It wasn't until the 1930s that science fiction changed. Writings of this period were aimed at the cheap American pulp magazines. The typical output is described as Space Opera, a cross between the fairy story and swashbuckling Zorro adventures translated into space.
    Like the movies, most games continue to inhabit Space Opera. Films like Star Wars typify all that is best about this style. Some of the best games have been spin-offs from cinema and TV, but there have been plenty of pure titles. Look, for instance, at the Wing Commander series. Starting as a fairly simple shoot-em-up, the latest edition Wing Commander IV, has become a multimedia experience. Apart from the time spent in missions, flying a simulated spacecraft through reconnaissance and battles, Wing Commander has plenty of video, linking the missions with a well-written story, acted by solid Hollywood actors.

    It's only with these high budget movies that games have achieved the true glory of Space Opera. Without the need for high quality graphics, the books have always revelled in descriptions of huge ships, literally earth-shattering

    explosions and strange rays. Although many of the big names of science fiction who were to flourish in the 1950s first started in the 30s, much of their early output does not compare well with later efforts. John Wyndham, for instance, produced some potboilers under other names that are decidedly heavy going. To sample written Space Opera at its gung-ho best, we have to turn to the otherwise obscure E. E. 'Doc' Smith. His Lensman series is gorgeous. It spans a huge period of time, has big beefy heroes, strange looking aliens, wonderful technology and all the blasters and force fields you can cope with. Smith wrote plenty more, but none are such perfect examples of Space Opera as the Lensman books.