• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Star Wars The Force Awakens Trailer

Status
Not open for further replies.
Do we really think they didn't consider other ways to make the cross saber? That they forgot to think about what it would be like for it to get hit?
 
This happens with every design that people don't agree on. It's as if people believe they had only ONE design drawn and then decided to go with it. I'm sure all these sketches that people are coming up with have been drawn and presented to the team by other concept artists. In the end, they decided on the one we're getting for a reason.

That's very logical. I do feel like debating what's "right" and "wrong" in a universe that is still being developed/expanded on is very....silly for lack of a better word. Like I said before, people are freaking out as if he pulled out a spoon. Now if your debate is simply about the style/design then that's ok. But to vigorously debate how wrong a style is seems, again, silly.
 
Guys. It's exhaust. With the side benefit of looking like a crossguard. Because this is Star Wars. And in Star Wars people use space swords. And it looks cool.

I think we'd better get used to it... or to be more realistic: used to ignoring it.

I'm not expecting any explanation for why it is that way or how it works until the Visual Dictionary (or some equivalent) comes out in fall 2015.

I don't mind some theories but if that's where most of the conversation is going to be, we are in for a looong 12 months.
 
Another way to think of the hilt is as a preventive feature. The person we see may be so skilled in the force that he is capable of turning off the hilt if his hands get to close. This is so that those who are not skilled in this and happen to obtain that lightsaber will not be able to use it for risk of injury.

Or

It just looks cool like that and was designed purely for theme for the character/world.
 
From my original point of thinking, control over the length/shape of the blade had to be something defined earlier in the process, i.e. before the crystal, which I assumed to be the last item before the blade appeared. Looking at some wiki pages though, I see that isn't the case.



Okay, so it's something more like this?



That being the case, I can understand the hilt/crossguard needing to be made of something impervious to sabre blades.

LOL, glad my assumption turned out to be not as wrong as I thought. Hardly a deal breaker but I hope there is some reason for it I find satisfying.

I really like the new saber, it seems somehow more believable now that the beam is crude and irregular.
I love the crudeness of the beam, the actual look of the blades is awesome.
 
LOL, glad my assumption turned out to be not as wrong as I thought. Hardly a deal breaker but I hope there is some reason for it I find satisfying.


I love the crudeness of the beam, the actual look of the blades is awesome.

Me too. I'm a huge sucker for things that spark and crackle like that in films, especially here where it's in contrast with the clean, restrained blades everyone else has.

hcnhso.gif
 
Notice the curved part of the hilt on the side of the wielder. Almost as if it's protecting from the unstable nature of the beam. I'm like 99% convinced those are exhaust ports for unstable power caused by an old, powerful crystal.
 
In regards to peoples' issue with the crossguard of the lightsaber, what about just minimizing the length of the metallic portion of the crossguard on the handle? Sorry for the ghetto paint job, I don't have Photoshop:

WFRM4x7.jpg
 
The two youtube sources for the teaser combined have been viewed 42 million times in 60 hours (a little under 3 days). Its on pace to do better than the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer's record of 50 million views in five days, as long as it doesn't dramatically slow down over the next few days.

Again, this isn't even counting the itunes viewers. Not sure if they'll do a press release on how many views it racked up there.
 
Me too. I'm a huge sucker for things that spark and crackle like that in films, especially here where it's in contrast with the clean, restrained blades everyone else has.

hcnhso.gif


It really does look like the lower part of Vader's sabre, just a bit shorter.

ahUFowA.jpg


Even the two exhaust tips look like Vader's.
 
I feel like people hating on the crossguard are wrong. Any chop you make for the emitters leaves you completely exposed to the main blade.

Also the fan redesigns are undeniably worse. Which is why they don't have jobs working on designing lightsabers for Star Wars movies.
 
In regards to peoples' issue with the crossguard of the lightsaber, what about just minimizing the length of the metallic portion of the crossguard on the handle? Sorry for the ghetto paint job, I don't have Photoshop:

WFRM4x7.jpg
Then you run into the opposite problem: Instead of the crossguard being useless for defense, it's a good way to accidentally slice your hand into two.

