by QorDaq » July 22nd, 2016, 3:17 pm
Great topic!
I feel that there are, (as mentioned previously), various levels of Canon. I won't repeat the list here, but from the long history of the debate within the context of both Star Wars and Star Trek; it is clear that people have different opinions on what "Should" be considered Canon in most anything.
The purists will argue that the ONLY Canon, in any genre' is that which was originally sanctioned by the Developers of what ever is being discussed. Without intending, in any way, to start a debate about religion, I would cite one of the oldest examples that both breaks and supports the purist perspective; The first Council of Nicaea.
In that context, a group of individuals (Catholic Bishops), at the behest of the Emperor, sought to construct a set of rules that would justify what it meant to be considered a "Christian" or rather, for a Church to be officially a part of Christendom. By extension this included how various business was to be conducted within the church and of course what the official perspective was to be on a range of topics such as the principle beliefs about the relationship of God and Christ, leading ultimately to solidifying the third role in the trinity, that of the Holy Spirit--which was mentioned prior to the council and established long after.
Because of these multiple purposes, there needed to be a set of references to support their arguments, and again, justify their authority to make these decisions. This lead to the development of amongst several other things, Early Canon Law and the creation of the first Bibles, again at the behest Constantine.
What we don't know, is what was actually in those original Bibles as none exist today (as far as I know). But the point is, the nature of what is considered Canon changed and evolved over hundreds of years after that Council convened. And why? Because the agenda of the church changed as did that of those who lead it.
To bring this back to Star Trek for a moment, when the Animated Series was originally aired in the early 1970s, Gene Roddenberry, who was notorious for wanting absolute control over his creation, proclaimed loudly that TAS was NOT Canon. This lead to years of debate amongst Authors, Fans and Studio Executives that continued until after Roddenberry passed. For example, ST: TNG stayed away from references to TAS, while Authors and Fans incorporated it into their lore. It was not until the DS9 episode, 'Once More unto the Breech', which was created after Mr. Roddenberry passed, that a solid TAS reference was used by citing the Name of Kor's ship in that era as 'The Klothos', which was mentioned in the TAS episode 'The Time Trap' .
Thus Canon Trek evolved over time, and now TAS is considered by most to be Canon, including CBS. However, there are still those who do not "Like" TAS, and who refuse to accept it as Canon. The same can be said for Star Trek Enterprise, which is nearly as polarizing as the films appearing in the Abrams-verse.
However, at the end of the day, CBS and Paramount still control the IP within their respective Domains. So, in this sense, the purists must accept that the current and not original Developers have the authority to adjudicate what is and is not "Official" Star Trek lore.
Now, that all having been said, there are some vagaries, in my opinion, when it comes to something like Hero Quest, where the IP is fractured and not well supported, with the game being long out of print at this point, and really its memory being kept alive primarily, again in my opinion, by the rabid fan community. Much like Trek at various times.
So, in that sense, the Poll above was difficult for me to answer, since most of it applied to what would, typically, be considered Soft-canon, making the Japanese version the possibly only Canon source in the list. Though I admit to knowing pretty much nothing about the Japanese version of the game.
Similarly, I find it interesting that there is some discussion as to the NA vs EU versions of the game, and which might be considered Canon. I love the fact, by the way, that the Community converted the EU exclusive material to NA rules--very cool that.
Anyway, the irony to all of this, is that there will always be debate about what should and should not be included as Canon, in almost anything. Which, historically, people have chosen to honor or not based on their own needs, perspectives, and possibly, motivations.
Well, that wall of text really comes down to this; The question is only really significant when trying to find consensus for arbitration and or sources. But, it's a lot of fun to discuss regardless! And, in the worldly sense, perhaps we are conducting our own ecumenical council right here...*Chuckle*...
For myself, I'll stick to the levels of Canon approach and, should I ever actually own a copy of the game again, use the resources that make the most sense to me at the time.
Again, great topic, thanks for getting it started Goblin-King!
maj!
maj! = Klingon word for "Good". Used in the context of "I approve".
- vay' DaneHbogh yIchargh!
