Is this a new trend?

[Gurgeh]

When did Lazers stop becomming cool in science fiction? Lately all the new science fiction movies/shows that I see in the Early 21st century and the Late 20th century have for some reason stoped using Lazer or energy weaponry and started to move to projectile based weaponry. Why is that? Here are some shows/movies/games that have Projectile based weaponry instead of Lazers:
1. Starcraft
2. Halo
3. NBSG
4. Falling Skies
5. Aliens
6. W40K
7.Stargate
And that is it for now. What is with the sudden change of the weapons?

[Norade]

When did Lazers stop becomming cool in science fiction? Lately all the new science fiction movies/shows that I see in the Early 21st century and the Late 20th century have for some reason stoped using Lazer or energy weaponry and started to move to projectile based weaponry. Why is that? Here are some shows/movies/games that have Projectile based weaponry instead of Lazers:
1. Starcraft
2. Halo
3. NBSG
4. Falling Skies
5. Aliens
6. W40K
7.Stargate
And that is it for now. What is with the sudden change of the weapons?

1. SCII has a few units with lasers.
2. Halo has the Spartan laser as well as sentinel beams which are some form of pure energy weapon.
6. Lasguns and lances ring a bell?
7. They use energy weapons a fair bit.

So over half of your starting idea is wrong already.

[HMS Sophia]

In general, I would say because people expect more realism from their sci-fi, so hand held lasers are not as 'believable'... However, to go through those in your list that I know:

2. Halo

There is the spartan laser, and all the alien guns. Humans use projectile guns though, because its not massively far future.

3. NBSG

... Makes the analogy's better? Also, you can have visible projectiles in space

5. Aliens

.... Aren't the marines rifles technically a form of plasma gun?...

6. W40K

What the fuck? Lasguns? Lascannons? Lance batteries? Where are you seeing anything but a preponderance of laser goodness...

ETA: Ninja'd on a coupla things.

[Gurgeh]

I may have meant that the Human side uses more lazers not the Aliens side or anything. But I am just saying that I see that more sci fi shows are starting for projectile based weaponry than lazers. I imagine the day that George Lucas re imagines Star Wars with Projectile based weaponry.

[HMS Sophia]

Well, isn't falling skies modern day?

Where is all this proof that you speak of, of the changing trend?

[Srelex]

It's more a case of human societies or factions in scifi using projectile weapons--it's still common for aliens to be using pew weapons, as in Halo, Starcraft, Doctor Who, etc. Hell, even in Firefly they had an energy weapon at some point IIRC.

[keen320]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/M ... JustBetter

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

When did Lazers stop becomming cool in science fiction? Lately all the new science fiction movies/shows that I see in the Early 21st century and the Late 20th century have for some reason stoped using Lazer or energy weaponry and started to move to projectile based weaponry. Why is that? Here are some shows/movies/games that have Projectile based weaponry instead of Lazers:
1. Starcraft
2. Halo
3. NBSG
4. Falling Skies
5. Aliens
6. W40K
7.Stargate
And that is it for now. What is with the sudden change of the weapons?

The very simple answer is that, to the layperson, progress in lasers has been disappointing. They've gone from being a mysterious, and expensive, boondoggle confined to laboratories to something that you use to distract the family cat from tearing up your favorite couch. Pew-pew murder-die-kill rayguns are still out into the future somewhere. Also, rayguns and laser beams now have a deep-set association with the campy pulp sci-fi of the days of yore. There is a contemporary move towards 'hard' sci-fi and sci-fi the everyman can identify with. Want to look old-fashioned and 'soft'? Have your characters whip out a raygun. Want to earn 'hard' sci-fi cred? Have your characters whip out a space Glock.

Of course, there is also the little fact that; on the other hand, throwing shit at your enemies at very high velocities still works very, very well.

Eventually, I expect that the invasion of arty grimdark writers will abandon sci-fi for something more profitable, like sparkly Mormon vampires. Then you'll slowly start to see more rayguns in sci-fi again.

[Dave]

Of course, there is also the little fact that; on the other hand, throwing shit at your enemies at very high velocities still works

Also, you can do "cool" slow-motion shots with projectile weapons; it's less effective done less often with lasers and energy weapons.

In addition, with the rise of 3D cinema, I expect a (small) corresponding increase in the use of projectiles so they can fly out of the screen at the user. Lasers do not lend themselves to this effect.

[Marcus Aurelius]

In general, I would say because people expect more realism from their sci-fi, so hand held lasers are not as 'believable'...

While that may be true, the real reason is probably that projectile weapons are cooler in a grimdark way that has been popular during the last ten years, whereas 'pew pew' weapons are now viewed as old-fashioned and overly nerdy. I am fairly certain this trend was started by no other than Aliens, but it took more than a decade for it to reach full bloom. Stargate certainly contributed to its increasing popularity as well (despite not being grimdark), since it repeatedly pitted humans with projectile weapons against enemies with energy weapons with the former coming on top in many occasions.

