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What made the original (movie) trilogy great...


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Aside from great visuals, excecution, and of course great *plots*, what made the original movie trilogy great? Something that the first two films of the new trilogy are definately lacking...

 

Characters, characters, characters.

 

For the most part, the original trilogy had absolutely fantastic plots, along with truly original and impressive designs, visuals, effects, etc.

 

But that's not what tied it all together. What tied the original trilogy together were the absolutely fabulous characters that audiences developed connections with, and the *interaction* between these characters. (We really CARED about these characters...we thought they were really cool and we rooted for them: we became nervous when they found themselves in precarious situations, we laughed with them, we cheered them on, and we celebrated their successes)

 

What's most important is the characters; they must be interesting enough, and have enough depth, that the audiences can connect with them and form a bond to them. Then after that, there has to be a certain (and high) level of interaction between the characters that is deep, entertaining, and contributes to character development. Of course this is accomplished by first concentrating on establishing the characters: their histories, their personalities, etc, then slowly but surely changing the focus to character development and character interaction.

 

What this is leading to, of course, is that developing the KOTOR series with wholly new *main* characters with each episode would be a tremendous error: this would certainly be the case in a movie trilogy and there is absolutely no difference in a game trilogy. It would be like taking out Han Solo, Princess Leia, or even Luke Skywalker after the 1st or 2nd film in the original trilogy.

 

By the same token, I assert that Bastila and Carth (though I must say Carth was way too much of a whiny little punk) should definately return with major roles in all sequels, with major considerations given to HK-47, Mission and Canderous, and perhaps the Ebon Hawk. (where's the washroom?!?) It is tremendously important that these characters return...most importantly Bastila, then Carth. Of key importance is that they are developed so that audiences can form real connections to them, so that we really care about them and what happens to them, as we did with Han, Leia, and even Luke.

 

With the new trilogy (ep 1 and 2) that hasn't really happened...often I have wished painful, torturous deaths upon the main characters. In KOTOR this must be avoided, and they should strive for the same level of audience-character connection as in the original movie trilogy, which of course requires perpetuating the main characters throughout the series, and developing them extremely well.

 

...and yes I would definately say that there is work to be done in this area...but that abandonning (as the best example, that whiny little punk Carth) isn't the solution, but instead to stick with them and make it work. Canderous, HK and Mission definately have a lot of potential, and Bastilla is almost there. Carth needs work. The intros are over it's time to connet them to the audience.

 

That's my 10 cents worth. :huh:

 

xG-9

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(where's the washroom?!?)

 

Damnit, I told you to go pee before we left!

 

And your whole 10 cents is absolutely spot on.

There are none that are right, only strong of opinion. There are none that are wrong, only ignorant of facts

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I disagree. KOTOR2 isn't a sequel to KOTOR1 in the same way as The Empire Strikes Back is a sequel to Star Wars ("A New Hope"). "Episode 4" is just a beginning, the Death Star was destroyed but Darth Vader got away, the characters weren't tied up with their own conclusions and it was obvious where things were going to go. KOTOR1's story could make a beginning, middle and end trilogy of films by itself: at the end, the Dark Lord Malak is destroyed, all the ends are tied up, and half the characters you mention are dead if Revan took the dark path. KOTOR2 is a new story -- rather than it being clear who the major characters will be and what will be happening, we're in the dark, trying to guess where these Sith Lords could have come from, what happened to the Jedi Order and where Revan might have got to. It's time for new heroes and a new supporting cast. Heck, the protagonist is a different character: Revan's role, we suspect, will be minimal. Those who return will be a nod to the scenario and the important figures of the times, rather than their continued appearance being the glue that holds the tale together.

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WRONG. What made the original trilogy great wasn't a fantastic plot (haha, superweapon, I'm your daddy, whoosh whoosh bang bang, how cliche can you get?) nor great direction (hey, let's randomly swatch scenes to make it really confusing to viewers!), but two things:

 

Harrison Ford

and

James Earl Jones.

 

 

You've got your badassness and badassness' granddaddy, and that's what made the first trilogy great.

Word economics

To express my vast wisdom

I speak in haiku's.

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I think also the difference between a video game and a movie sequel you have to keeep in mind is the "ability" of the starring character. In the movies, they could work around Revan being super powerful. But in the games, it would require you to start out as a level 20 Jedi, which would either a)make the first 3/4 of the game too easy, or make it rediculously hard with bad guys that are unrealistically powerful.

