Battle For Naboo || ThinkThank # 5

Count the number of Star Wars fans and you'll find just as many differing opinions on what makes the franchise great. Count the series' detractors and suddenly, you've nearly accounted for all people in modern civilization, but you will also hit upon the one thing on which all can agree: Star Wars is, was, and likely will continue to be, a dominating cultural touchstone.

In our current, Disney-led era of the new Star Wars canon and its increasingly forgotten continuity forebear now know as "Legends", there seems to be more Star Wars out there to consume than ever before. Between the new books, shows, animation anthologies, toy lines, games, and not to mention movies, there has never been a better time to be a Star Wars fan who would like to satisfy their daily desire of operatic space drama. I have a number of personal opinions concerning both the new Canon and the Legends timeline, but I will not address them here.

Instead, I would rather take a look at the real-world production approach to this current era of Star Wars Expanded Media, as there is a fundamental design ethos that courses through the new games, books, and comics which is markedly different than the approach which dominated the fifteen years that followed the theatrical release of The Phantom Menace. I will stop before saying that this new ethos is worse, or less valuable than the former-- such is absolutely not for me to say-- but the previous, understated mission of the Expanded Universe is, I believe, worthy of reconsideration.

For myself, I believe there is one game that excellently displays this ethos, and if studied fairly, can suggest ways to improve future contributions to the Star Wars universe. That game is Star Wars Episode 1: Battle for Naboo.

Pages of Subscript Between the Lines

Before continuing, let me spell out somewhat the design ethos to which I am referring. All media that bears the Star Wars label but is not a theatrical, numbered release is considered part of the "Expanded Universe", with descending levels of Canon within. As a fan simply reading/playing/watching this 'expanded' material, you need not familiarize yourself with the internal specifics, as the act of consuming any of the media does a fair amount to explain those rules to you a-la-carte.

Simply put, however, the novels were considered "C" canon, the highest level after "G" which consisted exclusively of the movies. For this reason, C-Canon works were seen as having 'actually happened as stated', until proven otherwise by a movie. In the case that a book and a comic cover the same events, the contents of the book are to be taken as the facts while the comic is taken as a truncated, abridged version. This helps explain the tone of various characters more befitting an Earth-based superhero story than Star Wars. 

Comics and games were largely considered "S" canon, as in 'Secondary', and this category also included any stories or media produced before Lucasarts/Lucasfilm/Lucas Publishing made a concerted effort to maintain continuity (Shoutout to Leland Chee, the creator and custodian of the Holocron, which was a real-world database which was used as the single repository for all Star Wars information for decades).

Which brings us to the underlying ethos for new Expanded media, composed of two prongs:

1. Expand; while considering that this could be someone's first introduction to Star Wars
2. Explore; but treat all things that have come before as Fact, until proven otherwise

I would not go so far as to say that these two concepts are forgotten in the new Canon, but they are certainly not the two most important considerations before creating a new story. I would consider these almost like pre-flight checklist items before any new venture is commenced. Importantly, this is not to say something implicitly like, 'Consider that this could be someone's first introduction to Star Wars, be sure to include something about the Skywalkers so they know about them!!', but rather, 'Consider[...], what is special about this universe and capitalize on that.'

One of the most successful multi-media pushes before the Clone Wars

Star Wars is space fantasy with rules, so you can get about as creative as you want-- there really aren't any good reasons to break any of the established rules when you have canonically-consistent mystical magic powers and planetary superweapons available. The scope and scale of technology and effective 'magic' mean that writers/designers really aren't hurting for ideas.

A third element I would like to draw attention to which is important but not included as one of the above prongs, is that from 1999-2014, the prevailing attitude towards games and books was not to retread what was already seen in theatres-- we had theatres for that--- but instead, in order to truly Expand and Explore, new media should center around that which was not seen, but was implied or suggested. Bounty Hunter, Rogue Squadron, Jedi Outcast, Republic Commando, and even Episode I: Racer all follow this idea.

During the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, we hear from multiple characters that the Trade Federation invasion of Naboo has come accompanied by civilian round-ups into forced-labour camps. Its nearly offensive the degree to which such a massive violation of sentient-rights is glossed over for the sake of a snappy script, which is where our Expanded Universe, and more specifically, Battle for Naboo comes into the picture.

Take Them to Camp Four

In the opening movements of the Invasion of Naboo, Queen Amidala and her retinue are captured by the Neimoidian's droid army. Viceroy Nute Gunray, disappointed with the Queen's refusal to immediately sign a treaty and legitimize the Trade Federation's embargo, he tells the droid commander responsible for the group to, "Process them.", which is followed by a droid instruction to send them to "Camp Four".

Luckily for the Queen and her friends, they are rescued in-transit by the Jedi Ambassadors, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, but unfortunately for the audience we don't get any clarity on Camp Four and what the heck happens there. Although it can be mostly assumed that its bad and the word "Process" in reference to a living being is incredibly bad in pretty much every context. So the Queen and Co have been rescued from something bad and we are glad for it. Later in the movie, when the Queen needs to raise troops for their final battle before Naboo is lost to the Federation, Captain Panaka laments the lack of able bodies, citing civilian internment in "Camps".

