Defiance: The greatest TV series game tie in ever?
A TV show that influences a game’s events? A game that influences the direction of a TV show? This may sound like the kind of crazy talk Peter Molyneux would promise about his next project, but it really does sound like it will soon be a reality. Trion Worlds and Syfy have teamed up on this pioneering project to create a TV drama and game tie in that directly interact with and influence each other.
Defiance sees an alien ‘Noah’s Ark’ crash on the North American continent, where all its seeds and beasts tumble out and transform the area into a new hybrid alien-human environment. The resident humans and aliens must learn to live side by side in this fantastic new world. The show alone sounds interesting, but what makes it even more appealing is the use of an MMO game to not only expand the universe but to also influence events in the series. The show will be set in St Louis, while the MMO will be based in San Francisco, which reinforces the fact that the series and game are part of the same universe, but won’t simply tell the same story.
From what details have been revealed, it is known that characters from the game and series will be able to move between the two medium and talk about the events happening in the other city. This could potentially allow for the MMO to have a very rich and deep story unlike anything that has been seen on an MMO before. The MMO is also groundbreaking because it will be a cross platform experience, being available for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 – this will make it “the first multi-platform shooter MMO”.
A console release and influential TV tie in may give this MMO a greater chance of succeeding where so many new MMO IP’s have failed.Hopefully lots more details will be released at E3, but in the meantime here’s a short video feature that contains all the details to date.
