Sci-fi + western awesome?
- Thread starter Ossian
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Some people really hate Space Westerns, they say they're lazy writing because you don't have to use creativity yo make a new world, you just have to borrow elements from the American Wild West. I disagree, but I think there's enough space westerns out there right now.
Case in Point:
Starcraft I, Starcraft II
Trigun
Cowboy Bebop
Firefly, Serenity
I'm pretty sure the idea started out in 1981 with a Sean Connery movie called Outland (which is pure, cheesy '80s scifi awesome).
Case in Point:
Starcraft I, Starcraft II
Trigun
Cowboy Bebop
Firefly, Serenity
I'm pretty sure the idea started out in 1981 with a Sean Connery movie called Outland (which is pure, cheesy '80s scifi awesome).
anyone heard of the dark tower series?
"The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western."
the shit going on in this story is incredible its just amazing and the "hero" of the book he is one fucked up man theres no way to stop him. maybe there is i dont know have 2 books to go.
"The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western."
the shit going on in this story is incredible its just amazing and the "hero" of the book he is one fucked up man theres no way to stop him. maybe there is i dont know have 2 books to go.
The video game "Damnation" combines elements of steampunk and sci-fi elements, along with western elements. The game bombed though, and is called one of the worst games of the decade. I thought it was awesome, sort of a cult game. I haven't seen a large fanbase for the game or anything, but who knows?
Oh, and there was also a 1973 film known as "Westworld", which took place in a fake western landscape that was seemingly populated by robots, but used as a vacation spot for humans. From what I've heard, it's pretty good, with combinations of western, sci-fi and thriller elements.
Oh, and there was also a 1973 film known as "Westworld", which took place in a fake western landscape that was seemingly populated by robots, but used as a vacation spot for humans. From what I've heard, it's pretty good, with combinations of western, sci-fi and thriller elements.
NeutralDrow said:Firefly isn't the first thing I think of.
Thanks guys, I now have nothing to say.kalla said:
Except that scifi + western > awesome.
It's because the two genres are pretty much the same. They're both about exploration into the unknown. One happens to take place in the desert, the other in space. Both are bleak environments where survival is a daily struggle. Both tend to deal with lawlessness, because there's too much area for the law to be enforced.
Westerns deal strongly with encroaching technology, such as railroads, the advent of semiauto and full auto weapons, the invention of dynamite, the use of technology for superiority (such as guns vs. bows and arrows). A strong theme is where do the people fit in with all this change. You have ranchers moving through, then oil barons, and it's all technology and business and economics and what happens to the little guy? The cog in the machine, the stories of the people.
All of those themes apply to Science Fiction. Thematically, westerns and sci-fi have always been the same genre. They are far more closely related than sci-fi and fantasy (although I often argue that fantasy isn't even a genre, it's a setting. There's no real thematic rules for fantasy, just standards for the world it takes place in.)
Westerns deal strongly with encroaching technology, such as railroads, the advent of semiauto and full auto weapons, the invention of dynamite, the use of technology for superiority (such as guns vs. bows and arrows). A strong theme is where do the people fit in with all this change. You have ranchers moving through, then oil barons, and it's all technology and business and economics and what happens to the little guy? The cog in the machine, the stories of the people.
All of those themes apply to Science Fiction. Thematically, westerns and sci-fi have always been the same genre. They are far more closely related than sci-fi and fantasy (although I often argue that fantasy isn't even a genre, it's a setting. There's no real thematic rules for fantasy, just standards for the world it takes place in.)
The idea of Sci-fi and Western is somewhat underused but awesome, because making the two both bring something different to the table. Their like chilli and chocolate, and odd pairing that actually work extremely well. Sci-fi give us the tech side of things, along with aliens and a massive world, while Western tends to have the morals, honour, cool characters and group fights and such.
Sci-Fi WESTERN.Ossian said:
WESTERN.
The only WESTERN elements of it are that there's next to no enforced rule of law.
I definitely like Firefly.
I enjoyed that perspective of "frontiersmen" but in space. Like, even though our civilization is advanced enough for space travel, there are still people living with less in potentially inhospitable locations on the fringes of the galaxy. It's like a future without all the normal perceived trappings of the future.
I enjoyed that perspective of "frontiersmen" but in space. Like, even though our civilization is advanced enough for space travel, there are still people living with less in potentially inhospitable locations on the fringes of the galaxy. It's like a future without all the normal perceived trappings of the future.
Have you played New vegas?Flying-Emu said:
There is a perk called Cowboy, everyone has an accent, its the desert, You have a gun called Cowboy repeater, a revolver 6 shooter, lever action shotgun and rifles, cowboy hats, clothes, themes, saloons EVERYWHERE. Gambling, tumble weeds, campfires, country towns, people use terms like "All hat, no cattle."
There are machetes, throwing hatchets, straight razors, I could do this all day but I can't remember it all.
I will once again facepalm you.
/facepalm.
Westerns are reductive. The primitive setting is simple - minimal organization, government, and/or politics. Just people interacting with other people, agendas and wills clashing or mingling. There's tremendous appeal in that sort of storytelling because people can instantly relate to the characters and easily follow the narrative.
Sci-fi can definitely have that same "Western" appeal. If the story takes place after some enormous destructive event, like nuclear fallout or plague, the characters will be unbound by the receding or absent institutions of man. Same goes for "frontier" stories on the edge of space (Firefly), where man's institutions have limited control.
So yes, Fallout is a "Western". So is Firefly. It's a genre defined by the lack of unseen outside constraints on the characters, who are free to act as they see fit. That freedom is what makes these games/films/novels so attractive.
Sci-fi can definitely have that same "Western" appeal. If the story takes place after some enormous destructive event, like nuclear fallout or plague, the characters will be unbound by the receding or absent institutions of man. Same goes for "frontier" stories on the edge of space (Firefly), where man's institutions have limited control.
So yes, Fallout is a "Western". So is Firefly. It's a genre defined by the lack of unseen outside constraints on the characters, who are free to act as they see fit. That freedom is what makes these games/films/novels so attractive.