Syfy and Trion Worlds has released a behind-the-scenes featurette for their upcoming sci-fi thriller Defiance, which will be a video game and television show simultaneously.
The video explains the nature of Defiance, and discusses the plot of each half in more detail than we’ve gotten previously, alongside lots of great bits of interviews with the cast and crew from the television show, and the creators of the video game.
The real take-away here is that the video game is not just a tie-in or spin off of the show. We’ve seen a thousand terrible video games which are based on a television show or film, but we’ve never seen the like of this project: a television show and video game which are the same product.
The things the players do in the video game will have a profound effect on the character drama which will be airing on Syfy. The show and game don’t take place in exactly the same space, but they will be connected episode for episode, and characters will move between the two with commentary about what is going on in the other half.
Essentially, it’s a grand experiment, and I, for one, hope that it succeeds. Simply put, the potential for this kind of media integration is vast, and it would be a shame if no one ever tries it again, just because Syfy couldn’t pull it off.
The game will feature a two faction war, which the players must take sides in, and a class system which resembles pretty much every MMO ever, so don’t expect any innovation on that front. The gimmick is the television show, rather than any focus on unique design.
The world looks really cool, however. In these first brief bits of footage from the game, we can see this odd earth/alien landscape for the first time. Is anyone else reminded of some scenes in Half-Life, when the flora and fauna of Xen have seeped into our world in small pockets?
Defiance, the game and the show, are currently planned for a Spring 2013 release.
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