DEFINING CANON IN AN ALIEN WORLD

October 12, 2020ALIEN, Free League, Role Playing Games, RPGroguereviewer

As a franchise consultant to 20th Century Fox on ALIEN, Predator, and Planet of the Apes, I often had to take a long hard look at a number of long beloved franchise stories and try to figure out how exactly that could still fit in canon. If I couldn’t, I had to recommend they be tossed. I proposed a third option–what I’ve come to call barroom canon. These are stories overheard in a bar (or read in a comic, or played in a video game, or even posted on Facebook) that may or may not have some truth to them. This allows canon to have some flex in regards to including stories that otherwise could no longer count in a franchise’s development.

As the lead writer and canon consultant on the ALIEN RPG by Free League Publishing, I developed the following Canon Tier guidelines to working out the ALIEN universe.

Because people like to react before they read completely, I will stress again that this list is a guideline based on my franchise consultant work at FOX . I used it when creating the backstory/lore/history of the Alien Universe for the Role Playing Game. Several fans asked for the list. It’s okay if it doesn’t fit your personal head canon, I am in no way suggesting it should. The game lore is designed to reject what you don’t like and use what you do.
The notes below about Predator, AVP, and Easter Eggs are guidelines I was given by FOX’s franchise department when I was brought on board as a consultant. Remember that canon in any franchise is always fluid–no RPG or novel will stop headlining producers and directors from taking a series in any direction they want to try. This list is canon as canon stands, until it doesn’t.

A NOTE ABOUT PREDATORS

The first thing to understand about ALIEN, Predator, and AVP is that they are three franchise universes.

AVP is officially a separate franchise and therefore a separate canon than Alien/Prometheus. Predator is also separate from AVP and Alien/Prometheus. If a Predator shows up in an alien project, that project is in the AVP universe and not Alien.

THE TRUTH ABOUT EASTER EGGS

Easter Eggs are never an indicator of canon, they are surprise homages and nothing more. The separation of franchises is per Fox themselves, and was handed to me as perimeters to follow when I first worked on the Predator Bible for them. Lots of people get frustrated by the AVP statements above. They want Predator in their Alien. Personally I think both franchises are better on their own, so I’m happy about AVP being a third franchise.

YOUR UNIVERSE

All that being said, the Alien RPG is a guide to YOUR alien universe, official or not. Make your game universe your own. What you want in your campaign is absolutely what should be in there, no matter what. As for what I used, this is the list I stick to. It is based on my discussions and work with FOX as a franchise consultant, and I’ve laid out the setting and whatnot accordingly:

TIER I CANON

Definitive and authorized canon to the Alien/Prometheus universe:

Film Series¹
- Prometheus
- Alien: Covenant
- Alien
- Aliens
- Alien 3
- Alien Resurrection
Alien Isolation video game
Mike Tanaka Alien Isolation Twitter account
Covenant Short Films:
- The Crossing
- The Last Supper
- Meet Walter
- Five Crew Messages
- Phobos
- Advent
- David’s Lab: Last Signs of Life
Prometheus Short Films:
- TED Conference, 2023
- Happy Birthday, David
- Quiet Eye: Elizabeth Shaw
- Project Prometheus: Mission
- Weyland Industries Testimonial
- Prometheus Transmission

TIER II CANON

These sources are absolutely canon until Ridley Scott or another producer throws a curveball:

Alien: The Weyland-Yutani Report
Alien: The Blueprints
Alien: David’s Drawings
Alien Role Playing Game by Free League Publishing
- Alien: Core rulebook
- Alien: Chariot of the Gods
- Alien:Destroyer of Worlds
- Alien: Map of the Middle Heavens
- All upcoming Alien: RPG products
The following Dark Horse comic series:
- Aliens: Dead Orbit
- Aliens: Dust to Dust
- Aliens: Defiance
- Aliens: Resistance
- Aliens: Rescue
Titan and Imprint Novel Series
- Alien: Covenant – Origins
- Alien: The Cold Forge
- Alien: Into Charybdis
- Alien: Infiltrator
- Aliens: Phalanx
- Alien: Prototype
- Alien: Isolation novelization
- Alien: Echo
The 40th Anniversary Short Films
- Alien: Containment
- Alien: Specimen
- Alien: Night Shift
- Alien: Ore
- Alien: Alone
Alien: Blackout Mobile Video Game
Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual

TIER III CANON

Majority of the content is canon with some minor problems that can be explained away as myth or heresay.

