There was an interesting line in the original Traveller Book 0 that likened the game to a generic game, one that you could play any sci-fi universe with the rules. Similarly, games like GURPS, d20 Modern, Hero system, and others have all presented detailed sci-fi rules that say they are generic, but really have a flavor all their own. All games have a 'feel' to them, especially sci-fi, where you start pulling in the skills and equipment from the base game, or trying to re-interpret the source material in the quirks and original feel of the roleplaying game. Let's take a look at using Star Wars with a couple rules systems, and examine a couple of the choices we would need to make to make things work.
Star Wars as told by Star Frontiers: Stormtrooper armor is treated as cover, giving a -20% to-hit penalty to attackers. We would have to eliminate energy settings for blasters, and just give them a straight damage, like 2d10 for pistols and 4d10 for rifles. Damage in Star Frontiers is typically light compared to Stamina so characters can take a lot of hits before going down (this may be a problem with Stormtroopers, who typically go down in a hit). Starships would have to be converted to Knight Hawks, which would have problems with the system's physics based movement and hex-grid system. This conversion actually works fairly well, and the original game is close to the 'space adventure' feel of the movies, if not a bit more heroic and simplified.
Star Wars as told by Traveller: Stormtrooper armor would need to be vectored out against the armors of the game, and the blasters added to the chart. Damages could be along laser pistols and rifles, which would take a character down in one shot. This would work for our Stormtroopers, but not so great for heroes. Starships are even more physics-linked here, and would need special rules apart from the main rules. There is a lot more hard science and "sim" in Traveller, so our Sar Wars conversion would work, but it would lack that Star Wars feel. Well, if Star Wars was written by Issac Asimov, maybe we'd have something.
Star Wars as told by GURPS: This could work, damage in this game is along the heavy side, with hex-based combat with many options from realistic to quick-and-easy. Starships are a bit technical, requiring a pretty robust design system. The problem would be limiting the game to just what's in Star Wars, since GURPS is such an expansive game with time travel, aliens, secret agents, and many other types of sci-fi all in one system. It would sort of feel like Star Wars as created by the SyFy channel, but a bit on the more realistic side.
Every game brings its own feel, and even the various Star Wars roleplaying games over the years had their own feels to them. The original d6 System was fast-and-loose, focusing on the serial adventure feel, while the later d20 games had a more technical character-build feel to them, with a more realistic, gritty take.
Deciding what's important to you is key here. What does Star Wars mean to you? When you design a game, taking into account how the game should feel and play is a personal decision made by the game designer, but also reflected by how others see the source material. Does the designer's views match up to what the market expects? Look and feel is important, it changes with the times, and it is one of those things that needs to 'click' - and have people respond to it positively. In the end it is a merge between mechanics, design, graphic arts, writing style, art, and presentation. A lot comes together to create 'feel', and it is a soft science of feedback merged with math and design.
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