Firefly MMO

[Viin]

Just saw this pop up on Wired News:

Multiverse, maker of a free MMO-creation platform, plans to announce Friday morning that it's struck a deal with Fox Licensing to turn the show into an MMORPG in the fashion of Star Wars Galaxies or Eve Online.

Full article here.

Since SWG and EVE are nothing alike, I don't know what that means. And I'm not insipired by their 'in game' screenshots at http://www.multiverse.net/.

Edit: for bad typing

[Nyght]

One ponders how The Wild West in Space could possibly be worse then the Roman Empire in Space.

Inventive, these game folks are.

[ajax34i]

Since SWG and EVE are nothing alike, I don't know what that means.

It probably means "Sci-Fi, with spaceships."  Kinda like explaining "pork bellies" to Eddie Murphy.

[stray]

Space has always been about the Wild West.

Space has never been about Romans.

That's one difference.

[SnakeCharmer]

Oh.  Hell.  Yes.

[schild]

Lol.

[Trippy]

And I'm not insipired by their 'in game' screenshots at http://www.multiverse.net/.

Yup, and they also took off the listing of their previous "reference" game -- Dark and Light. They also took off some of the Chinese games that were using the engine.

Edit: sorry that's wrong, I was confusing them with Big World.

[geldonyetich]

A Firefly MMO is an intellectual properly that could make a pretty good game.

However, that it's being developed a company whose only previous experience has been making low-budget MMOG construction sets does less than inspire.

[Rhonstet]

I dunno.  The fact that they picked a company that works only on game mechanics and doesn't have some artistic 'vision' to satisfy cheers me up considerably.

[Trippy]

I dunno.  The fact that they picked a company that works only on game mechanics and doesn't have some artistic 'vision' to satisfy cheers me up considerably.

If you read the company bios it's even bleaker than that.

[Merusk]

Lol.

I hate it when I'm forced to agree with schild in regards to MMOs.

Lol indeed.

[Damn Dirty Ape]

Yes, but do they plan on making Reavers a PC race for the "azz-rape" crowd?

[geldonyetich]

Yes, but do they plan on making Reavers a PC race for the "azz-rape" crowd?

...

OMG! This is the perfect MMORPG IP.

[Velorath]

Unless Whedon and some of the shows other writers are involved, I don't really see the point.  There's not much about the setting itself that's inherently interesting, I mostly watched the show for the characters.

[Viin]

The article says that they are actually hiring someone else to do the MMO, it's just that it'll be done with their 'toolkit'. So far I'm not impressed with their toolkit, but who knows, maybe someone knows how to make something consumable with it.

[Cheddar]

Whedon is pretty damn possessive of this IP.  He has hinted at doing more with the 'verse and always states anything can happen.  I seriously doubt he gave up any rights without his direction.

[Furiously]

I'm sure it was Fox's doing.

[Raging Turtle]

Unless Whedon and some of the shows other writers are involved, I don't really see the point.  There's not much about the setting itself that's inherently interesting, I mostly watched the show for the characters.

Agree.  Not that interesting a setting.  Alliance(empire) vs. Independents(rebels).  And then go fight reavers.  Eh.

[Cheddar]

I'm sure it was Fox's doing.

He refuses to do business with Fox due to their treatment of Firefly.  All Fox had rights to was a TV show based on the IP; from what I understand he was (justifiably as it turns out) neurotic about the contract.  Basically Fox had a rights to TV shows based on Firefly, and perhaps a cut of future films.

[Trippy]

Unless Whedon and some of the shows other writers are involved, I don't really see the point.  There's not much about the setting itself that's inherently interesting, I mostly watched the show for the characters.

Agree.  Not that interesting a setting.  Alliance(empire) vs. Independents(rebels).  And then go fight reavers.  Eh.

Wrong way to think about it. Think more Elite/Privateer -- i.e. make your own way in the galaxy as captain of your own (little) ship.

[Stormwaltz]

Multiverse confuses me. It's like a DVD authoring facility decided to make a movie.

[Velorath]

Unless Whedon and some of the shows other writers are involved, I don't really see the point.  There's not much about the setting itself that's inherently interesting, I mostly watched the show for the characters.

Agree.  Not that interesting a setting.  Alliance(empire) vs. Independents(rebels).  And then go fight reavers.  Eh.