Weyland Industries Viral Website (some distances are exaggerated)
Aliens: Colonial Marines Video Game (Creatures and Technology are canon, the story is not)
Movie novelizations (accurate except when contradicted by screen evidence)Alien
Aliens
Alien 3
Alien: Resurrection
Prometheus (Japanese language only)
Alien: Covenant
Alien Novels:
- Alien: Out of the Shadows
- Alien: Sea of Sorrows
- Alien: River of Pain

MYTHS AND LEGENDS

This stuff should be thought of as tall-tales told in bars. The events may or may have happened as described, but the locations exist:

Alien Survival Manual (was intended as canon but has glaring errors)
William Gibson’s Alien 3
The Bantam Books and DH Press Aliens novels:All novels in the Complete Aliens Omnibus Volumes 1-7
Concept art (includes all artbooks)
Aliens: Adventure Game by Leading Edge
Alien: Covenant Short Films:
- x Audi lunar quattro
- She Won’t Go Quietly
Unused screenplays
Aliens: Colonial Marines Video Game (Storyline)
Aliens: Bughunt (Labeled as such in the book)
The following Dark Horse comic series:
- Aliens: Field Report
- Aliens: Fire and Stone ^{2 3 4}
- Aliens: Life and Death ^{2 3 4}
- All comics in the Aliens: Omnibus Volume 1-6
- Aliens: Tribes
- Aliens: Space Marines Kenner Comics
Arcade, computer, and console video games
- Aliens: Armageddon
- Aliens: Infestation
- Aliens: Extermination
- Aliens: Thanatos Encounter
- Aliens: Online
- Aliens: Trilogy
- Aliens: A Comic Book Adventure
- Aliens 3: The Gun
- Aliens: Alien 2
Kenner Aliens Toyline

SHOE-HORN CANON:

A similar concept, look and feel film franchise, and a film that might as well be part of Alien though it is not. These will NEVER BE OFFICIAL. They are absolutely not part of the Alien Universe, but can be massaged into it if you squint hard enough.

Blade Runner
Blade Runner 2049
Outland
Soldier

NON-CANON:

Absolutely not connected in any way to Alien—save for possible similar themes and/or easter eggs. While not canon, these properties make for great inspiration for the universe.

Predator, its sequels, comics, novels, and games ³
AVP, its sequels, comics, novels, and games ⁴
Avatar
Firefly
Alien vs. any and everything ⁵
Alien 2
John Carpenter’s the Thing
Raised by Wolves
Underwater
Prospect
The Rig
Leviathan
Terminator
Screamers
Whatever

Footnotes

In the case of the films, you can count the special editions OR the feature versions as canon. I have used the special editions when writing the RPG but made nods towards the feature versions)
Only the Aliens issues of “Fire and Stone” and “Life and Death” are part of the Alien Universe. The Predator and AVP portions are not.
Anything with Predator in it is part of the separate Predator universe instead, or…
If an Alien and a Predator appear, that means its part of the separate AVP Universe. Even if it says its an ALIEN labeled product and not an AVP one—if a Predator shows up it’s AVP).
As a rule of thumb, inter-company crossovers mostly do not count towards canon in any franchise. In regards to other companies who DO count the situations that occur during crossovers, those events are never directly referred to again. For example: you will never have Judge Dredd say, “remember that time I punched Batman?” and show a recap panel of batman’s face being smashed after the license has expired. What they did instead was say, “remember when I punched that masked vigilante?” and did not show it again. You can’t use someone else’s characters past the limited time of the license. So while the event could define changes in the world, the details will forever be vague. If one of the companies involved pushed mentioning these things too far, the other could be like, um… excuse me…

I think that’s everything. I’ll add to the list if I remember anything else.

—Andrew E.C. Gaska

An award winning game-writer, author, designer, and graphic novelist with twenty years of industry experience, Gaska is the creative force behind BLAM! Ventures. He has worked as a freelance consultant to 20th Century Fox and Rockstar Games and is the lead writer of Free League Publishing’s ALIEN Role Playing Game. In addition to being the senior development editor for Lion Forge comics and animation, he is a contributor to both their game division and their licensing team.