"Console exclusive is such a harsh word." - Darque

"Console exclusive is two words Darque." - Nartwak (in response to Darque's observation)

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I think the Star Wars setting is what makes Star Wars so successful. The plotlines (at least, by today's standards) aren't that mindblowingly complicated. From what I can tell, it's more things like "Let the Wookie Win" and lightsabres and such than anything else. ;)

 

I mean, can you imagine A New Hope working in Ancient Greece? *shudders*

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i Say: Original movies sucked (its old and crappy)

 

Kotor is less Nerdy.

 

That is better

Nerdy?? The old movies are the best ones..... and I really don't see how they are nerdy, not everyone dresses up like a star wars character and visits a star wars convention.

I hold my hands up :) I thought (without knowing much about it) star wars was a rather nerdy think to be into, I mean all the geeks I knew loved it.

 

But then one day a chance encounter with the last title on the game store shelf (I actually didnt want to buy it but it was a boring weekend and there was nothing else in I wanted sooo) and I was instantly captivated by the concept of the whole star wars universe, I ate up every bit of star wars I could find, and the rest as they say is history :(

 

Never judge a book by its cover or in this case a film ;)

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The original trilogy is ridiculously overrated. Granted, The Empire Strikes Back is a ‘good’ film but aside from that, the trilogy is mediocre at best. Why it garners so much acclaim is beyond me. I've yet to hear a straight answer from the hoards disillusion teens obsessed with this drivel.

 

That said, I’m looking forward to KOTOR2. Full steam ahead! :)

 

It's because the new trilogy makes the old one look so good.

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Couple things...First, sticking to the main point of the thread, I'm in agreement with this, although I don't want to play Revan again, I'd still like to see what happened to all the old characters. After all, It's a story, and I like my lose ends neatly tied. ( Personally...I went LS all the time, since I've got very...very....VERY annoying things called "Morales"..... <_< .....I hate them....so, so much...So in my case, all the characters would still be breathing.)

 

Second, the original trilogy is so widely acclaimed because of how damned original is was. I mean, it was made in the 70s for godsakes. You know what the 70s were like for movies, right? :: mutters something about Shaft and Logan's Run :: Basically...people like them, because they're just so.......hell, it's awe-inspiring to think that something like that could be formed in the human mind. Plus....swords made out of light and laser guns...C'mon, what's not to love?

 

....................I like to pretend I'm an intellectual :) ......

I had thought that some of nature's journeymen had made men and not made them well, for they imitated humanity so abominably. - Book of Counted Sorrows

 

'Cause I won't know the man that kills me

and I don't know these men I kill

but we all wind up on the same side

'cause ain't none of us doin' god's will.

- Everlast

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  • 2 weeks later...

I agree COMPLETELY with topic's author. New characters look boring and I want to see old ones as my party in KOTOR 2.

HERMOCRATES:

Nur Ab Sal was one such king. He it was, say the wise men of Egypt, who first put men in the colossus, making many freaks

of nature at times when the celestial spheres were well aligned.

 

SOCRATES:

This I doubt. We are hearing a child's tale.

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New chracters are not boring to me. They add a new unique personality. True, i woud like to see some chracters from KOTOR, since the originals are always the classics and most popular.

This is one reason why i hav often stated i would like to see Revan, Bastila and Jolee reutrn, since they were my 3 fav chracters of KOTOR. but, despite hoping to continue playing as Revan, I am happy with the new chracters, and i am just as happy playing them. At least we get cameos.

With talk of Revan in nearly evry single thread, it makes sense that he will make a cameo, but a long one, that is perhaps interconnected with the main story. Perhaps he saves u from a Sith Lord when u r not powerful enough to defeat the Sith Lord u r facing, and perhaps he sacrifices himself to do it.

With Revan, will most likely come Bastila (if u chose to keep her alive in the original). After all, the bond between them means that logically, u will hav the choice to hav her alive. They most likely travel together, and do tasks for the jedi council (or did) together.

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I wonder, this may be off topic a bit, but what if the original trilogy wasn't, and in 2000 or whatever is when George decided to make Star Wars, and decide of making ep 4, 5 and 6 first? If that were to happen I think alot more nerds could have lives outside their room without twirling a red and blue plastic lightsaber around.

Evolutionary Development

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Childhood without Star Wars...terrible nightmare.

 

 

Yuck!

HERMOCRATES:

Nur Ab Sal was one such king. He it was, say the wise men of Egypt, who first put men in the colossus, making many freaks

of nature at times when the celestial spheres were well aligned.

 

SOCRATES:

This I doubt. We are hearing a child's tale.

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(Nur Ab Sal @ Sep 7 2004, 08:40 PM)

Childhood without Star Wars...terrible nightmare.

 

 

Yuck!

 

I had it! it wasnt so bad  in fact I had my teens without it aswell! It was only KotOR that got me into it at all

 

i didnt like it as much as i do now until kotor but i always like the idea of lightsabers and force powers

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