There are a number of cliches, "tropes" and archetypical things found in many fantasy games (Elves, Dwarves, Magic, Dark lords etc)--what would be your choice or vote for Sci Fi 'icons' of the same type? Are there any?

Hive minds. Wrinkly foreheads. Robots.

There aren't any. SF is a meta-genre in which each work is its own genre. THere is nothing universal or iconic in SF.

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceThere aren't any. SF is a meta-genre in which each work is its own genre. THere is nothing universal or iconic in SF.

-clash

That's really funny, because it's so untrue.  

I'll add cat people.  And well, various other animal people as well, but cat people are pretty popular, and have at least one famous book series almost entirely about them.  

I must concur on the hive mind thing.  Damn things are EVERYWHERE.  This also goes in hand with giant space bugs, because inevitably, any giant space bugs in a story are also a hive mind.

FTL travel under flimsy pretenses.  

Powered armor.  

Ships with decks perpendicular to their engines, even though horizontal layouts makes artificial grav easier.  

Artificial grav.  

"Inertial Dampeners".  

Sound in space.  

Mostly human looking aliens with pointy ears/funny noses/funky spots on their face.  

Racial monocultures.  Star Trek even made having one of these effectively a requirement to entering the Federation.  

Wormholes.

Spatial anomalies.

Ancient precursor races.  

Lasers used as weapons.

Fiery explosions in space.
Teleporters.
Blasters.
Godly cloud aliens that float around space.
Energy/vibro weapons.

...

I watch too much Star Trek. :imsorry:

Fighter craft that have wings and 'fly' like dogfighting airplanes.

What nobody thinks AI is iconic....

Regards,
David R

Advanced sources of energy, like fusion or antimatter.

Also, the assumption that racism will somehow magically disappear in the future. Not gonna happen, I'm afraid.

The belief that you can just land on an earthlike planet with living biosphere within a few hours/days/weeks of discovering it and be safe. An earthlike biosphere will be hellishly complex and may require years or decades of study to land on safely, unless you want to risk wiping it out by introducing completely foreign microbes to it, or having it surprise you with an "Adromeda Strain". AFAIK, scientists at NASA have even adopted the term "Andromeda Strain Scenario" as a byword for the posiblity of contacting alien microbes.

Lastly, the assumption that any alien culture we come across will be roughly on par with us technologically

Quote from: J ArcaneThat's really funny, because it's so untrue.  

I'll add cat people.

Not read a single Sci-fi book with cat people. Lizard people sure.

QuoteRacial monocultures.  Star Trek even made having one of these effectively a requirement to entering the Federation.

I can agree with this one.

Quote from: flyingmiceThere aren't any. SF is a meta-genre in which each work is its own genre. THere is nothing universal or iconic in SF.

-clash

No, I agree with Clash on this one. There are hundreds of incredibly dissimilar concepts that fall under the setting of "sci fi", and not all of them have cat people, fighter spacecraft, or any of these other things.

I'd expound upon this further, but I have to get to work.

Talk among yourselves.

The importance of science, technology and progress -- and their intersection with morals and ethics.

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!The importance of science, technology and progress -- and their intersection with morals and ethics.

Wait... are those tropes? Or is that just the clearest and most concise definition for the genre EVAR?

Quote from: J ArcaneThat's really funny, because it's so untrue.  

Hi J!

I wonder what SF you've been reading? I'm 50, and have been reading SF since I was 8. I've written or co-written 4 SF games as well.

Quote from: J ArcaneI'll add cat people.  And well, various other animal people as well, but cat people are pretty popular, and have at least one famous book series almost entirely about them.  

The only cat people I've run across in reading are the engineered cats in Norstrillia, Cherryh's Hani, and the Kzinti of Niven's Known Space.

Quote from: J ArcaneI must concur on the hive mind thing.  Damn things are EVERYWHERE.  This also goes in hand with giant space bugs, because inevitably, any giant space bugs in a story are also a hive mind.

I've read only a handful of stories with hive minds, and one of them featured creatures more like dogs or wolves who communicated ultrasonically.

Quote from: J ArcaneFTL travel under flimsy pretenses.  

Common, but there are huge amounts of stories without FTL, and many that never left the Earth at all.

Quote from: J ArcanePowered armor.  

Never even existed until Heinlein's Starship Trooper in the late fifties. Even after that, not common except with military SF.

Quote from: J ArcaneShips with decks perpendicular to their engines, even though horizontal layouts makes artificial grav easier.  

Not common at all. Usually perpendicular to the axis of thrust or rotated. It's actually more common to have no alignment at all, because the vast majority of travel was done under weightless conditions.

Quote from: J ArcaneArtificial grav.  

Only fairly common, unless you include rotational centrifugal force as artificial gravity, which it it, technically.

Quote from: J Arcane"Inertial Dampeners".  

Only place I've ever seen that mentioned is Trek. Ever.

Quote from: J ArcaneSound in space.  

? Star Wars. That's it.

Quote from: J ArcaneMostly human looking aliens with pointy ears/funny noses/funky spots on their face.  

Again, that's Trek.

Quote from: J ArcaneRacial monocultures.  Star Trek even made having one of these effectively a requirement to entering the Federation.  

Trek and Traveller. That's it, and Trek only required planetary-wide government, not racial monocultures. That's just laziness.

Quote from: J ArcaneWormholes.

Never even existed before the mid eighties, and even then it's fairly rare.

Quote from: J ArcaneSpatial anomalies.

Again, Trek. Only.

Quote from: J ArcaneAncient precursor races.  

This is a fairly common concept, but by no means even close to universal.

Quote from: J ArcaneLasers used as weapons.

Common again, but not universal. While Ray Guns and Blasters existed before the mid fifties, lasers did not.

I think you are looking at a handful of popular SF movies and TV shows and thinking they are universal. It's apparent you haven't read much SF.

-clash

Quote from: beejazzWait... are those tropes? Or is that just the clearest and most concise definition for the genre EVAR?

I think that you are correct, beejazz. The Good Doctor has defined the genre itself.

-clash

Quote from: beejazzWait... are those tropes? Or is that just the clearest and most concise definition for the genre EVAR?

*shrug* I dunno. I just figured, if I could put up a sign on the road to SF, general though it may be...