A Controversial Inspiration: Star Wars

This post originated on the Space & Lasers blog.

Hey everyone!

Well, I can't avoid it any longer. It's time to talk about a big inspiration that shaped my writing projects, especially in my early writing years. It also solidified my interest in Science Fiction, which eventually led me to deeper content like The Expanse. You all know it. Yep, it's Star Wars.

I was working on Nash a lot through High School, and Star Wars really helped the series take shape back then. Now I say 'back then' because Nash has evolved so far beyond where it started. But without Star Wars, I wouldn't have gotten the series to where it is today. I may never have even been inspired to write screenplays and love doing so as much as I do now.

I know Star Wars can be a touchy area for some, so let me get the controversial points out in the open straight up. I like the Prequel Trilogy. It was the first of Star Wars I saw back in 2008. I know the trilogy has its flaws when it comes to execution, but there were so many things that resonated with me and got me excited (and still kinda do). That magic of how I felt is what I've sought to capture in my own work while trying to execute it in a tighter way.

So as such, I'll primarily be referring to the Prequel Trilogy (or at least that era of Star Wars) when I talk about this inspiration. I may touch on the original trilogy. I won't be delving into anything made by Disney.

Phew. With all the out in the open, let's dive in! (Assuming you haven't left in disgust.)

The Worlds and Aesthetic

Star Wars, especially the prequels, just ooze creativity when it comes to worlds and aesthetics. Everything feels so foreign, so alien. And it's not just about one thing. The planets, the environments, the architecture, the technology and the creatures. It all works seamlessly together to make you feel like you're actually in a completely different world. And that is what allows you truly get sucked into the story.

Now taking a step back, you know from my Sci-Fi classifications that Nash isn't as fantasy based as Star Wars. So yeah, I'm avoiding planets with a single defining feature like snow, swamp or lava. But it's the way Star Wars makes worlds feel so foreign and captivating that I use when thinking about the various set pieces of Nash.

When I wrote my early drafts in High School, Star Wars served as the groundwork for how I visualised the aesthetics of Nash. I've since come to have a more unique and original view of what Nash looks like (mixing in some inspiration from Mass Effect and Halo), but Star Wars is what got me to that point.

Highton Heroes is a little different. It's more fantasy. While it's not dealing with any aliens (yet), it is a very futuristic, from-the-ground-up design of Earth. Star Wars hits home again here, serving as a solid inspiration for the different factions and groups across Earth. Making them feel real and familiar, but also alien and different.

Even though Highton Heroes was inspired more by Ratchet and Clank at its core, Star Wars still plays a role. I brought up Star Wars: The Clone Wars when talking about Highton Heroes inspirations in the past, and this is where it shines. The Clone Wars series, given it's also animated, plays a big part in how I imagine the whole art style and aesthetic of Highton Heroes would look, especially when it comes to things like technology and cityscapes.

Lasers

Okay, I love lasers. They're just awesome. (Hell, they're in the name of this blog). The sounds, the light, the different colours. They're exciting! I find them the most stimulating and enjoyable form of weaponry to watch when it comes to Sci-Fi warfare on the screen.

And yet, not all Sci-Fi utilises them. Some opt for the futuristic bullet route. But I personally find that dull. It feels too close to home and not enough of an escape into fiction. Star Wars goes hard with lasers from the get-go. It's where I fell in love with them and why I use them in all my Sci-Fi based stories. Nash, Highton Heroes and even the films I made during my studies - LASERS!

Pulling back from full fantasy mode for a bit, I do appreciate a bit of a mix. It's always interesting to explore the more primitive bullet weapons coming up against superior laser weapons. This line of thinking is echoed in Halo (narratively speaking) and Fallout. While those series refined my thinking around lasers, my love for them stems from Star Wars.

Lightsabers

Who doesn't love lightsabers right? Again, just like lasers - the lights, the colours, the sound FX. Oh, the sound FX. They're just such an inspired and gripping design. What I love most though is how it feels like a futuristic version of Medieval Knight culture and warfare. The sword battles of old, but made new. With lightsabers.

I'm not much for the Medieval Fantasy genre, but I do love bringing aspects of that genre into Science Fiction. That's why I use energy-based swords in my series. It allows to me to bring some of the things I find interesting from a genre I'm not all that interested into one I'm passionate about.

That's why I chose Hardlight Swords for Nash. And the lesser-used Fire Swords in Highton Heroes. In both series, they allow me to craft interesting and varied action scenes, rather than just gun fights. In Nash, the Hardlight Sword is an integral weapon for our heroes and villains. You see them a lot. Because Highton Heroes has more fantasy to play with, Fire Swords are heavy-duty and rarer to see. But they're a treat when they do come on screen.

The way I utilise sword weapons differs from how Star Wars utilises lightsabers. But watching those lightsaber duels in the prequels - Darth Maul vs Qui Gon and Obi-Wan, General Grievous, Anakin vs Obi-Wan… They were some of the most exciting scenes I've witnessed on screen. And that's the kind of action magic I want to capture in Nash.

The Force

The Vigor Abilities in Nash started their life in the shadow of the Force in Star Wars. But I would say Vigor Abilities have evolved and are more akin to superpowers now, as opposed to the spiritual nature of the Force in Star Wars.

But it was Star Wars that started me on the journey of writing and thinking about humans with super abilities. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was only just starting out in 2008 and my younger self found a lot of superhero movies from the early 2000s a bit eh. So, all I had really seen of superhumans was the Jedi and Sith in Star Wars.

The prequel films really hone in on this superhuman nature more than other Star Wars media. The powers are used in much more extreme ways. And the way Jedi and Sith are so nimble in battle/during duels is mesmerising to watch. If you want to see some crazy force action, The Force Unleashed video games take this to new levels. In fact, those games are probably what bridged Vigor Abilities from the Force to superpowers.

I know a lot of people don't like the prequel fights for being too bouncy, but I truly love the style and prefer it over any other form of lightsaber duel in the Star Wars franchise. And the approach the prequels and Force Unleashed took is how I think about Vigor Abilities with Hardlight Swords. The sword is a perfect complementary weapon to the nimble and flexible fighting style Vigor Humans and Shadow Knights bring to the table.

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Thanks for sticking with me through this wander through Star Wars and the impact it had on my screenwriting, especially in the early days. It would be evident to many Star Wars diehards that what I love from the series is quite different to what many fans love about it, apart from lightsaber sounds I wager. But what I took away is what I took away. Those are the things I love, and the things that got me to where I am with my writing today. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

So that's another inspiration down. But there's one more I want to dig into this year. One that's especially relevant for Nash II. What is it? Well, it's nearing its 60th birthday this year. But before I dig into that inspiration… I want to talk about video game movies.

Til next time,

Dean