High. Generation starships are a perhaps more realistic approach to long range space travel than the more common faster-than-light crafts or time-bending technologies. The science and technology used to build and maintain a generation ship is feasible and closer to our current scientific understanding.

High. What happens to the familial structure on a starship hurtling through space for a thousand years? How does each generation change? How does extended periods of space travel affect passengers? How does a generation that lives its whole life on a starship relate to humanity as a whole? What happens to governance when living in close proximity for so long? There are many, many questions about the human condition to explore in a generation ship. Indeed, because it is a kind of bottle effect, albeit on a slightly larger scale, the whole thing can be seen as a sort of social experiment.

Low-Moderate. With so many possibilities in regards to social development and with potentially massive amounts of time passing, individual characterization can be minimal. Indeed, even when readers are able to spend time with a character, the character is often used as a vehicle to explore the social changes the ship has gone through.

Moderate. Generation Ship Sci Fi is a saga; it is a voyage; it is a really, really long journey, which means the plot will sometimes jump forward in time. The plot may also be more overarching than detailed. Or, just the opposite in that life onboard the ship is more important than the journey. Either way, it can be difficult to manage the overarching plot of a long journey and the more detailed plot of everyday life for spacefaring folks.

Variable. Whether or not violence is a part of the story is going to depend on the themes the author develops. For example, one common theme in Generation Ship Sci Fi is the degradation of society and in this instance, violence is common. Though not all stories go that route.