STAR TREK: the HARRY MUDD Conundrum

October 11, 2020Deep Space Nine, DIS, Discovery, DS9, DSC, ENT, Enterprise, Prime Timeline, Prime TNG Films, Prime TOS Films, Star Trek, The Next Generation, The Original Series, TNG, TOS, VOY, Voyagerroguereviewer

The following is based on a Discovery Season 1 scenario whereas Harry Mudd had betrayed the star fleet personnel he captive in a Klingon prison with. The question was raised as to whether or not to take Harry with them when they escaped. The scenario would very much play out differently under different captains.

COMMAND STYLE POSSIBILITIES:

Captain Picard: “The defining principle of the Federation is that all sentient life has the right to exist. We take Mr. Mudd with us. No matter what he has done, he is entitled to a jury of his peers. It’s the right thing to do.”

Captain Kirk: “You are on your own, Harry… unless you promise to STOP DOING what you are going to do even though you PROMISE NOT TO! Do we have a deal? Do. We. Have. A deal? Alright, come with us.”

Captain Sisko: “It would be very tempting to just, leave him here, wouldn’t it.” (long pause with disapproving look followed by sigh) “ Alright, take him.”

Captain Janeway: “Should we take Mr. Mudd with us, is the question. I remember a time when the galaxy was a little bit rougher and the frontier was a little bit longer. Mudd is from that time. We would get home much faster if we left him behind, but the principles of the Federation are more important than us getting home. We take him with us.”

Captain Archer: “You set us up, Mudd. One day, my people will form some kind of… federated group that will come up with a set of rules, or directives, that would apply to situations like this. Until then, I will have to go with my heart. Take Mudd with us and put him in the brig.”

Captain Georgiou (Prime): “Mudd must face trial for his crimes. I will make a peaceful gesture to the Klingons and request his extradition.”

Captain Georgiou (Mirror): “This miscreant was amusing the first dozen times. Just snap his neck.”

Captain Lorca: “F*ck off, asshole. You f*cked with the wrong captain this time. Your name is Mudd for a reason. Rot in hell.”

Captain Pike: “I know what Lorca would do with Harry Mudd. I’m not Lorca–I want your trust. Options?”

Captain Freeman: “Mudd? Didn’t Kirk deal with this asshat like a century ago? Why is he not behind forever bars? Does the Federation bother to follow up on anything?”

—Andrew E.C. Gaska

Alien AMA with Andrew E.C. Gaska – Free League Showcase

October 7, 2020Appearances, InterviewsAlien RPG, Free League, free league showcaseroguereviewer

Meet the Andrew E. C. Gaska, lead setting writer of the award-winning game ALIEN RPG. Andrew will talk about writing Alien the roleplaying game and answer questions you might have.

Free League Publishing

Barroom Canon, Deep Lore & Unpredictability, Talking Alien RPG with Settings Writer Andrew Gaska!

October 7, 2020Appearances, Interviews, Podcastsaaron percival, adam zeller, Alien RPG, alien versus predator galaxy, alien vs predator galaxy, avp galaxy, avp galaxy podcast, corporal hicks, Free League, ridgetoproguereviewer

We have just uploaded the 116th episode of the Alien vs. Predator Galaxy Podcast! Corporal Hicks and RidgeTop are joined once again by franchise consultant Andrew E Gaska to discuss Alien: The Roleplaying Game, an award winning RPG that Drew served as the world and adventure writer for! We discuss how to write scenarios for unpredictable players, reconciling different entries in the lore, deep and head canon and plenty more!
Alien vs. Predator Galaxy

“Hello, MU/TH/ER. It’s me, Drew.”:A Q&A with Andrew E.C. Gaska – GraniteCon@Home

October 7, 2020ALIEN, Granitecon, Interviews, PodcastsAlien RPG, Free League, granitecon, vcg, victory condition gaming, youtuberoguereviewer

