Star Wars is over thirty years old now though. Back in those dark ages, having Leia running around as a heroine at all was edgy, right? This is 2012 now but because Star Wars fans are mostly made up of cannon nazis, every aspect of the original movies must be somehow interpreted in roleplay. For instance, back in Star Wars Galaxies, the Empire was considered sexist, and to have a female Imperial character was considered taboo. That was just a year ago before it shut down. Are we, and BioWare in creating The Old Republic still beholden to the inhibitions of movie audiences thirty years ago? 

Join me in this week's The Darker Side of Life as we dig through examples members of the community have dug up about sexism in roleplay and the storylines created by BioWare for The Old Republic. Does sexism still exist in TOR roleplay? And more importantly, who is perpetuating it? Has BioWare created stories or female characters that could be considered demeaning, or are we doing it to ourselves through our roleplay? Read on to find out!

The Star Wars story is full of a diverse range of characters. Some are magical and heroic, whilst others are pure evil. Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia are three of the most iconic heroic characters throughout the entire span of the Star Wars story, whereas Darth Sidious and Darth Vader make up the devilish duo. However, there are many more characters that may not be as well known, but could be said to have accomplished feats far greater than those from the original trilogy. 

Fans of the Expanded Universe will recognise such names as Revan and Malak, Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma, Darth Caedus and Jaina Solo, Kyp Durron and Kyle Katarn, and Darth Bane and Darth Zannah. All of these characters offer fans of the Star Wars story new insights and perspectives of lore of the largest fantasy world ever created. 

In today's Force Reflection, we'd like you to think about who your favourite character is from the entirety of Star Wars, and tell us who you would like to be or take over for 24 hours. If you could live the life of one of the many characters, we'd like to know who that is and why. Would you take on filling the shoes of one of the iconic and more well-known characters such as Obi-Wan or Yoda? Or are you going to dig deeper into the Expanded Universe and take on the life of someone entirely different? What would you do in your 24 hours? Post your thoughts into the comments. 

This is also the first issue after the NDA was dropped, so instead of the normal joke pictures, I'll be showing some in-game examples from The Old Republic. I encourage you to show yours as well in the comments section as part of the discussion. Every game has RP hotspots in the open world – Mos Eisley in Star Wars Galaxies or Darnassus in World of Warcraft. The Old Republic will have some as well undoubtedly, and we're going to figure out where they will be. 

So the real issue this week is your preference between RPing out in the open, or in a private place that you have some measure of control over. In TOR, we will not have housing like Everquest 2 or Lord of the Rings Online. There will still be plenty of instances and player ships to go to though, but even if going to a private area gets you away from the morons, is it the best thing for the community? Read on and we'll take a look at what you had to say in the DSoL thread and find out.

It is probably safe to presume that the geographical positioning of an individual has a significant impact on their personality traits and habits whilst being raised throughout childhood, teenage and adolescent years. The way in which we perceive the world is impacted on by the lessons we learn. Not only do our parents teach us right from wrong, but our colleagues, friends, even enemies teach us a thing or two whilst we grow up and gain much needed experience. We learn the basics during childhood, major lessons of survival and self preservation during our adolescence, then we put all that we've learnt into practice once we reach adulthood, picking up new bits and pieces along the way. However, these lessons will differ between Americans and Australians, Canadians and Africans, Asians and Europeans. Differing geographical locations means differing needs and requirements of survival.

In Star Wars, there are thousands of systems, each with their own geographical and atmospheric features. Some planets may be covered in lava, whilst others are planet-wide cities, much like that of Coruscant. In The Old Republic, we get to experience seventeen planets from the Star Wars universe. Each planet has it's own story, with some adventures accessible to players consisting of political takeovers, hidden treasures, as well as struggles for power by the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire. With so much action happening on the many worlds from Star Wars, what would it be like growing up in such an environment?

In a previous Force Reflection, we asked the community here at SWTOR-RP where their characters were born. However, it is where a character is raised that truly holds meaning to the background of the many characters we'll be roleplaying with in The Old Republic. In today's Force Reflection, tell us where your character was raised in the Star Wars universe. Your answers do not have to be limited to the planets announced for the game as we don't want to limit the potential for the vast differences in character growth. Whether your character was raised in the Jedi Temple, a Sith Academy, a planet as harsh as Hayden Christensen's acting skills, or a world as pleasant as Leia in a slave outfit, let us know how these environments have impacted on your character's growth. Pop your answers in the comments section. 

American author Mark Twain believed that "modesty died when clothes were born." Some would even  say that our freedom of expression has died, because every day we cover up the flesh that we were born into with cotton and cloth -- labels and brands made by others to cover up the beauty that is the human body. It is a modern world we live in, evolving from the days where humans wore nothing but objects of nature to cover up their nether regions. We have clothing to accommodate the weather, our comfort, and our need to make a fashion statement to the rest of the world. To speak to the contrary of Mark Twain's quote, the idea of clothing can be said to be expressing some much needed conservativeness, moderating and concealing parts of the body some may say to be for private viewing only. 

The great thing about fantasy worlds is that we don't have to take into consideration some of the illicit aspects of everyday life, including nudity. In Star Wars, not once do we see the private bits of any of the characters. Sure, we see Leia in a revealing outfit, but that is the extent of revealed flesh we see in the saga. When creating a character for the Star Wars fantasy world, we don't have to think about which underwear to don, how often we have to visit the lavatory, or the size and features of our character's man-bits. It is a fantasy world, and the idea is to adopt a sense of orthodox thinking. 

For today's Force Reflection, tell us your thoughts about nudity in Star Wars. Do you think it is an acceptable part of the story that should be adapted and openly depicted? Perhaps you prefer the traditionalism of fantasy worlds, keeping nudity and other 18+ features under wraps. Post your thoughts in the comments section. 

With The Old Republic slowly approaching launch, we're slowing getting down to the finer details for our characters. We're getting so fine, that we're actually going to ask you about underwear. What does your character wear on a normal day? How about in battle? Do they have a lucky pair of underpants they save for emergencies? Maybe Han Solo has a special brown pair he keeps for those daring asteroid field maneuvers. It's not something we often think about... actually, it is probably something we've never thought about, but sometimes it is the little things in life that can make all the difference. And yes, by those little things, we mean undies! Post your thoughts in the comments section, if you dare!

Now, this week's topic does cover mature themes, so I would ask any underage readers to stop here and not read any further. Obviously, we have no way to police this, but I will be covering adult topics, including torture and rape. If you are underage, or upset by this discussion, I would suggest you return to the forums and not continue reading.