Lightsaber combat escribes the fictional fighting styles employed by Jedi and Sith characters in the Star Wars multi-media franchise. The details of the lightsaber styles are never mentioned directly in the released Star Wars films, but they are explored in novelizations as well as Expanded Universe sources such as magazines, comic books, the Star Wars Role-playing Game and "Visual Dictionaries." According to Nick Gillard, the various styles were devised for the prequels and intended to further characterize their practitioners. The duels were even choreographed to be miniature "stories."