The Jar Jar effect: "games do sci-fi best"

Clive Thompson has an essay up at Wired called, "Forget Film, Games Do Sci-Fi Best." Thompson's argument is that LucasArts' Star Wars games are better realized works of science fiction than Lucas' Star Wars prequels, a not altogether controversial claim. Thompson writes, "In the last 20 years, Lucas' vision has arguably been far better expressed in video games than in movies."

Citing games like Rogue Squadron, Knights of the Old Republic, and Battlefront, he identifies the similarities that allow gaming to do sci-fi best: "Part of the fun of watching a sci-fi movie is mentally inhabiting a new world and imagining what it feels like to be inside. But now there's a medium that actually puts you in."

Thompson is quick to temper his claims, saying, "Even the best 'narrative' games can't replicate the emotional undertow of a good film," though his basic point remains valid: that Lucas, specifically, is being outdone by his games. Fellow sci-fi movie maker James Cameron plans on creating an MMO that introduces players to the universe before the film comes out, so you can mentally visit somewhere you've already been.