Defiance

[Aulayna]

An MMORPG/Shooter that has a TV show where supposedly the events of one can influence the other...

Defiance | Watch the Show, Play the Game, Change the World (http://www.defiance.com/en/)

Isn't even out yet but is already selling season pass DLC and expensive deluxe editions.

Will it succeed or is it doomed to fail?

[Iceglow]

This is the game I mentioned in the expanded universe thread. It'll be interesting to see if it does work. One of the things I noted in a video they did for the first hour or so of gameplay video that was released some weeks ago is that the developer stated very openly they had actually crossed the boundaries and hooked the servers up in a way that PC, 360 and PS3 gamers could all play on the same servers but the manufacturers of the various devices actually ruled pretty much unanimously against that option. That kinda sucks because the biggest failings of any MMO's is to actually attract a big enough crowd of gamers to it to make it work, especially when on PC you have to compete with WoW and Guild Wars.

The game will be F2P once the initial purchase has been made though I think there may be some optional micro-transactions available too though they've said nothing in those will be too game breaking.

Having watched some (not all of that video because hell if I'm going to sit back and watch an hour of someone playing a game rather than playing a game myself for an hour) gameplay wise it seems like your average 3rd person action adventure game controls abilities mostly supporting those of your currentlly equipped gun/weapon so a damage boost, invisibility, holograms, teleportation that kind of thing. This should hopefully mean that level cap players won't be untouchable by a skilled newbie in pvp and will still find it worthwhile playing with lower level characters in pve missions.

Overall I'd like to consider it with some optimism though the tag line that actions/events in the game could affect the TV show remain to be seen. I mean the game will have it's own overall story arc and the writers will not be changing that story based on what we players do for the most part unless they run an event weekend like Mass Effect and then say well players failed to achieve the goal of killing 2 million enemies therefore we might script a scene in to the TV show where our heroes face a higher than average threat level from enemies. It's also highly unlikely the team of writers for the TV show are the same as the game. I can see overall themes from the game influencing the TV show and vice versa but when the game is set in San Francisco Bay Area (and according to the developer some parts are actually visibly recognizable so locals might enjoy that) and the TV show is based in St Louis it's designed to take place at the same time but in separate locations.

[Aulayna]

I brought it last night on a whim. Played for a few hours and it certainly is standard 3rd person shooter mixed with MMO elements - was actually quite fun though not sure if it'll keep me in for the longhaul.

[Roogle]

On a related note, I have seen some television shows that attempt to cross over into other genres. This is usually done through an interactive marketing tool or game. I am not sure if they are successful. A notable example is Heroes, on NBC, which tried to release graphic novels and novels about the story, but the writing was poorly coordinated between the show, the graphic novels, and a book that was released and there were far too many contradictions for reliable information to be obtained.