Say
It Ain't So:
A Grim Look at the Future of Star Wars
RPG
by Reuben Israel Beattie
7/11/99
Even as Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace is setting new box-office records, the Star Wars Role-Playing Game remains dead. What had once been the only extant Star Wars merchandise in the period between RoTJ and the contributions of Dark Horse Comics and Timothy Zahn is now little more than a fond memory. Rumors abound regarding the fate of what had been one of the most successful RPG lines, and at the moment, there is nothing in the works to coincide with the release of TPM. At best, those of us that have played for several years will be able to fill the void with our own designs and assumptions, working as best we can without benefit of actual products.
Is there a future for the Star Wars RPG, in light of West End’s bankruptcy and slow rebirth? That’s been asked a number of times, in a lot of forums, and the best answer is really: No. West End, with all of their complex and detailed material and settings, simply doesn’t have the ready cash at the moment, and based on their past record, LFL will likely be reluctant to give the license back to them.
What are the options? Well, we all know that the Star Wars RPG is going to resurface eventually, somehow. I mean, just by comparison, the Star Trek RPG went through three previous incarnations (seriously!) before Last Unicorn snagged it. It’s not a hard leap to consider that Star Wars might do the same. However, no game company really wants to take up the reins that WEG left empty, considering the difficulties that would be faced in a revamp.
Decipher, the first logical choice (as the company that produces the CCG), is pretty well set to take on the responsibilities, as they have the creative staff that put together their card series. But they’re a card game company, pure and simple. Taking on the RPG materials would be a big leap, especially considering that they’re doing well enough with the card game. Why mess with what already works in their corporate mission? So, while they have the resources, they simply lack the interest. And the gaming industry itself is undergoing a state of implosion, as people tend to either stick with the games they already have or drift away from gaming completely. None of the surviving game companies really wants to take over the Star Wars franchise, as they each have their own game lines to worry about.
A recent letter to the Star Wars Insider asked this question: What was going to happen to the RPG? The lettercol responded that LFL was considering taking on the RPG themselves. And in response, SW gamers collectively cringed. We’ve been cringing since. The main reason is that, if they were to take over the RPG, one of the first things they’d be likely to do is completely overhaul the rolling system and start anew. And considering the multitudes of Star Wars gamers out there who are already entrenched in West End’s D6 system, this would meet with considerable opposition. None of us want to have to convert new material back to D6 or repurchase material that we already have.
Also, considering the state of LFL’s lack of internal continuity (the Special Edition’s revisionism leaps to mind) and the unfamiliarity of some writers (Kevin J. Anderson being the worst) with the physics of the Star Wars universe, we’d end up with a lot of contradictions and material that would essentially make little or no sense. West End, with all their flaws, still managed to produce a consistently decent product that kept itself in line (as well as possible) with all of the published material as well as the movies. I fear LFL would be unable to do anything similar. (There’s a thread circulating right now about how a ship smaller than the Millennium Falcon can have a cloaking device, when it’s explicitly stated in Empire that "No ship that small has...")
In the end, I don’t see an equitable solution emerging from this whole mess. Ideally, West End would take back its license once they emerge from their financial woes and re-establish themselves in the gaming market. Failing that, LucasFilm would do well to pay West End for the rights to use their rolling system and hire someone like Eric Trautmann (WEG’s former Creative Director and a helluva guy) to oversee their projects. Otherwise, I have the feeling that we’re going to see LFL subcontract the writing out to someone who simply doesn’t have the first clue about how to put together a working RPG, and we’re going to have to buy all new things and try making excuses about the contradictions.
(Reuben Israel Beattie amuses himself by playing strange music far too late at night and handing out Dark Side Points as though they were candy. Beyond this, it is said that he's a fairly decent sort.)