Wing Commander - Icons!

Jason_Ryock

Vice Admiral
I had some homework tonight to work on, and it get me thinking about Wing Commander. We were asked to pick a franchise we liked from books/games/television/movies and list five things that made it iconic. I picked Star Wars (because I like it a tiny bit better then Wing Commander, please don't kill me!) but I wanted to ask:

What would be the five most iconic things about Wing Commander if you had to list them?
 
- Giant cat aliens as the main villains
- WW2-Carrier action in space
- traitor stories
- great graphics (and hardware requireements)
- cinematics in an action game

That's the list for me.
 
- Branching mission system(you can lose some missions and still win, or go into retreat, the game adapts it's stories accordingly)
- Character interaction(you are the protaginist of the game, not pilotX)
- Cutting-edge graphics and sound with each installment
- Replay value
- The game set the standard for space-sims, and has forever continued to do so(there is not a space sim that has not been compared to wing commander).
 
I thought this was going to be some Wing Commander icons for my computer desktop or something on first glance,

Most iconic things for me

1. Strong plot to the games (not armada or academy though :) )
2. Branching mission tree
3. Individual wingmen can die permanently (unlike say tie fighter, where alpha 4 dies, but you get a new alpha 4 wingman next mission)
4. Hehe, the ever increasing and cutting edge system requirements which prompted many an upgrade.
5. replay factor
 
Story*5

:)

I doubt I've played any other games with such gripping storylines (peaking with WC3) - I almost wanted to get the missions out of the way just to see what happened next.
 
-Characters (I'm thinking mostly of live-action Blair and Maniac in WC3, 4)
-Gameplay, action, balance
-Interactive story (decisions like whether to defect or kiss Rachael and different mission paths depending on your performance)
-Cloaked enemy ships (nothing like 'seeing' where they're heading and shooting them down 1-2 seconds after they're already invisible)
-CATS!!!
 
Hmm... I would have to say:

1. Wingman statistics (deaths, kills etc.) and interactions
2. Adaptive storyline, you could be fail missions and still progress in different ways.
3. Immersive lore and universe
4. Addiction, I never wanted to put them down and I lost sleep until the collection was completed.
5. Getting liquored and flying combat missions.

This list has been presented in no particular order. It would also be far to easy to add a few more points.
 
1. WW2 Pacific Carrier Battles...in Space!
2. A universe that pulls you in very quickly in the first game and can be enjoyed with only the games or the addition of the novels - either way it's immersive
3. Epic missions - we all remember Kurasawa 2, the end of SO1, etc these leave a lasting mark
4. Did I mention space naval warfare? :p
5. Mission Branching/Dynamic Storytelling
 
You wouldn't believe how many times I've helped brainstorm this exact question with development teams working on pitches in the last two years. My thoughts:

- First Person perspective space combat gameplay.
- Connection to existing 'Wing Commander' lore, particularly including the Kilrathi.
- An engrossing interactive storyline; the ability to influence, through gameplay, more than just which ending flick is played.
- A dedicated facade; many visual/obfuscatory touches (like cockpit damage, background fiction, score couching, etc.) layered over a core of fast arcade-derived gameplay.
 
In my opinion, it would have to be the multiple branches depending on how you did in the game, the cinemetics, and the dynamic music (the Kilrathi theme in WC1/2, and the frantic music that played when your ship was hanging on by a thread in combat).
 
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