What is Gaming's Star Wars?

[VelinDraconin]

Star Wars...at least the original Episode IV, was a revolution in cinematics and special effects; redefining how movies were made for it's day and setting a standard for the industry. With that in mind, I'm going to have to vote for Pac-Man. When Pac-Man was released, most arcade games were still blocky, chunky graphic games (Space Invaders, Asteroids, etc.) Pac-Man was the first (IMHO) game that introduced smooth curves...for 8-bit. Plus, it actually used more than 4 colors for the whole bloody game.

 

[Ritalynn]

Movie franchise that came out with hits and misses, turned into everything from a cartoon to toys. Something that is milked for the money every single chance it gets.

Mario franchise most likely. Everybody likes to remember the good oldies. Maybe even the Sonic franchise. Epic first few games then puttered out and became worthless money grabs. Then re released a new original.

 

[WanderingFool]

Oh yeah quick follow up I'm only talking about games and stuff with a scifi tone (Mass Effect, Gears of War, Halo, Wing Commander, etc.) I also think that the Wing Commander series would be Gaming's Buck Rodgers (Not as well known but a major inspiration for its genre)

Now I do like the idea of that. (Interestingly, I liked both Buck Rogers when I watched the shows as a kid, and the Wing Commander games, which I would go to my friends house to play as often as possible... God, that was a long time ago... cant remember shit about either now.)

 

[IsraelRocks]

gonna go with a genre that did not get a any mentions here- space sims:

star lancer
freespace 2
tachyon the fringe
independence war 2

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

In terms of popularity, cultural dominance, and sheer impact on the industry and their genre, I'd probably pick old id software games like Doom and Quake.

 

[Major_Tom]

Tetris. Quote? Dun, dun-dun-dun, dun-dun-dun, dun-dun-dun, dun-dun-dun, dun-dun, dun-dun-dun-dun.

 

[Rayne870]

Now I don't mean something with like a point for point comparison here, I mean some artifact of Gaming culture that we can all point to and know what it is, something that even the highest l33ts and the lowest n00bs know along with maybe a character or a quote. Personally I'm gonna say Halo but that might be just me

If you are looking for something that was near perfection until George Lucas touched it recently, Soul Calibur series with Soul Calibur IV

OT, it wouldnt be Halo, it would be either Mario or Sonic

 

[Kalado]

..seriously ? Halo, Mass effect, Final Fantasy, Doom, Quake etc.?
Don't get me wrong, these are all great games, but not games that everyone knows.
These games would be Mario or Zelda.
Evereyone knows Mario, from the 11yo who saw it on his 3ds to the old man who remembers his son playing it on a NES.
If I ask guys of my old schoolclass of whom I know own a PS3 or 360, if they know Mass effect I expect nothing positive.
But I'm sure if I'm humming the melody of mario, even the girls that never had a console would recognize it.

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

Depends if you're talking about consoles or PC. Consoles, Mario or Final Fantasy and PC would have Doom or Quake.

 

[GeorgW]

Why only Sci-fi? Otherwise I'd say Tetris, CS, WoW or Mario.
I guess Tetris could qualify as sci-fi so I'll choose that.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Most definitely Half-Life

 

[Plan10FromSpace]

I'd say it has to be Halo, of course ill get ripped apart and called a fanboy for saying that

 

[Rayne870]

Now I don't mean something with like a point for point comparison here, I mean some artifact of Gaming culture that we can all point to and know what it is, something that even the highest l33ts and the lowest n00bs know along with maybe a character or a quote. Personally I'm gonna say Halo but that might be just me

If you are looking for something that was near perfection...(snipped)

Not trying to start a flamewar or an Offtopic discussion here, but seriously? Star Wars was damn far from perfection.

It's still better than most of the stuff produced, granted it isn't the best thing since sliced bread or bacon

 

[LilithSlave]

Eh, I think Mario is still a more well known name than Halo. It's the Mickey Mouse of the gaming world.

 

[Thaius]

Talking specifically sci-fi, probably Halo, in terms of being the one recognizable sci-fi everyone knows about. Possibly Mass Effect, if we're talking about a sweeping epic that helps re-define how sci-fi is done in this medium.

Fact is, gaming is too complex a medium to have a single work the redefines everything. It's not quite so easy as in film or literature. But if we're talking specifically sci-fi and specifically as something instantly recognizable, it's probably Halo.

And for the record, I freaking love Halo, and yes, a large, even majority part of that is the story and universe. Sue me.

 

[Euryptus]

I'm old school.

So my answer has to be 'Elite'.

 

[Da Orky Man]

Maybe Halo, except it's Xbox/PC only. So, Mass Effect is the closest I can think of.

 

[Vault Citizen]

Sonic the Hedgehog.

It's so mainstream, that Sega abused that mainstream status that made-up Sonic to make money, all the way to the point of killing their own trademark character and his reputation!

I thought about this as soon as I saw the title but Star Wars still delivers a lot of good stuff in terms of books and comics so it isn't as far gone as Sonic is.

 

[The Pinray]

Final Fantasy? It used to be revered and respected...nowadays it's a bit of a joke, isn't it?

EXACTLY like Star Wars, ha!

This this and a million times this.

Now, Halo may take the cake, sure. But to compare it to Star Wars I think FF would be a tad more accurate. Because it's sorta true. Final Fantasy used to be looked at as a pinnacle. Now the series has become sort of sad. And honestly it and Star Wars have much in common in that regard.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

[HEADING=2]Pacman[/HEADING]

Came out around the same time, and who - even non-geeks - doesn't know this?

It even has the much loathed cartoon version, the overpriced 3D version, and the few versions that everyone else hates.