Even though a few impossible to satisfy detractors disliked Star Wars Episode VII most audiences loved returning to their beloved Star Wars universe, and saw no real problem with the writing.

So what was the deal with the prequels?

Apparently George Lucas didn't follow the style guide released by Lucasfilm in 1994, but the folks at West End Games read it closely while creating the finest Star Wars RPG to date.

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This extensive style guide was meant to give the West End Games team some parameters for what lore could be included in the game and some guidance on how to approach a Star Wars storyline.

Lucasfilm Creative Executive (and former West End Games writer) Pablo Hidalgo has been tweeting out snippets from the style guide to show us how intense writing licensed Star Wars projects used to be, before Lucas threw it out the window for the prequels.

Reading it is like seeing into alternate Star Wars dimensions that could have landed on the big screen and getting some sound advice on crafting a franchise specific storyline at the same time.

Read The Secrets Of Writing Good Star Wars According To West End Games here

It never occurred to me as a teenager, but watching the original Star Wars movie again with my own kids, I thought of this exact scene. It must be the mother in me that thought, “Careful, you’ll put your eye out …or something!” Considering what an immature, impulsive kid Luke was, it could have very well all ended before it started, just this way. It’s the latest comic from Jim Benton. -via Geeks Are Sexy

It’s part of Star Wars lore that “Han shot first,” referring to the scene where we first met Han Solo. He gets into an altercation with a Rodian bounty hunter named Greedo and shoots him. We all know now that George Lucas was making up the story arc of the original trilogy as he went along, so later when Solo emerged as a fan favorite and Princess Leia’s love interest, he remastered the scene to show that Greedo shot first -and missed, so that Solo only killed Greedo in self-defense. Star Wars fans who were born after the remastered home video version came out never saw the scene as it was shown in theaters in 1977. The revision was to make Solo a more ethical hero, but the change angered fans who adored Solo even with a murderous streak. Today, the New York Daily News has an interview with Paul Blake, the actor who played Greedo. He confirms what we’ve been telling younger fans. 

"Of course, in it said it all in the original script, we played in the scene in English and at the end of the scene, it reads, 'Han shoots the alien.' " Blake told the Daily News. "It's all it says and that's what happened. It was very painful."

Besides, having Greedo fire first and miss from across a table, as has been the case after the original release, is sort of embarrassing.

"He was a bit inept wasn't he?" quips Blake. "He's a worse shot than a Stormtrooper. I don't think Jabba had him under a pension plan let's put it that way.

Blake would like to see the scene eventually restored to its original version. He also tells us how he got the role. Dying early meant it was short-lived, but the retcon gave him a place in history. -via Uproxx 

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May the fourth be with you! Daisy Ridley takes the opportunity of Star Wars Day to plug Star Wars: Force for Change, the official Star Wars charity that supports children’s programs all over the world.

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The current promotion is a raffle for a trip to Skellig Michael, where the final scene of The Force Awakens was filmed. You can donate and enter here. I can’t think of a better way to recognize Star Wars Day than to join in the challenge. -via Uproxx

When Disney theme parks do well they show their success by improving the park and building new attractions, but when a Disney park fails it fails spectacularly and leaves the colorful corpse to prove it.

Wanna see a dead Disney park?

Check out these wild photos taken by Seph Lawless inside the remains of River Country at Walt Disney World, the first Disney water park.

River Country opened back in 1976 and quickly became a popular part of the Walt Disney World experience, but by 2001 low attendance forced closure, and by 2005 the park was completely abandoned.

Seph honored the 40th anniversary of River Country's opening with his spooky photo series, sharing these thoughts on why he chose the theme park for his shoot:

“Along with Discovery Island, it is one of only two Disney parks in Disney's history to ever close permanently,” says Lawless “Both of the parks were left to slowly decay and to succumb to Mother Nature, leaving behind a beautiful apocalyptic landscape.”

See 20 Haunting Photos Of Disney's Abandoned Water Park at mental_floss

These cats are playing out a scene happening all over. Children need fresh air and room to stretch their imaginations. But more importantly, parents need them out of their hair. Being your own bad example requires privacy. This comic is the latest from The GaMERCat. -via Geeks Are Sexy

You know when the terms “crazed loner” and “homemade robot” are used in the same sentence you're about to see something strange, but fear not.

Because Japanese Youtuber mansooono isn't a total psychopath, he's just a guy who likes to lick his computer screen as a way to "worship" his favorite anime characters. 

But mansooono grew tired of wiping saliva off his screen, so he built a simple yet effective device to do the screen licking for him- a robot tongue.

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Using a servo motor, realistic silicone tongue and Arduino circuitry, mansooono built a device that is exceedingly creepy yet effective, a robot tongue that can lick screens for a lifetime.

He also may have inadvertently come up with a convenient new way to paint our walls, look at those clean strokes!

-Via The Daily Dot

Remember that lightsaber swingin' guy they called the Star Wars Kid?

He was one of the first viral video sensations, one of the first people to get the meme treatment, and one of the first to discover how trolls and cyberbullies can ruin your life with their hateful words.

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The Star Wars Kid's real name is Ghyslian Raza, and ever since his private video went viral after classmates uploaded it back in 2003 his life has never been the same, but mostly in a bad way.

Ghyslian was mercilessly mocked, lost all of his friends and says he was told he should “commit suicide” on a daily basis, but he overcame it all and grew up wanting to help others who have been bullied online.

Ghyslian is now an attorney specializing in cyberbullying, an area of law sorely lacking in legislation and legal representation, and he excels in this field because he knows what it's like to have your life ruined by the internet.

-Via GeekTyrant

The Marvel superhero Thor has a hammer called Mjölnir that cannot be picked up by anyone besides Thor, or someone worthy of Thor’s status. That does not include Spider-Man, who is a mortal with spider powers. So what grief could Thor cause a fellow superhero with Mjölnir?

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He could make life miserable. You don’t want to get on any superhero’s bad side, but even in good-natured pranking, an enchanted hammer is truly a secret weapon. -via Tastefully Offensive  

Watch enough vampire themed shows and movies and you'll see a fanged character encounter one of the inherent problems of vampire life- the need to feed.

But these shows never reveal how long it would actually take a vampire to bite a victim's neck and satisfy their sanguine thirst.

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That's where the physics students from the University Of Leicester come in, because they've figured out how long it would take a vampire to feed before the process became futile.

According to their calculations a vampire could suck 15 percent of a person's blood out through two tiny holes in their neck in about 6.4 minutes, at which point the victim's heart rate would slow thereby making it harder to feed.

Read Physics Students Calculate How Long A Vampire Needs To Drink Your Blood here

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out was all about timing and rhythm, and every fighter had a secret pattern which Little Mac could use to take down fighters five time his size, even the legendary Mike Tyson.

Getting the rhythms down meant memorizing every fighter's moves, but nearly thirty years after its release a Redditor named midwesternhousewives discovered a better way to beat each fighter- by looking to the bearded guy in the audience.

In the front row of the crowd about six heads from the left is a little bearded guy who ducks down when Little Mac should punch Piston Honda and finish him off.

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This Easter Egg also works against Bald Bull, and back in 2009 late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata admitted there was also a camera flash cue in the crowd to tell players when to throw the knockout punch.

-Via Nerd Approved

A kiss at the end of the movie, of course. And it's my last shot. Now I must edit the movie #Ghostbusters #LEGO #stopmotion #youtubemtl #youtube

A photo posted by MonsieurCaron (@monsieurcaron_brickfilm) on Apr 20, 2016 at 10:27am PDT

Two years ago, Monsieur Caron of BrickFilm made a LEGO Ghostbusters video that was quite amusing. Now he’s back with a new and improved version that tells the movie’s entire story in just two minutes!

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You can catch some of the behind-the-scenes images at Instagram, like Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis above, and some other Monsieur Caron projects. -Thanks, Yan!  

In the future robots will handle all of our dirty work for us, and may even work in law enforcement so human cops don't get hurt and because people believe they'll do the job more efficiently.

But practical and efficient robots don't really inspire fear in people, and when a bot's job is to break up a riot it should have an intimidating profile.

So that's probably why the engineers from China's National Defense University went with the Dalek look instead of the C-3PO while designing the “intelligent security robot” they call “AnBot”.

The AnBot looks more like a rolling ATM than a security bot, and it's missing the Dalek's awesome eyestalk, manipulator arm and gunstick, so how is anyone supposed to take this thing seriously?

Maybe if they program it to say "exterminate!" in Chinese over and over again somebody will pay attention...

Read Riot Control Robot Unveiled In China Looks Ominously Like A Dalek here

ELEMNT, an art studio in New York City, makes luxury, handcrafted goods with marble and leather. Their Darth Vader helmet, which is pictured above, is covered with python skin. It's available in limited numbers, as it takes up to two weeks to make. Each one costs $3,000. It's the perfect way to make Darth Vader even creepier. 

-via Geekologie

We've seen a litteral Poke Ball Gown before, but if you want to cosplay in full formal style while actually appearing as a character, be sure to head over to RageCostumes' store where you can get your hands on this incredible Venusaur Ball Gown that's sure to turn heads whether worn at a convention, a ball or an upcoming prom. Of course, with skills like this, if Venusaur isn't your favorite Pokemon, you might just be able to ask RageCostumes to custom-make you a Pokemon Ball Gown with your favorite character. Or just get this Princess Leia Gown (previously seen on Neatorama) instead.