Really, I just think it looks cool and there are plenty of fan explanations (From exhaust ports to having beams inside the metal) that justify its bizarre design.
I feel like people hating on the crossguard are wrong. Any chop you make for the emitters leaves you completely exposed to the main blade.

Also the fan redesigns are undeniably worse. Which is why they don't have jobs working on designing lightsabers for Star Wars movies.
Fan redesigns look cool to me, especially this crossed blade one.

 
Then you run into the opposite problem: Instead of the crossguard being useless for defense, it's a good way to accidentally slice your hand into two.

Really, I just think it looks cool and there are plenty of fan explanations (From exhaust ports to having beams inside the metal) that justify its bizarre design.

I've made my explainations known, but I think this fan rendition isn't too bad.

wgY1ZPM.jpg
 
I think I figured out my issue with the lightsaber. Swords with big crossguards like that (broadswords, claymores, etc.) have a wider blade, and with the little skinny lightsaber blade, it just cuts a goofy looking silhouette, like if you put a giant crossguard on an epee or a rapier.

But I will say, it's kinda growing on me a little. I'm definitely not hating it as much as the first time I saw it.
 
My lame fan theory is that it's a clumsy fix for Vader's busted lightsaber. The emitter or whatever was damaged so someone had to attach a new one. Couldn't find a compatible part that wouldn't blow up in their face, so they had to give it some vents to keep it semi-stable.

Either that or it's really old, and this is just what ultra primitive lightsabers looked like.
 
That light saber is nothing new. It made its debut in the old eu just like darth mauls light saber and a ton of other stuff in that trailer.
 
This GIF finally was made for the Episode VII Teaser. It pretty much sums up my first view (and every subsequent view) of the teaser:

IMG_0942.GIF
 
It really does look like the lower part of Vader's sabre, just a bit shorter.

ahUFowA.jpg


Even the two exhaust tips look like Vader's.

What I find funny about people arguing the practicality of the light sabers is that they ignore the huge fucking box jutting out in the middle of the handle that make the thing impossible to grip well.
 
cant cool shit exist just to be cool? :(

Apparently not. I understand we can pick apart this teaser as much as possible, but things are always just taken to new lengths when they don't need to be. This lightsaber situation is ridiculous. I hope it gets explained in the movie during a ten second conversation, only to have people go, "oh". But even then people will say that it should have been done this way instead of that way. I enjoy picking things apart, but holy shit lol
 
It's more than a little silly to mock people looking for consistency within fiction. Just because it's fiction doesn't mean anything goes without explanation.

I think we already went over this a day ago. As long as people complain about it, people are gonna make jokes about those complaints. You seem to be constantly offended when people make fun of those complaints, though. Complaints =/= people.
 
It's more than a little silly to mock people looking for consistency within fiction. Just because it's fiction doesn't mean anything goes without explanation.

But they haven't even had a chance to give explanation. Chances are the team thought of many new designs for this cross saber and chose one with specific canon in mind. I'm sure at the very least, sometime we will get a new one of those Complete Visual Encyclopedias and it will have a blurb about its design purpose.
 
Concept artists don't just draw something and hand it over to the production people and go "ta-dah!" There was a reason why they went with the design they went with and their reasoning is going to be just as dorky as what people are speculating.

I don't see the harm in having some fun thinking about what might be going on with the laser sword in the fantasy space epic.
 
I think we already went over this a day ago. As long as people complain about it, people are gonna make jokes about those complaints. You seem to be constantly offended when people make fun of those complaints, though. Complaints =/= people.
Considering that you called the people who were complaining or interested in an explanation for the design, something to the tune of "very, very, very stupid," yes I would think some people are offended by your stupid notion that fictional consistency is laughable. It's not laughable, it's laudable.
 
Guys, there's a difference between "magic exists" and "people randomly turn into purple hippos for three seconds every thursday with no explanation."

The idea of fantasy is to create a world that's different from our own but still follows rules. There are various impossible things in Star Wars: Faster-than-light travel is possible and easy, moon-sized space ships blow up planets, certain people have magic, etc. Yet despite those impossible things, Darth Vader won't suddenly survive a blast from the Death Star without explanation. That would be inconsistent with the rules previously constructed for the world, even though Darth Vader and the Death Star are completely fictional things that could never exist in our world.
 
