Introduction
It would seem that no other television show or movie series is more suited for adaptation as a computer game than Star Trek. It offers a thoroughly realized science-fiction setting, captivating and well-developed characters, and a legion of die-hard fans. But when you look back at the checkered past of Star Trek PC games, it becomes apparent those very strengths are quite often the biggest stumbling blocks facing game developers.
In the Beginning
It's safe to say that when Star Trek first aired on NBC in 1966 the world had never seen anything quite like it. True, it wasn't the first time television had addressed the subjects of space exploration or science fiction; both The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone had covered that ground in various individual episodes. But Star Trek was the first sci-fi-inspired show with an ensemble cast that viewers would see each week, and the fact that its fans soon began to feel as if they knew the show's characters undoubtedly played a huge role in the eventual triumph of producer Gene Roddenberry's creation.
It wasn't so much the themes of space travel or science fiction that made Star Trek a beast of a different stripe than other TV shows, however. What made Star Trek unique was its vision of the future, especially in relation to the turbulent period in which it aired. This was the first time on television that prominent roles were played by people of varied ethnicities, and the deep respect the show displayed for different cultures - Terran or otherwise - hammered home the fact that these weren't token characters. Indeed, Star Trek made broadcasting history with the first interracial kiss (Kirk and Uhura in the episode Plato's Stepchildren). At a time when the civil-rights movement was facing some of its greatest battles, Star Trek stood proudly on the side of justice. And this wasn't the only hot topic the original show addressed over its three-year run. The Cold War and the conflict in Vietnam were obviously the inspiration for episodes such as Balance of Terror and The Omega Glory, and the concept of the Prime Directive was clearly a stab at many nations - the United States included - which had expanded their empires at the expense of other cultures.
Heavy stuff, to be sure, but Star Trek didn't stop there. Many fans were fascinated with the technological concepts the original series introduced: With NASA's space program in full swing, it seemed to some that phasers, warp speed, photon torpedoes, impulse engines, tractor beams, and other flights of high-tech fancy might not be that far off in the future after all. Others just wanted to see Kirk and company get into scraps with the Klingons and Romulans (always accompanied by Alexander Courage's relentlessly pounding musical score). Although Kirk talked a lot about the Prime Directive, he still had a quick trigger finger - and just the thought of using one of those handheld phasers or firing photon torpedoes was enough to fire the imaginations of action fans.
Next: The first Star Trek game