Andrew E.C. Gaska is the gold Ennie and UKGE Award-winning settings and adventure writer for the ALIEN Role Playing Game, Drew is a creative director, designer, and sci-fi author with twenty years of industry experience. He is a freelance consultant to 20th Century Fox, maintaining continuity and canon bibles for Alien, Predator, and Planet of the Apes. For seventeen years he consulted for Rockstar Games on titles such as Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. Drew has written two Planet of the Apes novels and is also the Senior Development Editor for Lion Forge Animation. He lives beneath a pile of action figures with his glutenous feline, Adrien.
Victory Condition Gaming

THE CLOUD YELLERS: PART ONE IN A SERIES ON TOXIC FANDOM

October 5, 2020Commentary, Toxic Fandomroguereviewer

This commentary series will discuss various aspects of toxic behavior amongst fans of genre franchises.

Recently, a YouTube sensationalist posted a video on how the “X Franchise Is Being Destroyed By Y company, The Sad Truth.”

I’ve seen many such videos that claim to know some inside truth and insist they know better than reality—but I had yet to encounter this particular YouTuber. So, against my better judgment, I watched this video.

He adamantly complains that the evil Y company is taking down an X website that he himself admits he hasn’t been to in ages—proof positive that they are dismantling the X franchise.

A website. Being taken down. Means everything is over.

There is nothing to back up these claims.

Turns out, the url in question is a bare bones franchise website—not a “really cool place to get all things x.” When a new studio takes over a franchise, or it’s time for a new installment, an old url will often be retired in favor of putting up a different website—once the new plans for the property are finalized. When 20th Century Fox took down their Prometheus website, for example, it wasn’t throwing out the Prometheus/Alien franchise—they replaced it later with an Alien Covenant site. At the end of the day, wether or not a website stays up depends on the traffic to and from it. The YouTuber himself admitted he hasn’t gone there in ages.

It’s time for a new look.

They sky isn’t always falling. I haven’t seen enough of this YouTuber to know if his videos are the exaggerated musings of a dystopic gatekeeper or if they are part of the fake news regime of hatred (see the upcoming parts II and III of this commentary series respectively). What I do know is that these unsubstantiated claims are opinions, not proof. We all have opinions, and I can understand concern over what directions the franchise will take next—but the “sad truth” of this proclamation of an alleged truth is that just because everyone has the ability to yell at a cloud doesn’t mean they should do it publicly.

Cloud yell in private, ‘kay?

This was a complete overreaction, but I haven’t singled out the YouTuber by name for a good reason. The unsubstantiated conclusions of lone YouTubers are but a symptom of a larger problem—the franchise Gatekeepers. For information about them, see PART II: KEEPERS OF THE GATE, coming soon.

—Andrew E.C. Gaska

TWIN TOWERS REMEMBERANCES

September 11, 20201970s, 911, Depression, In Memoriamroguereviewer

*_{^{Image © its respective owners and is used for the purposes of commentary and review only. All rights reserved.}}*

I watched the second tower fall from right across the river, nearly twenty years ago. I lived in Jersey with my then-girlfriend, and we had just flown back home from Florida about six hours earlier. We found out about the attack because her friend in Poland called and woke us up to see if she was alright.

Someone on another continent told us what was happening in our own backyard.

We saw the first building fall on TV and immediately walked to the water’s edge a few blocks away. The second building fell, creating a cloud of debris that spread across the water. So much death, so many innocent people, and all we could do watch, detached. In stunned silence, we wandered home.

You could say I grew up in the World Trade Center—my mother worked in an office on the 31st floor of the North Tower. My sister and I would go to work with her at times during the summers of our youth. My mom would take us shopping in the mall bookstore beneath the center—where eight years old me got such epic books as the Three Investigators Series, Han Solo’s at Star’s End, and the Art of the Empire Strikes Back. I remember typing my first story on a vacant typewriter there, also when I was eight—an untold tale about Greedo getting revenge on Han for blowing his arm off (instead of killing him. I had the action figure, couldn’t accept his death in the flick—but even then, Han shot first). I remember seeing the city from the top and putting a haunted mansion puzzle together on a conference room floor with my sister. I was very much enamored with the 1976 King Kong because Kong climbed “my mom’s building.” Later, most of my first dates were me taking someone to the Windows on the World bar at the Tower’s top.

