The longer I play space games, the more I think about Deep Space Nine instead of Elite.
Like, the whole "procedural generation, infinite universe stuff" is great and all. But what matters most is the perspective and weird stories this creates. And the humanizing -- for lack of a better term -- ways that people learn to live in those settings.
This is why I think SS14, particularly the longform roleplay servers, are very good "space" games. Give me that gossip, it's the lifeblood of this place.
I used to be a huge Star Wars nerd, and the parts that stuck the most with me weren't the movies, or the important books like Shadows of the Empire, X-Wing, or (what I read of both versions of) Thrawn.
It was a humble set of volumes that told us about who the background characters were. Like this one:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_from_the_Mos_Eisley_Cantina
I think I got it then, then somehow forgot. The people are what make those worlds, and so many folks forget that.
I still think about several of the characters in there and their stories.
