Another thing I've loved for a long time is the Star Wars universe. Over the years, I've probably bought and played more Star Wars games than any other license.
And you might expect - and you'd be right - that I also love the Lego Star Wars games, which combine my two loves (along with a bunch of hilarious cut scenes).
Aside from the gameplay, what I really really admire, however, is how both Lego and LucasArts have created consistent and complete, fully realized design universes. What's most fascinating about Lego Star Wars (to me) is that it exists at the intersection of those two universes. Looking at that intersection reveals some interesting lessons about the power of pattern languages.
Star Wars
Every Star Wars game i have ever bought fits into the Star Wars universe. The sound of the lasers, the floorplans of the ships, Hoth, etc.. they're all consistently rendered. When I explored Kashyyk in Knights of the Old Republic, it mapped pretty well to my understanding in Lego Star Wars. Snow walkers are pretty much always vulnerable to being tied up by harpoons, no matter what game you play. Star Wars has become so much more than a bunch of movies and merchandise. It has a system. It has rules that you can understand almost innately, and the more you engage with that universe, the better you understand it.
Lego Games
Lego video games are also fully realized universes. For one thing, everything in a Lego game is made of rendered Lego bits, which is itself probably one of the most perfect modular systems ever invented (ok, i'm gushing here, I admit). But pretty much all of the vehicles in Lego video games are also available for purchase in stores. So after playing through the game, I can actually go out and buy, then build, modify and experience an actual model that I first experienced in the virtual world. In Lego Batman, you find yourself in streetscapes populated with Lego models straight out of the Lego City series of models. There are police cars, helicopters, fire trucks, dump trucks, etc. You could actually recreate the entire scenes you just played (although it would be damned expensive).
It's actually quite a bizarre experience when you go into a toy store and you see the exact same police truck model that you have intimate knowledge of from a video game sitting on the shelf. You realize you thought you knew that police truck, but you didn't really know it - because you didn't experience how to build it. I have a feeling that as 3D printers become possible, this bizarre feeling may become more common and real.
The Intersection
Lego and Star Wars are compatible design universes because they are systems designed for complementary things. Lego, essentially, is a system for modeling. Whether it's modeling reality or some science fiction universe, it really doesn't matter. When you think about it, Lego pieces are really just metaphors for matter. All that really matters with Lego, is that the pieces fit and follow the logic of the system.
Star Wars is a universe that is designed to provide a stageset, backdrop and actors for telling stories. Whether those stories are told in Lego, TV, movies, plastic toys or life-size costumes, it doesn't really matter. All that matters is staying true to the story.
The Point
When you're looking at creating something, you can do a lot worse than looking at to Lego and Star Wars for inspiration for developing a consistent design system. As you're creating the system, ask yourself "Is this system logical? Does it make sense? Can it be extended? Could it be combined with other systems?" Although the Lego and Star Wars universes were created to serve different ultimate purposes, they're both compatible, and, indeed, by combining the two systems, each one extends its reach and power - Lego extending into a fantastic universe and multibillion dollar franchise, Star Wars extending into the hands of children and grown lego afficionados like myself.
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omg! a post & one i can relate to! cu on the trails!
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