Do you recall that moment when you found out that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker’s father? I sure do and I remember feeling a little bit queezy and terribly, terribly excited. This was the biggest bomb dropped in my lap since I found out that Santa was my mom and dad. In truth, a larger piece of me died the day I found out who Darth Vader really was vs. Santa being mom and dad down stairs. There are just some things in this world you should not know.
As a pure Geek, I was not about to let my little geeks watch Star Wars starting with Episode 1. Essentially, this was my “finger” to Lucas for having wrecked my childhood memories with Jar Jar Binks and making Darth Vader whiny. Sadly, I did not film my little geeks’ reaction to the movie when they found out about Luke’s lineage. Needless to say, it was epic. Lucky for us, however, one Parent Geek did have the foresight to record it! The end result is pure nostalgic and geeky goodness. Enjoy!
…and in case the video doesn’t work, give this link a try…
I wonder if Lucas will wreck this moment for future geeks with his new upcoming super-duper re-re-re-release of the movies? I wouldn’t put it past him…
Many years ago I went to Star Trek the Experience at the Hilton with my friend Eric#1. As it has long since closed, I’ll spoil the surprise for the sake of my story. You line up as if you are about to get on a motion ride ala Star Tours, complete with the safety video showing you how to move down the isle and buckle-up. But before the doors open to let you in the lights go out and there are some strobe effects. When the lights suddenly come back on you are standing on the transporter pad on the Enterprise. A crewmen explains that one of you is a distant relative of Captain Picard. As he is leading you onto the bridge of the Enterprise he explains that the Klingons had traveled back in time to kill Picard’s relative to prevent him from ever being born.
At this point Eric#1’s son Justin, who was about 5 at the time (I’ve never been good at guessing/remember ages) looks up at his dad and says with all sincerity, “But Daddy, how are we gonna get home?!”
This just killed me as a game designer, because as fun as this was for the rest of us, for Justin, this was REAL! Can you imagine how great it would be to get back that sense of magic and wonder? Think about how great it would be to play a game or watch a movie that could pull you in even a fraction of that much?
WONDERFUL STORY!
I, too, miss that easy and visceral sense of wonderment that I see in my little geeks. Christmas is perhaps the best example of this, as is Halloween. This has never stopped me from searching wonderment out, however. I still get giddy with great games, role playing, video games, music, movies, visiting new places around the world, and eating food that makes you so very happy to be alive.
And let’s not forget the little geeks! Adults get to relive their childhood vicariously through them, albeit only as an observer.
Here’s hoping little Justin (most likely not so little now) looks back on that day with a smile!