However, he mentions that, in their absence, security forces have organized into an underground resistance movement. Combined with a few other scenes showing Trade Federation forces as they search for any settlements they can, its clear that the idea is this: the Trade Federation has rounded up mostly everyone and an underground resistance exists and could be helpful to our heroes. Imagining retroactively how the team behind Battle for Naboo decided on their subject, its fun to imagine that they looked at the nearly 5 whole seconds of screentime these two guys in a speeder got and said, "Fuck yes, those two dudes."

An entire seed of a game rests in these few seconds.

Yes, all of your Christmases of come at once, in Battle for Naboo, you play as one of the guys inside that speeder, Gavyn Sykes. When selecting the backdrop for their Expanded Universe video game, they could have done far worse than 'the implied on-screen resistance movement on the ground at Naboo'. And if, in the search for a protagonist, they required that the character be as close to unestablished as possible while convincingly "existing" in the movie, the absolutely nailed that requirement. Gavin actually appears earlier in the film as well, as one of the pilots who is liberated in the first hangar, apparently to then move on to lead his own exciting tale. This whole exercise serves the ethos I described before quite well: Expand on a character whom we definitely saw, even if we didn't register their presence and in doing so create a Hero for audiences new and established, while also Exploring conditions which were implied or described but never seen.

All of a sudden, in conjunction with a helpful gap in time, you have an inconsistency-resilient chunk of story-clay with which to mold your new game. You could fill the week (or two?) of implied off-screen actions on Naboo with nearly anything you want and it slots in perfectly. And for any eagle-eyed fans looking for connections to the movie, they will be served with a delightful bit of retroactive revelation: that wasn't just one of Captain Panaka's officers... that was Gavin Sykes... ME.

Aww, there he is!

As a result of this method, the audience of Players begins to feel like a participant, not merely an observer, in the movies and their universe. If respectfully cultivated, this can lead to an incredible rewarding journey for an enjoyer of the franchise; by establishing that even the inconsequential question of "Was Gavin Sykes present for the surprise counter-attack we see in Phantom Menace?" actually has an answer, the seed of grounded appreciation  is sown. This is not just a story being told to me-- all of this happened. With diligent continuity seeding, the Universe no longer feels like a plaything shaped for the immediate pleasure of the present audience, but rather a series of True Facts, historical accounts of events which really happened, regardless of your personal agreement with the facts.

You may have really like the character that was Mussolini, but you don't get to send an angry letter to the Fascists and tell them that you totally don't believe this guy's narrative arc (well, some people did, AND QUITE FAMOUSLY, but I digress). In this way, authors are, in a sense, no longer crafting the characters they write. Instead, they act as chroniclers, recording the actions of independent people. In a literary sense this is a wild frontier, and I would argue (in another post, I promise) that it confers upon its writers more creative freedom than in a universe which is always required to make narrative sense before Universal sense.

Importantly, this means that a Hero of one story is not bound by narrative appreciation to be Heroic or else fall from grace. Some Heroes just stop being the Main Character. Sometimes the old writing advice is being followed, "Show us the most interesting time in your character's life". Some characters continue to live their lives after heroism, and in following the rules of Universal Sense, many of them go on to be happily boring or non-heroic. Funnily enough, for a franchise that loves the word "Destiny" so much, this style of Expanded Media does a great job of averting such deterministic thinking.

And the Game?...

Right, that. Look, I last played Battle for Naboo about twenty-five years ago. I have since watched some gameplay footage here and there, and I'll add that I played the heck out of that game twenty-five years ago, but ultimately my memory and my impressions inform the position from which I talk about this game now. The game opens up at the point in the movie when our heroes have courageously fled the scene for backwater demo-derby gambling. As one of the pilots liberated from the hangar when the Jedi and the Queen arrived, you navigate Theed's streets while piloting a heavy STAP speeder, following your Captain (?) Kael.

The earliest, shittiest vehicle

The adventure is an all-vehicle combat game, a sort of spiritual-sister to the highly popular Rogue Squadron games. This means you spend 100% of the runtime in some vessel or another, although you occasionally see your squishy human character perched on a STAP or peeking their head out of a speeder. Most of your combatants are also vehicular, although a handful of battle droids and droidekas serve as cannon fodder for your lasers and missiles.

There are around 15-20 levels (memory is not serving well in this department), each one detailing another chapter in the ascension of Sykes and his effort to organize a resistance and liberate civilians rounded into camps. In many levels, the player is obliged to take their preferred vehicle type, as the many accessible Hangars will allow them to switch to any ship they have unlocked in their adventure. Some sections demand aerial combat, while others favor ground-based guerilla tactics.

