User:Civil Protection Team 9/New sandbox

Science Fiction Lead

Leas should be a composite of the main points below.

Definitions

Upfront, all the various science fiction definitions need to be outlined. Ideally, one definition should stand in the forefront as the most widely accepted definition. This 'most common' definition should then be incorporated into the lead section.

Alternate Terms

Alternate terms, should be kept brief-- linking to other pages-- and explore alternate phrasings and overlap with other genres. Said exploration should not run too deep in this section-- wait for subgenres and related genres.

Elements

Elements should follow directly after definitions. Knowing that there are so many definitions for science fiction, a reader might not be wholly satisfied with the listed definition. Elements would serve as an alternative, where a reader might assemble their own internal definition via a listing of elements, tropes, tags, etc. In this way, a definition can be synthesized by nibbling around the edges of the genre.

History

Now that all the defining is finished (hopefully), the history of the genre can be explored. Because of the definition overviews above, the reader will have a basic blueprint for science fiction that can then be further elaborated upon by historical evidence and *expert* testimony (famous authors). I would recommend touching on all the mediums of science fiction listed below, in the order that they are currently listed.

Literature

Literature easily has the most and the oldest history, deserving the first consideration in the article-- especially seeing as how it influences the following mediums. Discussion of how the literary form lends itself to the themes of science fiction would also be appropriate.

Film

I am not too familiar with science fiction film, but there must be elements of avenues of film that allowed for expansion or growth of the science fiction genre. That should be discussed here along with examples.

Television

Science fiction television should be treated similarly to film.

Video Games

What is unique about science fiction in video games is that the speculative elements, and more importantly, the speculative consequences are shunted directly onto the player, as opposed to relating a protagonist's struggles to a viewer. The result is a more personal or invested experience for the player. And as the agency of the player is increased, the depth of engagement increases in the same fasion.

While space themed video games were released by the early 1980s, games such as Space Invaders and Galiga, science fiction was more of a skin aesthetic, rather than a speculative medium on the possibilities of science. However, through the mid 1990s, established science fiction writers, artists, and IPs, began to take interest in the developing medium. In 1992, Cyberdreams released "Dark Seed," a point and click adventure game under the art director H.R. Giger, who is known for his Biomechanical artwork and role in developing the Alien franchise. In 1995, Cyberdreams and The Dreamer's Guild released the point and click adventure game "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream," which was co-created by Harlan Ellison, the author of the 1967 classic SF short story of the same name. In 1998, Westwood Studios released Inteligent Games' "Dune 2000," which is often credited as the father of the modern Real Time Strategy (RTS) genre.

However, not only were video games an ever more attractive vehicle for established franchises, but also a growing space for new franchises, keen on utilizing all the opportunities that the medium offered. The mid 1990s through the early 2000s see the birth of role-playing franchises such as "System Shock" or "Deus Ex," two IPs that explore themes of biomechanical body augmentation and their repercussions. At about the same time, "Half-Life" if released, which, along with its sequels, are return to the alien invasion genre. However, through the "Portal" (2007) standalone expansion, create a space in which the player can play with the concept of three-dimensional space, as well as the application of the bizarre physic phenomena introduced in the game. Through the 2010s, games such as Frictional Games' SF horror "Soma" are free to explore older philosophic science fiction themes, such as the challenge technology poses to the traditional concept of life identity and the soul. In similar step, games like "The Talos Principle" explore fundamental themes of reality of the world and the self in a rare technological/theological approach. There are even loose retellings of science fiction classics such as "Observation" (2020), which is a very soft retelling of "2001 a Space Odyssey" from the player perspective of a station-wide artificial intelligence.

Science Fiction Studies

I thought it would be a good idea to discuss the study of science fiction immediately after the history overviews, expecting that many arguments will draw from historical context.

Classification

The distinction between hard and soft science fiction could belong in the definition section. However, given the considerable debate around these distinctions, I thought that they might be more at home in the Science Fiction Studies section. Still, both hard and soft should probably be mentioned early on in the definition section (briefly).

Social Influence

It strikes me as fitting that the Social Influence section should follow directly after the more academic sections. History, Studies, Influence, in that order have a sort of past, present, future structure. Of course, How science fiction has already influenced society can be freely explored, but there is also room to examine its influence of the future that the previous sections don't allow for.

Sense of Wonder

This could have also been in the definition section. No doubt it should be touched on earlier. It still fits here because it examines the back and forth interaction between the science fiction audience and the genre.

Community

Community has significant overlap with the other sections. Likely it could be cut. If it is cut, Awards, Conventions, & Organizations should be retained within social influence.

International Examples

This section would be ideal to explore how science fiction has been interpreted and adapted across the globe.

Subgenres

A list of various subgenres would compliment the definitions section, as well as aid in further research on the part of the reader.

Related Genres

Similar to Subgenres, though it would provide a path upward to greater umbrella genres such as speculative fiction.