Wrong way to think about it. Think more Elite/Privateer -- i.e. make your own way in the galaxy as captain of your own (little) ship.

Which is all well and good and all, but doesn't really require the Firefly IP.

[Trippy]

Which is all well and good and all, but doesn't really require the Firefly IP.

Except that "Wild West" gunfights are cool and if you are going to do a Western in space you might as well try and get the Firefly license.

[geldonyetich]

Ah, but you're forgetting:

Space has always been about the Wild West.

The whole wild untamed interstellar frontier angle is one thing that no MMORPG has really managed to capture.  If it was just a matter of making Elite in space, that's been done many-a-time.

[Slyfeind]

The article says that they are actually hiring someone else to do the MMO, it's just that it'll be done with their 'toolkit'. So far I'm not impressed with their toolkit, but who knows, maybe someone knows how to make something consumable with it.

The engine seems pretty damn maleable. You can stuff your own game systems in there ya know. Hell, you probably don't even have to use the toolkit.

The whole wild untamed interstellar frontier angle is one thing that no MMORPG has really managed to capture.  If it was just a matter of making Elite in space, that's been done many-a-time.

Here's a thought. Is it possible to make a civ-building MMO that's based on static quests? Would it be fun? Would it defeat the purpose? Personally I think that would make a kick-ass single player game. Not so sure about an MMO.

[stray]

I think Chris Roberts tried that. He failed, and then disappeared off the face of the earth. His game was recycled into Freelancer.

[WindupAtheist]

I hope it generates an absurd amount of fan-hype and then is greeted with total apathy by consumers.  Watching Serenity top every "MOST ANTICIPATED MOVIE OF THE YEAR!11!1!" poll on the intarweb and then die like a dog at the box office was some funny shit.

[stray]

It was a pretty good flick and tv series though. There's no reason to dislike it because you like Star Wars so much. That's pretty retarded, even by your standards.

[Endie]

Well, since Firefly is just a rip-off - sorry, re-imagining - of Traveller, I get to say w00t!  Sod your Shadowrun MMO, does this mean I get a Traveller Online MMO at last?

And why are you complaining?  There are absolutely, positively no elves or orcs in Firefly.  There are plenty of hookers, though.  I wonder if they'll make *that* a playable class.  It would have a certain strident honesty about what the SWG-entertainer crowd want to do, in any case.

[stray]

Gosh. Traveller. I never played it, but I remember my older brother had some plain black boxes with "Traveller" typed in red on them. That was like 1985.

I had no idea it was about space cowboys.

[Endie]

It wasn't so much that it was about space cowboys, as that you could do that if you wanted.  Traveller was usually about a bunch of folks in a ship, often a small trading ship with a couple of guns on it, getting hired to do various ethically or legally dubious things: smuggle this, save that person etc etc (although some campaigns were very different from these: militaristic, political etc).  The similarities are really rather extensive, though I don't think there's any reason to believe that the tv series was directly inspired by the game.  It's not a Underworld/White Wolf thing.  It's more an overall theme thing.

[UnSub]

All I can say to this is that I don't think the Firefly IP is going to be worth what they paid for it.

Especially when the game launches in (and let's be charitable) about 2 years time.

[Venkman]

Which is all well and good and all, but doesn't really require the Firefly IP.

Except that "Wild West" gunfights are cool and if you are going to do a Western in space you might as well try and get the Firefly license.

The core of this concept is pretty niche, particularly if they're referencing two nichey game systems (pre-CU SWG and Eve). Anyone can make a game like that sure. But to sell it, first to someone you need money from, and then to people you want playing it, an IP is going to make things much easier.

Firefly was not a mass hit. Doesn't matter what story you believe, whether Fox dropped the ball or it was just a niche concept. Firefly wouldn't be a good IP to move a diku for example. But, take the dedicated-audience IP and wrap a dedicated-audience game concept around it and you could have a winner.

And, I love(d) Firefly. Felt like "The Han Solo years", before Luke, Leia and all that. In a good way.

[Jayce]

According to this article, it's not Whedon that's involved, but FOX.

Clueless media conglomerate + clueless tool developer + some outsourced development house + IP separated from its creator: sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.

[Sky]

Space has always been about the Wild West.

Space has never been about Romans.

That's one difference.

Yeah, what kind of idiot would have a scifi IP with an Emporer and a Senate?