Why I wont be playing a Novakid.

I have no problems with romatizing anything for the purpose of entertainment in fact i enjoy it. It's more that you state it as the time of absolute freedom, and it might me that my knowledge of American history is a bit limited but i do find your statement quiet bold and with my limited knowledge of what was happening in that part of the world at that time i cannot agree with the statment.

edit: removed a couple of typo's

 

Ahh got ya. I was trying to point out it's romanticized appeal, not it's true history. I imagine living in the old west would have been horrible haha.

*edit*

I guess I don't get why the archetypical cowboy is so wrong though. The glorious samurai, full of honor, willing to die before being defeated, lives only to protect his master, etc. Pretty much all horseshit, but it makes a REALLY cool character. The European Knight, sworn to protect the weak, defend the innocent. When he wasn't raping peasants daughters. Still remains a badass character in a lot of media. Can we not pluck an ideal individual out of a pool of trash to idolize?

 

Which has been my point from the start, and that it would not leave you with many options as which race to play since most have cultural or historical traits that would detach you from playing them.

 

On that same thought what about any age before they had decent plumbing and personal hygine Imagine the smell of people not washing on regular bases and open sewers!

 

The historical traits don't play a role, its purely the culture. I dislike Victorian era culture and old west culture. So if there are races that represent these I'm not going to play them.

It doesn't limit me at all, the Novakids are the only ones that represent the Old West, and thats one of the seven available races to me.

 

People have different tastes from you, it's wonderful.

 

Pretty much the same thing since each race in Starbound sort of embrace and represent a certain era of time. Beyond that however I think you'll be fine.

 

althoug for some reason i would like to see a victorian race added now. youknow, with those big lace colars and wide dresses...

 

Off-topic as hell: http://community.playstarbound.com/index.php?threads/rencontrer-les-gemétoile.17654/ - check it out.

 

Very well stated. I would also add that the "wild west" theme fits well with many Sci-Fi themes because space is often seen as a sort of wild, lawless, inhospitable place. Some people need to get off their high horses and realize that a vast majority of the people in this time period were not murdering native americans, but were making their way in the world as best they could with little government oversight and little assistance from the outside. It is a libertarian dream.

 

(Like in your other topic, I've only read the OP so far... )

I think the fascination with Wild West culture, especially as potrayed in films, TV series and games, has to do with the sense of freedom and adventure it implies. Getting a weapon doesn't seem to be very troublesome. Afterwards, there will always seem to be some sort of outlaw somewhere that needs to be captured. Moreover, you may ride horses through vast barren landscapes and even rob a train, if that's your thing. And there always seems to be a pretty damsel (or a cunning one!) who is worth fighting for amidst all the toothless folk.

Then we have the Native Americans who, unfortunately, were mostly butchered in reality... By any means, they usually have some level of mysticism to them, a connection to the land, making them almost a brand new race in this "altered Wild West theme", if you'll allow the term, as they contrast greatly with the more industrial invaders.

It's an interesting topic to work with, as people do have an interest in it. I have to admit it was never my thing much, but several aspects have made the Wild West culture grow on me, one of those things being Fallout: New Vegas.

 

I'm unsure why it's particularly the Victorian era and the American Wild West that are rustling your jimmies. We have romanticized and popularized just about every segment of our history with the minor exception of pre-history. It's human nature to remember the good and marginalize the bad. We want to remember what made us great! Western stories in particular play to power fantasies in people, which might have something to do with it. It was a time when one man with a gun could do something that mattered, at least in his po dunk town.

I personally quite like westerns. Some of my favorite movies are the Clint Eastwood's Man with no Name trilogy (which is really based off of a Japanese romantization of ronin in the form of Yojimbo), so your distaste is somewhat foreign to me. But, the western feel probably won't stay for them long since you can equip plenty of different types of armor. Your base starter stuff might be themed as such, but I'm sure replacements could come quickly.

If you could choose non western starter gear and forsake all vestigas of cowboy after the first 15 min, would that be acceptable?

 

I wouldnt see any problem, unless there is going to be some RP server, in that case you better have a damn good story

 

Considering it's a Novakid, he could have just gotten tired of playing Cowboy and decided on being a bear instead.

 

The Novakids should have had a steampunk feeling to them in addition to being wild westish. Now that would rock.

 

Im pretty sure the scientific answer to "the worlds most embarassing culture" is "the 90s"

 

Eh its not just the culture that gets to me, its the major factor however. I would happily play the Novakid if the brand was optional I'd take it off in a heartbeat and have a pretty sick looking gas man. But I digress.

They rustle my jimmies simply because they bore me really, I have more of a real issue with romanticizing the Old West than the Victorian era. Furthermore while it may be human nature to ignore the bad and focus on the good, that doesn't mean its right to do so. Various people from all cultures have done some very sick and twisted things, that doesn't mean I think we need to feel responsible for those actions, but we definitely need to learn from them. As George Santayana one said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

For example while I take great pride in my German heritage I don't forget about the Nazi party, I take pride in my English heritage and ensure I don't forget about the numerous people we diminished and enslaved in the formation of our empire, and while I take pride in my Greek culture I don't forget the suffering many people were put through due to orthodox religious persecution and such.

I don't like the way the Old West has been portrayed, it is made out to be some time filled with heroes and that just isn't the case. That, and the fact that the genre as a whole bores the pants off of me, help to add to my dislike.

 

Innovations of the Wild West:

Hypodermic Needle
Barbed Wire
Colt Revolver
The Chuckwagon
McCormick Reaper
Seed Drill
Steel Plow
Transcontinental Railroad

And I won't even get into all the robberies, notorious outlaws or the mad dash for gold out west.

The Wild West was a lot more active then you think.

Edit: I really don't see the point of this thread. It's your choice, no one cares.

 

For there to be great heroes great villains must also exist. Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves remembers the sins of our fathers. The numerous OK Corral (Costner again!) movies portray flawed and interesting historical characters and events. The recent True Grit remake had you detesting the heroes almost as much as the villains at times. Rooster Cogburn was a drunken ornery sonofabitch, and the movie was certainly quite grimy. While we may have romantacized it, I would disagree that it has been moreso than any other era in history.

 

Play red dead redemption on ps3 or Xbox and you will understand the love for the Wild West.