In recent years, not to say since the early days of gaming, most RPGs have been set in medieval worlds. The influence of books like Lord of the Rings have been undeniable, and for some strange reason the science-fiction genre always had great difficulties in making its way in the RPG genre. Science-fiction is very much part of action and strategy games, but otherwise greatly lacking in a genre that involves the player on a deeper level. Recently I found myself looking at what's coming this year and I was surprised to realize that at least four of the most anticipated RPG titles will have a science-fiction setting in one form or another (Eve Online, SWG, KotOR,. and Deus Ex 2).

Now two major games set in the Star Wars universe arrive, and all of a sudden this already highly popular series will once again overshadow all else. Strange that I don’t even believe the same will happen with the current LotR phenomenon and other games with medieval settings. It’s very hard to pinpoint the reason why this could be the case. What’s even more disturbing is that Star Wars is just as medieval a setting as the next one. Only instead of traveling in boats to cross the oceans and reach far away lands they use spaceships to reach far away planets and meet strange cultures. They even use swords for crying out loud! Why don’t we see more science-fiction RPGs?