascist & totalitarian).

 

[scottdunphy]

I am glad you raised this point! You see when _I_ originally wrote that release, it said fascist. Then some pen-pusher comes along and _changes_ to something 'less offensive'.

Thank you! Thank you very much!!!

Well, you may want to change it back before you tick off some pretty serious fans. I like the term proto-fascist that someone else used on this thread. That doesn't do it justice either, but if you are looking for a one-word goverenment type that's probably the best you could do. Of course, the pen-pusher your refering to could be at Sony in which case this may be a pointless point.

I don't know if your system is class based, but if it is, I would suggest a chaplain class. In the book it was very memorable that the chaplains were part of the unit and fought alongside them.