Sci-Fi's Big Comeback (part 3)

Reliance on CG special effects, as Ridley Scott observed, produced weak storylines, but directors have learned to supplement strong storylines with necessary effects rather than to try to write a story around the effects. I remember when I took a film class back in high school; I purchased my own steadicam for a hand-held camera, and my next movie was almost entirely filmed using long, smooth tracking shots. I over-used the device because I was so enamored with it, just like special effects in science fiction have over-saturated the genre and solid story-telling has, in the past, taken a back seat. In recent years, however, strong, compelling stories have drawn audiences that previously did not consider sci-fi as a worthwhile genre. Neil Blomkamp's “District 9” shattered many assumptions about sci-fi, and paved the way for other filmmakers wanting to make strong statements through the sci-fi genre.

Sci-Fi's Big Comeback (part 2)

With Disney's acquisition of George Lucas's LucasFilm Ltd., we are going to be seeing a lot more of the Star Wars universe in the future. With the new J.J. Abrams movie on the way in December, it's clear that Disney intends to bring the space opera to the forefront and to recapture the imaginations of this generation and those to follow. Hollywood obviously believes in sci-fi now, but what changed? When questioned about the recent trend in sci-fi, Screenwriter Alex Garland stated, “[The sci-fi genre] pushes itself.” Perhaps this answer best describes the explosion of the appreciation for a genre once considered a risk and a joke. Filmmakers are challenging themselves and taking risks with new ideas, inspired by the success of other films. The overall quality of storytelling is improving as well, especially now that we're all far less impressed with CG than we were back with the first Jurassic Park or Terminator 2. Those movies were both well-done, and both had interesting story-lines and well-developed characters. However, as CG special effects became more affordable and easier to do over the years, they very nearly destroyed the sci-fi genre itself...

Sci-Fi's Big Comeback (part 1)

Less than a decade ago, the director of Blade Runner and Alien, Ridley Scott, said “sci-fi films are as dead as westerns.” However, in recent years, many of Hollywood's top-earning films have been science fiction. Sci-fi TV watchers have also been growing in number, with 41.4 million in 2008 and 47.58 million in 2013. When sci-fi used to be a niche audience, movies like Star Wars, E.T., and the Matrix proved that there were big profits to be made through this genre. But it wasn't until the last decade that sci-fi blockbusters began to outnumber other genres. Movies like The Hunger Games, Transformers, Independence Day, Avatar, and the recent Jurassic World each grossed at least $300 million, some of them (Avatar and Jurassic World) more than doubling that amount! Yet Ridley Scott was so convinced that science fiction is dead, saying, "There's nothing original. We've seen it all before. Been there. Done it.” He also claimed that, “There is an overreliance on special effects as well as weak storylines.” Why do you think sci-fi has become so successful lately? This week, we'll consider that question...

Chessiecon Battle Reports (part 5)

There are many other stories across the 4 missions that were played this weekend, so I'll share just a few other highlights. One character decided to work on making her own doorway (in two different places) using her energy blade to cut through an apartment wall. An Erwani character managed to stay out of harms way behind cover while taking out several enemies with her cyberweapon—a remote sentry drone. After seeing them used against the team, one character later purchased a canister of razor nanites, using them to great effect against enemies in the next mission. A Krissethi character succeeded at a persuasion check to intimidate with a single die roll of a 6 (with no skill ranks) when the other characters with skill ranks in persuasion failed. One character used his cybertech skills to jam the sensors of a smuggler's starship while another was able to fly in their blind spot, allowing for a stealthy boarding procedure. An Erwani used her remote Disarming Orb to not only magnetically suck a shotgun out of an enemy's hands, but also used it to deliver a weapon to a distant team member. A player used a helpful NPC to throw a bola and entangle the spinning treads of a threatening robot, knocking it prone. There were many, many more notable moments this weekend—if you were there at Chessiecon and remember a favorite moment, please mention it here!

Chessiecon Battle Reports (part 4)

In a different scenario (a mission called “The Seeds of Chaos”), other players were on a mission to discover the reason behind a robot rampage at a shopping mall. The team quickly dispatched the first few robots, but when they faced two at once, things became much more serious. One of the robots—a malfunctioning maintenance drone--sprayed the team with oil. The three team members that were covered with oil had to make athletics checks each time they tried to move, often failing the checks and slipping to fall prone. Meanwhile, one of the characters noticed the robot was lighting up a welding torch. They panicked, and frantically tried to get out of the oil puddle. Even though they managed to escape the puddle, the trail of oil left by their movements caught fire as well, and two of the three oil-covered characters caught fire. The third managed to jump, ending the oil trail to escape the raging fire. If not for the assistance of other team members, the two burning characters might not have survived! Thankfully, a nearby mall fountain provided enough water to help douse the fire, and the team was able to eventually destroy the deadly robots.

Chessiecon Battle Reports (part 3)

Two of the smuggler gang managed to get into a skimcar that was not yet damaged, and as they prepared to escape, one of the team threw an EMP flash grenade into the cab of the car through a broken windshield. The grenade landed in the passenger's lap and exploded, seriously injuring the driver and knocking the passenger unconscious. The driver, however, still managed to drive away, despite being wounded and driving the now-damaged vehicle. It took a little longer for the team to chase after him, though, as they worked on apprehending one of targets while they tied up the others. A few moments later, the team got into one of the damaged cars and tried to catch up, but they had lost sight of the skimcar. Using the resourcefulness skill, they managed to get online remotely and access satellite information to find out where the skimcar was, and by using traffic reports and shortcuts, the team caught up with the desperate smuggler. Impressively, though, the team's driver decided to avoid using weapons to avoid injuring civilians in the surrounding traffic, until his team managed to pull in close to the smuggler's vehicle. It wasn't long before the team had sufficiently damaged his engine by gunfire, and the smuggler was easily captured after his skimcar came to a crashing halt!

Chessiecon Battle Reports (part 2)

After destroying the security robot, the team realized that they no longer had the element of surprise against the smugglers meeting inside the warehouse. So, they piled into their squad car and drove up to the large, steel garage door and fired the mounted rotary canon on their vehicle. The door was weakened and full of bullet-holes, so the team then proceeded to ram their squad car through the door. They successfully broke through, but were surprised when they rammed into the cars inside that were parked, just beyond the door. They were also surprised by the smugglers, who had all taken cover positions behind crates in the warehouse and aimed at the door. The smugglers fired at the UG team and shot the front passengers through the windows of their squad car, nearly killing both of them. The team members in the back seat jumped out of the car and ran for cover on either side of the broken garage door, and a firefight ensued. Thankfully, the team was able to survive this encounter, and they inadvertently wrecked two of the three cars with their ramming stunt, but the battle didn't end there...