Boxes, books, and prints from an obsolete game.
OBJECTS OF OBSESSION #5: STAR WARS GALAXIES
Though this chapter of the Star Wars galaxy has come to a close, its memory will always remain with those who walked its planets, who soared between its stars, and who made their homes beneath its virtual suns. - SWG Memory Book (2011)
If you’ve nosed about on the blog a bit, you’ll know that I have a soft spot in my heart for Star Wars Galaxies (see more here). I’m a Star Wars liker, yes, but it wasn’t that which made me fall for the game. Don’t get me wrong, it’s what got me started, but what kept me playing was the sandbox nature of it, and the community. The game remains available to play in many forms, and in fact, it’s probably in the best state it’s ever been in. You can play any era you like, and there is far more content, and I do still enjoy the game from time to time, but it’s the memories I made while playing on the official servers that I cherish - so much so that it was the inspiration for one of my first [VR]Ography projects (more on that here). I’ve long since lost contact with most of the people I interacted with on during the game’s official lifetime, and all that remains of that are a folder of screenshots, my memories, and my collection of ephemera to do with the game. As with any cherished memory, any physical links become important, and as such, I have kept hold of all my Star Wars Galaxies related bits and bobs, and it’s here that we come to the point of this… show and tell - the ephemera of a dead(ish) game.
First comes the boxes, and there have been a boat load of these in all shapes and sizes over the course of the game’s life. These are only the ones I have access to, but there are at least a few more that I am aware of.
It’s the artwork on these boxes that I’m drawn to, as upon seeing them I am immediately transported back to the early 2000s, and the palpable excitement of entering a fully realised virtual world, at least back then, was like nothing else. As well as these variations, there were special editions, and these came in two forms (at least that I’m aware of), the North America/Europe edition, and the Japanese. The differences are small, but notable. The Japanese version has a starfield effect printed on the box as opposed to the leather like effect of the NA/E version, and inside, the From Pencil to Pixel concept art books feature slightly different covers. As well as this, the figurine, pin badge, and patch are replaced by a pair of model ships in the Japanese version. They also afforded the player special in-game items too, such as Special Edition Goggles, and a vehicle known as a Flash Speeder.
After these come the guidebooks, and as with the various iterations of the game that evolved over the years, various new and revised issues of these were published. I’m sure many more of these ended up being made, but amongst my collection are the good old Prima guides, and a Japanese variant. These feature details on the game, but also many pieces of concept art and screenshots, acting as a time capsule for the game as it was when each guide was published.
After the guides comes the unofficial stuff, these being books and magazines. Amongst my collection are James Crosby’s Galaxies: An Empire Remembered, and the revised version, MMO Folklorist’s Guide to Galaxies, which serve as a document and love letter to the games. We also have Veronica Whitney-Robinson and Haden Blackman novel, Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine. There is also Star Worlds: Freedom Versus Control in Online Gameworlds, by William Sims Bainbridge, which I picked up while looking into virtual worlds during my university course. And last, but not least, EDGE Magazine Issue 112 - Class of 2002, featuring the game amongst its contemporaries.
Next, although canonically this should be the first, is the beta discs - BETA 3, which were sent out to players during the beta stage of development, which serves as another curiosity for the collection.
Next is a little advert for the game, showing the lively Mos Eisley cantina - which, at least on most servers, was, and remains to this day the main hub. As well as this I have a print of one of the promotional pieces created for the game by Donato Giancola, and a collection of concept art sketches which were made by Arnie Jorgensen.
And last of all, a little 3D print from Thingiverse uploaded by AirTeuteu. There are quite a few bits and bobs ripped from SWG on there, but the transport shuttle seemed to be one of the most iconic, and easy to print. The quality is very ropey (my fault as it was one of the first prints I did), but it happily sits amongst my collection.
So there we go, probably all a big waste of space in most people’s eyes, but as someone to whom the game represents so much enjoyment and such strong memories, this collection means quite a bit. I think I have a few more bits tucked away in the attic somewhere - I’ll add those at some point if I find them, but there are many other pieces of marketing ephemera such as clothing, advertising, badges, posters, prints, and documentation. If you’re curious about some of this stuff you can find much of it on the Internet Archive.
Do you have any gaming relics of your own? Be they SWG or from another game? Let me know, I’d love to hear about them! And if you haven’t played Star Wars Galaxies before, or you’ve not revisited since the SOE servers were shut down, you can find a comprehensive list of active servers over on the MMO Folklorist’s website, as well as a very detailed introduction for new players. It’s an old game, but if you can get past that, well worth exploring, whether you like Star Wars or not.
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Jamie B
Loved seeing those OG game boxes. What a potent reminder of the cost of digital convenience.
I grew up playing this game. So many friendships, ideas and experiences. Thanks for rejogging the memories.