Like, you think, 'Oh, it's 'Star Wars,' everybody has a spaceship' - but no, actually, in the 'Star Wars' universe, having a ship is like having a yacht.
One of the beautiful things about being a part of 'Star Wars' is that it's one of those few things that are community-building in that way. Maybe that way of putting it is a little self-important. But it is something we all have a connection to, something everybody knows about. There aren't that many of those things.
One thing that you kind of know about the 'Star Wars' universe, but that you learn in a much more impactful way as you get into it, is that living in that universe is hard.
From the time I was in first grade or so, my dad collected 'Star Wars' toy figures from the 1970s and '80s, and we'd take weekend family trips to antique shops and to toy stores. My father collected a crazy amount of 'Star Wars' stuff over the years, and he and I traveled to many conventions.
Between the ages of 8 and 12, all I wanted to read were 'Star Wars' books.
I had this almost secret life of going to 'Star Wars' conventions because,' when I was younger, Star Wars' had phased into the uncool part of its life and had yet to become cool again for everybody else.
Working with franchises can be challenging, but at the same time I really did enjoy working on 'Star Wars,' for example, and I have done a lot of 'Dungeons & Dragons' games, but I still enjoy it very much.
I think, actually, any morality system that rewards only the extremes is a flawed system. Players don't approach life that way, they don't approach games that way, and they shouldn't be trained to approach games that way. They shouldn't be in the 'Star Wars' mode where, 'I've got to choose every good option.'
Growing up, I really liked 'Star Wars.' Han Solo would've been really cool to meet. But my stuff was real low-brow. I was watching 'Bugs Bunny.'
In the end, all that time I spent in the 'Star Wars' universe fostered galaxies of creativity and made me a better person here on Earth, because it taught me that everyone counts. That's why I can sincerely and with a straight face say: 'May the Force be with you.'