The World Trade Center was a happy part of my life–as I am sure it had previously been to many who suffered that day. It was where they worked and played.

Today, I honor them by remembering the good—those happy moments a special place can create that make up a life.

Those moments I will never forget.

—Andrew E.C. Gaska, 9/11 2020

An award winning game-writer, author, designer, and graphic novelist with twenty years of industry experience, Gaska is the creative force behind BLAM! Ventures. He has worked as a freelance consultant to 20th Century Fox and Rockstar Games and is the lead writer of Free League Publishing’s ALIEN Role Playing Game. In addition to being the senior development editor for Lion Forge comics and animation, he is a contributor to both their game division and their licensing team.

REMEMBERING RICHARD HATCH AND DENNY O’NEIL

September 7, 2020Battlestar Galactica, Comics, DC Comics, Denny O'Neil, Dragon Con, In Memoriam, Richard Hatchroguereviewer

^{The Marriott Maquis in Atlanta, Georgia–one of the three main Dragoncon Hotels. Photo © 2019 Andrew E.C. Gaska}

So, this weekend was Virtual DragonCon! As I’ve been for the past several years, I was a guest of the show, although I was only able to participate in some programming this time around (usually I am on upwards of a dozen panels). It was great being a part of Virtual Dragon Con 2020, and I look forward to returning to the physical Dragon Con next year.

This show has always held a special place for me. My first Dragon Con was as a guest of Richard Hatch, back when I first started working with him in 2003. For anyone who doesn’t know the details, this is the Battlestar Galactica Richard Hatch, not the Survivor one–and man did he hate people telling him he was “great on Survivor.”

My relationship with Richard was complex–I had the strange circumstance of first working with and then becoming close to someone who I watched on TV as a child.

I remember once playing games at the arcade on a carnival cruise with Richard during a storm–it was one of those games where you have the pistols and are shooting at zombies coming for you. People who know me know I’m not one to “fanboy out” on someone whose work I enjoy, I understand they are people with faults and aspirations just like any of us. This time, however, I had the surreal realization that I was standing with Captain Apollo, shooting at bad guys–just as I did when I was a kid pretending I was Starbuck with Apollo at my side. Bizarre.

Richard and I became good friends over our many conventions and cruise trips together, but Dragon Con was always a special place for us. We always got together for drinks and dinners, at least one night of which would be Sear (Phil and Eva Vanermine) and the other Bennihanas (Derek Conley and The Crazy 88s).

I owe a lot to Richard, from many of the friends I’ve made in the industry to even just his infectious zeal for life. I am a better person for knowing him as I did–as a real friend.

A few years ago, Richard passed away, and I coordinated a memorial panel in his name for Dragon Con. There was standing room only–he was well-loved.

I took on the same task virtually this year for my former mentor, the late great Denny O’Neil. Denny was responsible for some of the most important Batman and Green Arrow stories ever told–and he was also the writer on the Question–my favorite “superhero” comic (if you can call the character a superhero).

Denny was my teacher in college and then insisted on tutoring me at no expense when I couldn’t afford to go to school anymore. He took me to lunch for six months on DC Comic’s dime, showed me the offices, introduced me to professionals, and even got me on the interview list for an assistant editor gig there (23-year-old me screwed up that interview, but hey, that’s life). He saw my talent and wanted me to move ahead as a writer. He believed in me. Here’s Denny O’Neil talking about his work at DC Comics during the 90s, when I first got to know him.

I hadn’t seen Denny in years, but I never would have followed the career path I did if not for him. I’m where I am because of him. I was happy to gather former associates and friends of his in the industry to talk about the man and his greatness. Panelists included:

Howard Chaykin – Writer/Artist
(American Flagg, Marvel Star Wars, Wolverine & Nick Fury)

Brian Augustyn – Writer/Editor
(Batman, the Flash, Justice League)

Andrew E.C. Gaska – Writer/Franchise Consultant
(Alien, Planet of the Apes, Predator)

Paul Levitz – Writer/Editor/DC Comics Publisher
(Legion of Superheroes, Batman, Wonder Woman)

Charles Kochman – Editorial Director
(Superman & Batman Magazine, Shazam, JLA)

Click here to check it out. Well, this is a lot longer than I planned. I’m not sure where I’m going with this, except to say I miss my friend and I miss my mentor. I love this industry, and the amazing people–fans, friends, and pros–I’ve gotten close to in it. Finally, I love these conventions that bring us all together to laugh, drink, and cry. I love Dragon Con.

