The Future of Star Wars: Death of the Extended Universe.

By BZork

A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away… a trilogy of films marked a decisive turning point in the world of Hollywood and many other film genres as a whole, Star Wars. No one could’ve predicted the impact the films would have or the massive pop-culture domino-effect that would spread out from past to present. The original films’ success went on to spawn a trilogy of prequel films, and lo and behold, now we stand at the cusp of a further development, the Walt Disney Company has begun production of a new trilogy, “Episode VII-IX” after its acquisition of Lucasfilm. However, what stands out as the decisive turning point in the series’ long list of controversial moments isn’t the aforementioned announcement but one that carries even more ramifications in the greater scheme of everything Star Wars. The Expanded Universe (EU) has been canned. 

After thirty-five years of creating, fine-tuning, and fleshing out the enormous universe of the Star Wars mythos, Disney along with Lucasfilms have announced that future film developments will ignore whatever had already been created/established in the EU. Justly so, this has struck a nerve with many of the series’ older enthusiasts as well as avid fans of the comics, books, or video games which have given fans the opportunity to go beyond what Lucas’ films brought to the table. We let go of some of the most important plot-lines essential to the series: the Old Republic and the origins of the Jedi Order, as well as its development across hundreds of thousands of years; Grand Admiral Thrawn and his ascension to power after Emperor Palpatine’s death; Luke’s Jedi academy on Yavin IV and the Legacy era and the rise of Darth Krayt’s One Sith. 

From one standpoint, it makes sense; it’s much easier for Disney to let go of the massive monolith of plot-lines and continuities that is the EU, so it can give the writers of the new Star Wars trilogy the creative liberty they need to craft a new, equally amazing trilogy of its time. Lucasfilm has also gone on to state, that it will take elements from the EU and try and reincorporate them as “inspiration” for current plot-lines and world-crafting, but as to what it might use, we’ll have to wait and see. It has yet to be seen as to whether or not any new plot-lines will be explored within the EU, which will now be dubbed Legends, and as an ongoing series either resolve their stories in the coming months or continue to expand Legends' timeline. There are many fans who are skeptical of Disney’s approach to Star Wars, anticipating a similar response to when Episode I – The Phantom Menace aired in 1999. It is a period of fandom unrest, and as the wait for Episode VII begins we can only hope Disney makes good on its promise to bring new life to the world of Star Wars.

The Rise of MOBA’s and the Growth of Competitive PC Gaming

By. BZork

 Every few years, a video game genre takes over the scene and inspires many similar titles to come around and dominate, producing lookalike after lookalike; we saw it with World of Warcraft, and the rise of MMO’s, and as of the 2010s, it seems like MOBAs (Multiplayer-Online-Battle-Arena) have fit the bill as the flavor genre of PC gaming, much to the pleasure of some, and annoyance of others.

With spiritual roots linked to Blizzard RTS Warcraft III's custom game modes, such as Defense of the Ancients (DotA) and Aeon of Strife (AoS), the concept behind the MOBA is a quick-paced, highly competitive team-based strategy game. You assume the role of one of several heroes/champions, and team up with other champions/heroes controlled by four other players. The goal is simple, or appears to be: breach the enemy team’s towers across three lanes, and destroy their Nexus/Ancient/Throne. What makes the genre so enthralling and fun, is the sheer amount of combinations one can make, according to hero choice, form of leveling, items to be purchased and out-of-game options, such as League of Legends’ runes and masteries system. The possibilities run into the thousands when it comes to all possible combinations, and when you add up how certain characters play, you have a recipe for a game that is constantly changing and evolving.

Due to the rise of MOBAs, in particular the genre’s biggest two titles: DoTA 2, produced by Valve, and League of Legends produced by Riot Games, the competitive PC gaming scene has grown significantly in the past three years. What was often thought to be the pointless dream for gaming’s many enthusiasts has become a reality, culminating in the possibility for gamers around the world to live off of earnings from tournaments and often-times live streaming their games for viewers on Twitch.tv, earning six-figures or more. Last year, Valve’s “The International 3” for DoTA 2 became the tournament with the largest prize pool ever, topping off at around $2.8 million dollars, of which it gave $1.4 million to the 1^st place winners, Alliance, a Swedish team of pro-gamers. Whereas the League of Legends Championship sold out the Staples Center in LA.

This is not to say that MOBAs are the solution to gaming’s gripes, seeing as many enthusiasts have several reactions of the genre, ranging from sheer hatred to obsessive fans that literally live-stream for the majority of their day in hopes of making enough money to get by. However, no one can ignore that they have brought a lot of interest, sponsors and a breath of fresh air into the competitive gaming scene, even more still driven by the fact that one need not spend any money at all to get into MOBA’s. Most are free-to-play, with usually low-hardware requirements for computers to run them, as seen in League of Legends’ case. Whether you love ‘em, or hate ‘em, they’ll probably be around for a while (Seeing as World of Warcraft is still going strong after 10 years in the MMO genre. . .), so give them a shot! Puerto Rico has vibrant communities for both of the genre’s mainstays, so it’s worth looking into. Who knows... You might find yourself enthralled by the genre’s charm, or turned away entirely by the skill-curve and the community, there’s only one way to find out!