I think we already went over this a day ago. As long as people complain about it, people are gonna make jokes about those complaints. You seem to be constantly offended when people make fun of those complaints, though. Complaints =/= people.

I actually wasnt even making fun of people, hence my sad face. It was just a general wonderment, like I said, cant cool shit just be cool. I wasnt trying to mock anyone, if thats how it came off
 
I wonder what they plan on naming the new villain? I'm kinda hoping he's not a Sith Lord named "Darth" something. Looking at the list of Darths on the Wookiepedia, the majority of them are really stupid sounding. What would be next, Darth Stroyer, Darth Struction, Darth Villian? Vader still sounds the best(IMO).
 
I wonder what they plan on naming the new villain? I'm kinda hoping he's not a Sith Lord named "Darth" something. Looking at the list of Darths on the Wookiepedia, the majority of them are really stupid sounding. What would be next, Darth Stroyer, Darth Struction, Darth Villian? Vader still sounds the best(IMO).

Sith Xylophone
 
I wonder what they plan on naming the new villain? I'm kinda hoping he's not a Sith Lord named "Darth" something. Looking at the list of Darths on the Wookiepedia, the majority of them are really stupid sounding. What would be next, Darth Stroyer, Darth Struction, Darth Villian? Vader still sounds the best(IMO).

Well, Starkiller is available now. That sounds like a cool order name, though I think it was oddly supposed to be the Unleashed character's real name and not a code or given name.
 
YO you left the door open for me!

So, it was eh. Which is expected. Again, the reason his Star Wars & Star Trek reviews were good were a) he had literally YEARS worth of online discussion and analysis of those movies to metabolize and b) his schtick was still fresh feeling.

Stoklasa killed us all to death with those reviews because he just distilled all the great analysis written by tens of other (better) film writers into a much more easy to digest form, and then performed a very fun character.

Which is why when he goes back to Plinkett now, especially when it's only a couple days after an 88 second commercial has come out, it's so tired and empty. Because he doesn't have that knowledge base to draw from, and Plinkett isn't novel anymore, and even if he was, Stoklasa isn't doing him well anymore.

Trotting him out is just as perfunctory and rote as he makes it sound. Maybe that's part of the joke, but it's basically just that he knows this will give him hits so whether he wants to do it or not, he's gotta do it.
You should do a review about the decline of plinkett reviews
 
I wonder what they plan on naming the new villain? I'm kinda hoping he's not a Sith Lord named "Darth" something. Looking at the list of Darths on the Wookiepedia, the majority of them are really stupid sounding. What would be next, Darth Stroyer, Darth Struction, Darth Villian? Vader still sounds the best(IMO).

incoming Darth Tarth?
 
Quote me.
Gladly:
I do have the right to voice my opinion on yours though. And yes, the nitpicking at things like lightsaber guards is stupid. Very very very stupid.
The only thing that is stupid is ascribing to the idea that "cool things just exist to be cool." They don't. They should be cool, but also make sense and have sensible explanations for their function. We shouldn't just handwave any questions and say "it's fiction!" A good fictional universe isn't just full of cool stuff. It's full of cool stuff that works within the context of universe's established framework.
But they haven't even had a chance to give explanation. Chances are the team thought of many new designs for this cross saber and chose one with specific canon in mind. I'm sure at the very least, sometime we will get a new one of those Complete Visual Encyclopedias and it will have a blurb about its design purpose.
Of course, but until we get that official explanation for the design and function, it's a perfectly decent discussion to have.
Guys, there's a difference between "magic exists" and "people randomly turn into purple hippos for three seconds every thursday with no explanation."

The idea of fantasy is to create a world that's different from our own but still follows rules. There are various impossible things in Star Wars: Faster-than-light travel is possible and easy, moon-sized space ships blow up planets, certain people have magic, etc. Yet despite those impossible things, Darth Vader won't suddenly survive a blast from the Death Star without explanation. That would be inconsistent with the rules previously constructed for the world, even though Darth Vader and the Death Star are completely fictional things that could never exist in our world.
Precisely. The key of course to everything being explanation. If the writing can create a plausible explanation (within the framework of the fictional universe) for an event, survival, technology, etc, then that's fine.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom