Jakku has more of a concept than Tattoine in ANH.I'm wanting to take a look at the world building of our two most famous desert planets. Not just because of comments like the one above but just out of curiosity in what these places tell us about the universe they exist in. I honestly don't think Jakku is that much like Tattooine like most people do because Jakku really has nothing to it.The way I would describe Jakku is to make a reference to the early seasons of Stargate or even the movie its self. In the early seasons when the gate network was just being explored it felt like all we ever got was endless desert with one super small little primitive village in the middle of nowhere and that was the total population and landscape of the planet and its people. And Jakku makes me think of that.When the movie starts we get a image of the FO star destroyer flying under a full moon as its shuttles plummet towards the ground. Then we have the scene of Poe and Lor San Tekka in the hut talking before BB-8 comes in and warns them. So far its telling us the same things as the opening to ANH did. Who are the bad guys and who are the good guys.However it never really tells us who or what this little village is. Are they with LST and the church of the force? Are they scavengers? Are they locals who live out there in the wastes? We never know and the attack is never mentioned or referenced again.While in the OT we have the Jawas picking up R2 and 3Po and being the ones who take them to Luke. Then we have them mentioned again when we see their sandcrawler destroyed and get the "only imperial troopers would be this accurate" phrase. A phrase that ties into the Sand People (as the storm troopers were trying to make it look like a attack), the people who tried to attack Luke and who Obi-wan had to warn away and who Luke warned 3PO over.So while in TFA we know nothing at all about the village and its never mentioned again the attack on the Tantive IV and the subsequent chasing of the droids plays into the actions of our heroes and lets us learn about two of the races that live on this planet.Then after the village scene we get the amazing shot of Rey scavenging inside the destroyed...destroyer. It is a beautiful shot and sparks a lot of imagination. As we go outside and see the sheer size and scope of the ship and drive past the other ships it does give a nice idea that at some point in the past something huge happened here. Its a intersting background. Well as long as we stay near the ships. On the ground side of things its just endless bits of dunes and sand. Same for what we see in Finn's segments.But going back to ANH before we get to Mos Eisley we have seen the sandy dunes of the dune sea in 3PO and R2's journey, the hardpacked dirt and sand at the farmstead and during Luke's drive, and the richly coloured stone plateus and canyons of beggars canyon and outside Mos Eisley.While I love the "starship graveyard" idea if you take that out its just endless sand while if you take out one of the previous three locations in ANH you are still left with two more.Then we get to Niima Outpost and yes their are other places on Jakku but we only know of those due to EU sources where all of the intersting stuff about the planet comes from. And remember how I said it reminded me of early Stargate? Thats because in those episodes those small villages only existed to mine a rare space mineral used in their overlords technology. That was their only reason for being there. And that is what Niima Outpost feels like.Their is nothing surrounding it or even really inside of it. The whole outpost seems to be physically and economically centered around Unkar Plutt's hut. Their is a place to fuel up, get gas, park your ships, and some benches to sit and clean what ever goods you will take to the hut in the center of the community. That is all it is. And we don't even know why really or who these people are.But take our first view of Mos Eisley from the cliffs overlooking it. Obi-wan says its a "retched hive of scum and villany" already giving it a story and character. And out in the distance we can see ships going and coming from it. But as we get down into the city is when we really start to see world building.Mos Eisley is a living breathing city not just a few utility sheds at what is basically a gas station. Their are dozens and dozens of different people and aliens and animals walking around in the streets going about their own business. Their are Imperial troopers walking around on security duty and in the cantina we are introduced to some of the more colourful customers.Then after meeting Han (in a bar frequented by bounty hunters and pirates telling us even more about this planets character and that it exists in a world where such people can exist even with ever present security forces) and his companion we go to his ship which is in a hanger bay filled with other ships coming and going. Again this is a living breathing city that doesn't just evolve around one single thing.So looking at everything Tattooine tells us of the universe it exists in lets see what Jakku tells us about its self.Well at some point in the distant past their was a battle. People live on it, mostly scavengers and some random people with LST. The only settlement (remember just going by movies) is Niima outpost which is solely there to bring in scrap to Plutt. Why are these people there? are they slaves or prospectors? free will? we don't know.What it all comes down to, I think, is Naming The World. (Title of a creative writing craft book, by the way.) ANH names stuff: Jawas, sand people, banthas, Tosche station, power converters, Mos Eisley, stormtroopers, Tatooine. We get to see them, and the characters also talk about them. TFA doesn't really name stuff. It's like Niima Outpost exists in a vacuum. It's just a self-contained microcosm. And never in the history of the world has there ever been a village or a civilization that wasn't affected by specific things that were happening all around them.A living breathing story-world needs to show cause and effect. And a story that happens nowhere seems to happen not at all. via /r/StarWars http://bit.ly/2sPzka8
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