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Star Trek Online: Lore Interview

StraddenStradden Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696

Star Trek Online's Christine Thompson answer Jon Wood's questions about the lore in Star Trek Online and how the STO team managed to keep up with so many different sources of information.


MMORPG.com:

We know that your writing and lore staff is familiar with all of the "official canon" from the Trek license, including films and TV series, but how do you handle incorporating non-canon aspects of the franchise like novels and comic books into your stories?


Christine Thompson:

We look at the soft canon like novels and comics, but we don't feel compelled to use everything from them. Some things, like the "Countdown" comic series, fit perfectly, so we incorporated it. Other things don't work as well.

Also, since our game is set in 2409, we're decades ahead of the novels and the comics. We were always prepared to go our own way storywise because of that, and I think what we've done has worked.

Read the Lore Interview.

Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com

Comments

  • RunianStarRunianStar Member UncommonPosts: 27

    Overall, I think it was a good interview (thanks Jon).  I am very glad to see that Christine (and the rest of the writing team at Cryptic) are really taking the lore of Star Trek seriously, but also finding freedom in creating brand new adventures and stories set in the future. 

    I agree with her when she says setting too many stories in one time period can get a little stagnant (yes, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, I'm looking at you - although I do like the animated stuff a bit haha). 

    Again, I'm hoping that this will be a really cool game - and if well received by fans, I think it would be awesome for the people at Cryptic to discover their new stories will in fact become "canon."  I think that would be a great congratulations for all of their hard work. 

    image
  • TonySabreTonySabre Member Posts: 18

    Her comments on the Prime universe mirror my own feelings.  I'm really looking forward to seeing more stories told in the established universe.  The more I hear about this game, the more I look forward to playing it.  January 12th cannot get here soon enough.

  • erictlewiserictlewis Member UncommonPosts: 3,022

     I am glad were not giving the Abrams move any foothold.

     

  • PyrateLVPyrateLV Member CommonPosts: 1,096
    Originally posted by erictlewis


    Oh great were in a universe were vulcan was destroyed??   Ugg and we call this canon. 
     

     

    No. I believe STO takes place in the Universe where Romulus was destroyed

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  • erictlewiserictlewis Member UncommonPosts: 3,022
    Originally posted by PyrateLV

    Originally posted by erictlewis


    Oh great were in a universe were vulcan was destroyed??   Ugg and we call this canon. 
     

     

    No. I believe STO takes place in the Universe where Romulus was destroyed



     

    Yea I went back and reread that, and I am happy.   The entire Abrams movie was bad news for the franchise.

  • roach5000roach5000 Member Posts: 77

    How does a movie that pretty much revitalized Star Trek spell bad news for the franchise???

  • BademBadem Member Posts: 830

    As a trekkie I have to admit I enjoyed Abrams Re-boot of the Franchise, not quite  'A Mirror Darkly' but still good to create 'Abramsverse' to allow himself to tell the story in a different way.

    having said that, I am glad STO is in the Prime Universe, god knows what the future is like in Abramsverse

  • PantheosPantheos Member UncommonPosts: 56

    I for one, am GLAD they did the new movie. I am GLAD they did it how they did. There was -zero- way to -accurately- represent TOS characters with different actors. It just couldn't be done. This way, it's a whole new story, and we get to watch them grow again. It breathes new life into the story as things are different. If I wanted to watch the absolute original... I'd watch the original...

     

    As for this game, I am also glad it's set in the Prime universe and timeline. It gives us more to be familiar with and doesn't interfere with the other timeline at all. No movies to come out to invalidate the story of the game. That was a major problem with SWG. It was in the middle of the story, we already KNEW how it was going to end.

     

    This I feel is the much better choice, just as I always felt SWG would have done much better if it were set after the Episode 6, I think this is a strength of STO. Sure, there are naysayers who come in and try to say it's going to fail and whatnot, because manning communications would be fun! Getting destroyed because your engineer had to take a leak would be fun! Not.

     

    People will always find something to complain about, no such thing as a perfect game for everyone. Never will be. Will STO be perfect? Nope. But it certainly looks to be fun and worth the price of a movie and a coke every month to me.