In other words, I pretty much agree with GrandMasterTerwynn, although I don't think it has anyhing to do with real world lasers being somewhat of a disappointment as weapons.

[Stark]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/M ... JustBetter

OSF is dead and this post is why.

I really don't think public perception of lasers as DISAPPOINTING has anything to do with it. DW has lasers a fucking plenty, so maybe it's just poor widdle America and their cultural scars from neverending warfare. The specific settings that lack energy weapons are consciously more primitive; the new Star Trek universe is wall-to-wall lasers, every game set in space is chockers with lasers, shooters still have lasers as top-tier weapons if they're scifi, etc. I don't think this 'trend' even exists.

[BlissAuthority]

When did Lazers stop becomming cool in science fiction?

They haven't. Lasers have just become rare, but powerful, weapons. Halo in particular has the Spartan Laser, which is a very powerful weapon; it's just very uncommon because it's a new technology, in universe.

Oh, and it's "Laser." An acronym for "Light Amplification via Stimulated Emission of Radiation." Spelling it with a Z is incorrect. This is one of the things that gets me into Hermione-Level Pedantry Mode real fast.

[Batman]

Thank you. That really gets on my nerves too. It's not like laser is such a hard word to spell properly.

And I don't see how ray guns (given that actual lasers have been far and few between in visual SciFi no matter what they decided to call them) have gone out of fashion all that much. Pretty much every iteration of Star Trek has them. Wars continues to do so. B5. Stargate had them aplenty, it's just that the Tau'ri for a long time didn't have the technology (and guess what they got when they finally had the technology? Asgard beam weapons anyone?)

[Gurgeh]

When did Lasers stop becomming cool in science fiction? Lately all the new science fiction movies/shows that I see in the Early 21st century and the Late 20th century have for some reason stoped using Laser or
energy weaponry and started to move to projectile based weaponry. Why is that? Here are some shows/movies/games that have Projectile based weaponry instead of Lasers
1. Starcraft
2. Halo
3. NBSG
4. Falling Skies
5. Aliens
6. W40K
7.Stargate
And that is it for now. What is with the sudden change of the weapons?

Fixed

[madd0ct0r]

you haven't fixed it - half of your examples are still wrong

[Batman]

you haven't fixed it - half of your examples are still wrong

He absolutely did fix his spelling, you have to admit that, and since Earth never elaborated on what it was he fixed...

[Gurgeh]

I spelled laser like lazer

[Drooling Iguana]

Oh, and it's "Laser." An acronym for "Light Amplification via Stimulated Emission of Radiation." Spelling it with a Z is incorrect. This is one of the things that gets me into Hermione-Level Pedantry Mode real fast.

They're two different things. Lasers travel at the speed of light, are only visible when travelling through a non-transparent medium, and are good for eye surgery and entertaining your cat. Lazers are big glowy globs that are plainly visible, travel slower than a bullet and make things go boom.

[Havok]

Good point.

[Sarevok]

Replacing futuristic weapons with clones of real world weapons is part of the whole idea of selling "human drama" rather than science fiction to garner a wider audience.

[Lord of the Abyss]

I do think there's something of a trend against "ray guns". I think a major reason why is simply increasing distance in time from Star Wars; it was so widely copied in so many ways that it had something of the effect on visual sci-fi that Tolkien did on fantasy (although not quite as strong). Visual sci-fi used guns shooting slow glowy bolts the same way fantasy books were full of elves and dwarfs and Dark Lords. I think another reason is an increased willingness to show blood and injuries, instead of just making a character glow then disintegrate/fall over when hit.

[Skgoa]

LASERs were futuristic and only vaguely defined in the minds of the audiences of the past. Nowadays almost everyone has seen a LASER being used in real life. LASER- pointers, rangefinders, even fucking levels use them nowadays. At the same time, military applications have failed time and again and video of their tests is visually underwhelming. So yeah, I can't see why LASERs went out of style, at all.

[Lord Pounder]

For me it comes down to believability. Firefly did it really well. In Firefly lasers are possible but are hideously expensive compared to projectile weapons, this in turn made laser weaponary rare.

If you are a incharge to equiping an army are you going to go with cheap and effective or expensive and does the same thing as the cheap option?

[Shroom Man 777]

Halo is not a universe where lasers are rare, since every technicolored space gremlinoid that goes SQUAWK SQUAWK is armed with a pew-pew gun that shoots lasers or what have you. The humans may not have much lasers, but those ridiculous Haloids have energy weapons aplenty.

[keen320]

OSF is dead and this post is why.

Um, what does OSF mean? And is there any kind of guide to acronyms for this site? Because clearly I still have more to learn.