With the next generation of gaming’s announcement looming over E3 2013 after both Microsoft and Sony were silent during this year’s expo, the focus has changed for game’s of this year’s E3 being innovators in their own right. While game’s like Scribblenauts Unlimited promise to give players more creative options in the way they solve puzzles, other titles like Defiance promise to span across different forms of media in a truly unique scenario.
Way back in the Star Wars Galaxies MMO, players would experience player events which promised an impact on the future story of the game based upon how the playerbase performed. If more Rebels completed a mission, they would earn more benefits for their factions in the coming months. Defiance looks to take the roots of this premise and expand it in a way never before seen.
Defiance is going to be an MMOTPS (Massive Multiplayer Online Third Person Shooter). This isn’t the first time an MMO shooter has been attempted as Planetside came out years ago and had a relative degree of success, enough that Planetside 2 is on its way. Unlike Planetside, Defiance will take place on earth and include PvE (player vs. environment) gameplay and not just straight PvP. But that’s not the defining feature that looks to set Defiance apart. In addition to being a game produced by Trion Worlds and coming to XBox 360, PlayStation 3 and the PC, it will concurrently launch with a series for SyFy TV.
Now this isn’t going to be like Red Faction: Origins which was conceived as a SyFy movie to help promote Red Faction: Armageddon. The creators of Defiance promise the two entities will evolve simultaneously and impact each other. Events of the television show will play out in some manner in the MMO. Maybe a new creature will debut on the show and then the following week begin attacking players in the game. The effects of the players in the game is said to impact what happens on the show as well. Maybe one faction takes control of the ongoing conflict which causes events on the show to play out differently than originally planned.
If this concept will work remains to be seen as it is incredibly ambitious. But one cannot fault the creators of Defiance for a lack of creativity. This is their chance to do something different than ever before in gaming and television in what they refer to as a transmedia experience. Check out the full trailer after the jump and stick to The Flickcast for more on Defiance coming soon to XBox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and the SyFy channel.