  • RunianStarRunianStar Member UncommonPosts: 27
    Originally posted by Pantheos


    I for one, am GLAD they did the new movie. I am GLAD they did it how they did. There was -zero- way to -accurately- represent TOS characters with different actors. It just couldn't be done. This way, it's a whole new story, and we get to watch them grow again. It breathes new life into the story as things are different. If I wanted to watch the absolute original... I'd watch the original...
     
    As for this game, I am also glad it's set in the Prime universe and timeline. It gives us more to be familiar with and doesn't interfere with the other timeline at all. No movies to come out to invalidate the story of the game. That was a major problem with SWG. It was in the middle of the story, we already KNEW how it was going to end.
     
    This I feel is the much better choice, just as I always felt SWG would have done much better if it were set after the Episode 6, I think this is a strength of STO. Sure, there are naysayers who come in and try to say it's going to fail and whatnot, because manning communications would be fun! Getting destroyed because your engineer had to take a leak would be fun! Not.
     
    People will always find something to complain about, no such thing as a perfect game for everyone. Never will be. Will STO be perfect? Nope. But it certainly looks to be fun and worth the price of a movie and a coke every month to me.



     

    Wow... good post.  I found myself amazed that I had been thinking similar things and agreed with absolutely everything you just said. 

    People... it's a game.  Yes, it's based on Star Trek which we all know and love, but for goodness sake give Cryptic a chance to explore a little (that is one of the major themes in Star Trek, right?).  As Pantheos said, the game will not be perfect - no game is - but it seems at least that Cryptic is willing to listen to the players.

    There are some things I love that Cryptic is doing, others that I'm a little concerned about.  But at the end of the day, it's up to us to try it out, highlight the strong points, recommend changes if needed, and then await Cryptic's response.  If they would like a long running and successful game - I'm sure they will at least try to respond to the community of players. 

    And if the game really does stink - just stop subbing.  At the end of the day, a game is about having fun - and that's really up to the individual player if they are having that or not.  Just my 2 cents. 

    image
  • MasoniclightMasoniclight Member Posts: 87

     As an old Trekker I have to say that I love the "reboot" of the Franchise. I thought it was a great movie and I am glad JJ did it the way he did it.. I will NEVER understand all the hate over it...  as to the article.. good stuff there Jon good stuff!!

    image

  • vhydevvhydev Member Posts: 4

    I watched the new movie and enjoyed it for what it was: a "One Off"....all the movies will be. "Abramsverse" will never have the established lore we have in the Prime Universe and I am THRILLED to hear that the Prime Universe is the one we get to play in. 

    I cannot wait for this game to launch.

    "I like persons better than principles, and I like persons with no principles better than anything else in the world."
    - Oscar Wilde.

  • DrowNobleDrowNoble Member UncommonPosts: 1,297

    First off a big Brownie Point to Cryptic for NOT following that horrible Star Trek movie that came out last year.  Gold ol' J.J. Abrams need to actually watch at least 1 star trek episode before taking the helm of a movie he obviously knew little about.

    On the other hand Cryptic seems to be doing "we'll follow the lore if we feel like it" mentality.

    They said they can't do Klingon language in the game, since there is no klingon linguists.  Umm, they published an encyclopedia of english to klingon language about 20 years ago.  It's pretty much standard fare for sale at any scifi convention.

    Orions giving up their neutrality makes no sense.  They were neutral throughout the original series, movies, Next Gen and Next Gen movies.  Now, suddenly, after 200 years they are like "we're joining the Klingons, woot!".  They valued neutrality since they could buy/sell to both sides.

    Gorns wouldn't join Klingons either.  They are terratorial, but rarely venture from their territory.  They wouldn't care if the galaxy burns to a cinder as long as their backyard is left untouched.

    I understand a pvp concept, but why not Dominion vs Alliance vs Borg?  Kinda like the pvpve in Aion and would follow the trek lore better than what they're doing.

    Hopefully I can get in the beta, as it stands now the idea of starship combat (good) is being countered by lore-errors (bad).

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