Throughout literature, film, and any other telling of the Arthurian legend there is usually a hard line stance taken on characters or ideas being indisputably good or evil. The heroes and villains are on conflicting sides of a fundamental and absolute morality despite reality often being much more complicated. The Star Wars franchise followed this school of thought- casting the Empire as the evil and soulless reflection of Western history’s teaching of the axis powers of World War II. It parallels the post-French Revolution narrative that all democracy is good and all imperial reigns are heinous and wrong.
It is because of this that we can remember LucasArts’s 1994 PC flight simulator Tie Fighter as such a refreshingly bold and surprising experiment in a world of video games where the narrative is always fixated on “the good guys.” In Tie fighter, you are- from start to finish- fighting on behalf of a faction that the movies portrayed as dark and merciless dictatorship that is completely void of humanity. No change of heart in your character halfway through (as in this year’s disastrous Battlefront 2), no surprising twist- you’re essentially waging war with all that is good and just in the galaxy. It’s one of the first and possibly few games that take this perspective, and – for one of the first times for a mainstream game of this caliber- Tie Fighter gives the player a unique chance to embrace the understanding that morality is often a form of perspective.
The game play itself is fun and addictive, the sounds and animation were cutting edge for their time, and the complex control scheme really captured the feel of being in a flying vehicle. The music is some of the best that 90’s computer game midi has to offer throughout the score’s triumphant, dark, and militant themes. But the game’s clever and well designed story is what really offers something new and exciting to the traditional video game narrative. As a pilot for the universe’s reigning galactic Empire, you are obediently executing the will of your superiors as you advance in rank and repertoire. When completing the missions and objectives you are praised and dignified by the decorated veterans around you and eventually given a military parade and the chance to join a paramilitary/cult secret order.
Never has anything in Western media made serving an authoritarian/totalitarian state look and feel so badass. Once engaged enough in the character and story of this game you begin to feel the pride when the superiors praise your accomplishments. You get excited at the chance to impress the high ranking generals. You feel that you’re making a difference in the fight against an uprising of chaos. Never does Tie Fighter make you feel like anything that you’re doing is wrong- you’re simply serving the duty to your society and your emperor. The separatist soldiers you’re gunning down are traitors and terrorists, and by fighting to destroy their rebellion you are fighting to preserve the same order and rule that has given you and your journey purpose.
Tie Fighter also serves as an interesting metaphor for today’s (non-mainstream) conservatism. It’s portrayed by the regressive left and its vile mainstream media as abhorrent and immoral, disgraceful and disgusting, and ultimately absent of any humility. But for one to have a look at “the dark side” (a.k.a. being red pilled), you’ll feel the sense of awesomeness, excitement, and superiority that will have you never turning back. And once you’re able to see things, truly, from that point of view- you’ll quickly understand why populism and traditionalism are suddenly so on the rise. You’ll also understand where the real dangers to society are, and that they’re not quite from this side of the spectrum.
With the Star Wars franchised damaged beyond repair by the gruesome and nauseating mess of a film that was The Last Jedi, there is an intensified significance of Tie Fighter’s place in the series’s legend. Serving as the ideological antithesis to the Disney Star Wars’s halfhearted mess of vomitous progressive politics, the game is a testament to the awesome and daring power of authoritarian rule and order. It exudes unapologetic masculinity and darwinistic dominance while . It’s atmosphere is one of strength, victory, mystery, and limitless power. Comparing this game to The Last Jedi is borderline cruel and sadistic as it exposes just how much harm the latter has done to the causes it claims to champion.
“Too far, JonTron! Too far!”
Much early 90’s black metal is a testament to the genre’s fall, Tie Fighter is the concurrent monument to the Star Wars franchise’s shared fate. This is fitting as Tie Fighter is also aesthetically the most black metal video game ever created. Hopefully soon a new empire will be on the verge of success, and peace and order will be restored throughout the galaxy.
Tags: authoritarian, Black Metal, death metal, imperial, jontron, lifestyle, lucasarts, metal, Star Wars, tie fighter, totalitarian, video games
After Quake all video games became shitty. The new Doom game was awful and a fine example of what’s wrong – it’s not metal or lovecraftian; just zero creativity to be found. The publishers force out a talented rare breed of developers after acquiring their companies and replaced each job position with 40 lousy Full Sail University graduates who can’t even do one guy’s job from a decade ago to fill out some cookie cutter mold for a going nowhere fast food salary. Not too dissimilar from how Beherit influenced bands missed what made the original great and instead quickly churned out over-praised trannycore before sleepwalking back to Lowe’s. You’d think that with a Disney budget the new Star Wars products would at least afford shemale level surgeries, but instead they’re all low effort all wig, no tits tranny fests. The dream is dead.
There are still interesting games coming out, more in the vain of simulators. The new elite dangerous is complex, difficult and grandiose. I have not played it, but there is a new first person multilayer game that is in early access on steam called blackwake in which you play as one of a pirate crew and fight other ships in realistic naval combat. And there are more pushing the envelope in terms of creativity and vision. Unlike metal, video games are only increasing in terms of potential and that potential is being fulfilled by the more independent developers.
It’s terribly boring, requires you give up a large percentage of your life and convert to Judaism. Simulation games like this are similar to data entry jobs. I’d rather spend the same time and amount of clicking/button bashing learning to build an app or something.
Computer games are fucking terrible now. The Witcher 3 is probably the best game that’s come out since the days of Deus Ex, System Shock, Baldur’s Gate, Planescape Torment, etc.
A game like witcher 3 requires as much energy and time as something like elite dangerous. I don’t care to put that kind of time into any video game as all video games are truly a waste of time. That said, i can acknowledge and appreciate the work and creativity that game developers put into games such as witcher 3 or like elite dangerous.
Wow, a blast from the past right there.
Diablo II deserves the highest praise as well.
Seriously? The first one was aight for the creepy atmosphere, but 2 was a boring loot grind.
Only if you have a short attention span. D2 was a rush of overwhelmingly unforgiving speedy battles leaving no room for error, especially in hardcore mode where if you die once you lose your character forever. The have made some much needed improvements such as new uber bosses, synergies, and skill/stat reset tokens that would have made the game more attractive to casuals who couldn’t handle the hellacious grind.
Potato
Nietzsche probably did. He wasn’t the most successful with the ladies.
You’re using the internet just the same as the rest of the world. Don’t front as if you’re some elite primitivist untouched by modernity and pop culture.
The 90s were the pinnacle for video games as they were still small enough to allow a level of weirdness and OCD level of detail, just play the ancient Xcom or Deus Ex. Also look into the still thriving Doom mod community and the incredible Brutal Doom mod series. In fact all three games I mentioned are still being tweaked on and expanded to this day, making them satisfying on a level modern games just can’t compete. If you want to fuck around and waste time playing video games spend about $5 on any of those and look into some mods. Modern games only care about false first impressions, lots of slick graphics, but the games pretty much play themselves now.
The first two Fallouts and Baldur’s Gate 2 (haven’t played the first) are also great if you are going to waste time. As far as fps-games go, Doom is probably the number one now and for times to come. Surely “lots” of people own the game, as in completing the game on nightmare without dying, but for the most of us, just the first episode on nightmare really nails it with mood and there is plenty of challenge and fast, frantic violence ahead. As far as map-packs go, get Hell Revealed, Alien Vendetta and Kama-Sutra (for Doom 2, each is a 32 map campaign).