Heavy STAPs are neat and absurd

On this journey, the player character and his Captain find themselves in desperate need of any support they can get. After receiving a distress hail from a nearby vessel which is being harassed by Trade Federation forces, Sykes and Kael swoop in and save the day, only to discover that the vessel they saved is in the service of a Hutt gangster. This leads to a number of questions which need to go unanswered in the immediate, as "The Enemy of My Enemy" holds true in desperate times. They team up, with the Hutt's henchman providing much-needed support to the fledgling resistance movement. In a move that was about as predictable as this statement, the Hutt betrays you several levels later. The Hutt helps the player liberate civilians from Camp Four (I'm pretty sure), but the civilians who are 'rescued' by the Hutt's main ship quickly find that they have been scooped up by an opportunist looking for slaves.

Although its all a bit cheesy in delivery, its a decent betrayal, and gives the player a much-needed Second Enemy to fight for the end of the 2nd Act. In the game's final Act, when Panaka has returned from presumably shooting dice and drinking a Blue Milk Colada, he instructs the Resistance for their final push against the Federation to recapture Theed. The player is even obliged to take the specific shot shown in the movie which opens up the counterinsurgency of the Naboo. Upon completing this mission, the player sees a full squadron composed of the beautiful, N-1 Naboo Starfighter launching from the hangar. For the final mission, the player gets to be one of those pilots, running incidental interference before the Droid Control Ship is destroyed by some dusty rando.

It is a complete, satisfying adventure, and one in which the player is entirely welcome to imagine truly happened in tandem with the events of the movie.

And Here's What I Love

If this game and its story don't suit you-- the genre is unappealing, the story is too simple, the locale is not to your taste-- you are at least assured that, if you go looking for something more to your tastes, it will also follow this set of rules concerning its Canon and significance. Lets say, for instance, that you prefer real-time strategy games. In that case, Galactic Battlegrounds will serve to also expand and explore what was found in the initial theatrical release.

In that game, the player can see a number of implied but unseen stories, showing the military strategies of the Trade Federation and the Gungans among others. The player takes the role of a known but unexplored character (like Boss Nass), and is obliged to experience this universe in the way that character would. At no time does Galactic Battlegrounds contradict or make irrelevant Battle for Naboo, rather, the player is greeted to merely another angle, or in some cases an entirely new camera, on the pre-existing events, Much like learning the separate stories of code-breakers, nurses, engineers, and servicemen in WWII serves to enrich the overall narrative in your mind.

Japanese Star Wars cover art was so far and away better than the North American art

Battle for Naboo, nearly to a fault, showcases the narrative and imaginative power of deepening rather than broadening. No need for a new, even deadlier super weapon, or in the case of Naboo's specific story, there was no need for an even more dramatic, separate invasion; the one we had was ample background enough. Unfortunately, as time drew on and with the release of the Clone Wars animated movie, this attitude shifted. In a bid to recover from that movie's abysmal reception with both audiences and critics, its subsequent television series was given carte-blanche to write anything it could to regain audience interest and trust. This blank cheque came in the form of T-Canon, which was inserted between G (movie canon) and C (Continuity/Books canon).

In many ways, they completely and utterly succeeded in their mission, with each subsequent season of the Clone Wars television show becoming more refined and packed with intelligent and satisfying writing. However, the series accomplished this through slash-and-burn method which cannibalized, and in some cases completely removed, unrelated franchise elements for the effort. Were these cannibalized elements the unpopular, or unsuccessful aspects of a waning series, I would likely chalk it up to necessary change. But such was not the case. Star Wars was going strong, releasing successful games and New York Times bestsellers nearly every month. For the sake of the show, the rest of the series was cracked-- the rules of Expand and Explore were shaken, until they were ultimately completely abandoned upon the arrival of Disney.

(Personal conspiracy time, feel free to ignore: I don't think that the Clone Wars television series was the monetary success that it may be assumed to be with the retrospective lens that justifies T-Canon's interrupting of established lore. Someone might suggest that the cannibalization of the other elements of Star Wars to prop up the rapidly constructed Clone Wars T-Canon was a provable success, given the franchise's complete and utter fascination with that time following the arrival of the show. But Disney swooped in in the years that followed, almost certainly because the franchise was no longer pulling in its old numbers. In short, I think they bet the farm on Clone Wars, lost it, but then managed the transfer of ownership so smoothly as to make all seem well in the land of Star Wars.)

Neither Here Nor There

But I live in the timeline where Disney now holds the reigns, Dave Filoni is the de facto leader of Star Wars, and there are more options for escaping into a galaxy far far away than ever before. Rather than simply complain about the state of the present, especially with so many talented artists, authors, actors, animators, and other specialties starting in A currently working in the universe and sharing their stories and love with us all.

Instead, I wanted to take a moment to appreciate the now-gone ethos. Most importantly, I wanted to suggest that such an ethos is, by its nature, completely and utterly capable of reignition. There is nothing stopping the new, Disney-Canon from holding itself to the enthusiastic and loving standard of treating its Universe with the utmost respect; There is still plenty of time to say, 'All of this Star Wars happens together, and if you liked this story... just wait until we show you what's coming next...'

....But for the love of God can it finally take place after the movies?...

Mooooooorrreee