I’ll just leave you with a 2013-14ish pic by Chandra Free of Richard Hatch and a VERY fat and VERY bald me (what was I thinking?), enjoying the Tiki bar at Dragon Con.

Enjoy.

—Andrew E.C. Gaska

EMBRACING THE NEW PORCH: A LOOK AT TOXIC FANDOM AND WHO DEFINES CANON

September 1, 2020Canon, Commentary, Star Trek, Star Wars, Toxic Fandomroguereviewer

Let’s make this simple: You own a house. If you want to add a porch, it doesn’t matter if your neighbor—who has always loved that house—wants your house to be the way its been for 30 years without a porch. It doesn’t matter that he always felt the house should have a bay window instead. Your neighbor might think that through the Home Owner’s Association (HOA), he can stop the building of the porch—but your neighbor represents a small portion of that association or is not even part of it at all—he doesn’t make the rules. If it’s HOA approved and legal to add the porch, you add the goddamn porch.

Why? It’s your house.

Then this neighbor is screaming at your house all day, slashing your tires, and keying your car because he doesn’t like your new porch. Other people come by and compliment your new porch. Plenty of people like it so much, that they want little models of your house with the new porch on it. This neighbor loses his shit over that. He follows these people back to their homes and yells at them for liking the porch.

At the end of the day, he can rant all he wants–plenty of people appreciate the porch, and even if they didn’t–it’s still your house and you did with it what you wanted.

That’s why the owner of a franchise—Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.—decides canon. It’s their house, not the fans’.

As fans, we can not like the new porch. We can wish the porch was blue instead of brown. Maybe the porch isn’t really all that bad when we see it put in. We can at first dislike the new porch and want to ignore it—and it can grow on us later. We can hate the porch so much, we move so we don’t have to look at it anymore. Or, we can embrace the porch. None of this changes the fact that there is a porch, and the owner made it the way they wanted.

The person who owns the house owes us nothing, no matter how much we have loved that house for decades. It’s not our house, and it’s not our porch.

Admire it, ignore it, or move on.

—Andrew E.C. Gaska

SUMMER AWARDS 2020

August 25, 2020ALIEN, Free League, GenCon, Role Playing Games, RPG, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, UKGEroguereviewer

The ALIEN RPG, which I am the tone, settings, and adventure writer for, has won the 2020 Gencon ENnie Gold Award for Best Game, as well as the 2020 UK GAMES EXPO’s People’s Choice Award for Best Role-Playing Game.

Also, the ALIEN Adventure which I wrote, CHARIOT OF THE GODS, has won UK GAMES EXPO’s Best 2020 Role-Playing Adventure.

This is ALIEN’s (and my) third award so far this year.

I may be lead writer on these books, but this could never ever have happened without the amazing team at Fria Ligan—Tomas Härenstam, Joe LeFavi, Martin Gripp, and Dave Semark, not to mention Clara Fei-Fei, everyone else involved—and you—the fans who voted for ALIEN!

I’m blown away. Thank you, everyone.

—Andrew E.C. Gaska

roguereviewer.

Sci-fi and Sociopolitical Essays by Andrew E.C. Gaska

DEFINING CANON IN AN ALIEN WORLD

STAR TREK: the HARRY MUDD Conundrum

Alien AMA with Andrew E.C. Gaska – Free League Showcase

Barroom Canon, Deep Lore & Unpredictability, Talking Alien RPG with Settings Writer Andrew Gaska!

“Hello, MU/TH/ER. It’s me, Drew.”:A Q&A with Andrew E.C. Gaska – GraniteCon@Home

THE CLOUD YELLERS: PART ONE IN A SERIES ON TOXIC FANDOM

TWIN TOWERS REMEMBERANCES

REMEMBERING RICHARD HATCH AND DENNY O’NEIL

EMBRACING THE NEW PORCH: A LOOK AT TOXIC FANDOM AND WHO DEFINES CANON

SUMMER AWARDS 2020