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Sci-Fi Channel Merging TV Show with MMO
Erik J writes "In a fairly bold (and quite possibly stupid) move, the Sci-Fi Channel has announced plans to use missions and campaigns of players in their own developed MMO to shape and guide a new 'ongoing' television show. They hope to have the project up and ready to air by 2010, as they work with game developer Trion World Network to create 'the ultimate merging of the TV and gaming mediums.'"
Actor 1: *makes stabbing motions* "Omg j00 g0t wtfpwnedbbq! I am teh quigley dpwn und3r!
Director: No no no, that was brilliant! Now let's get a take of the next line.
Actor 2: "What are you talking about, Pig, I totally out DPS'd you. You act all 1337 but your gear is L7."
Actor 1: "H4xx. Oh, go cry home to your mother, SirWankenstein, this phat lewt is mine!"
Director: Cut, print, that's a wrap! Now everyone prepare for The Barrens chat scene where thousands herald the deeds of PigBenis69. Remember, this scene is crucial as the dialog is a roller coaster ride of intelligence and will earn us our coveted TV-MA rating.
Could be worse I guess, they could have secured Uwe Boll to direct it
My work here is dung.
"Next week on World of Bender! He gathers 9 rabbits while dodging the fearsome White wolf!"
Actually.. when does this show premiere??
So basically, -1 troll/offtopic is really slashdots way of saying "I hate that you thought of something before me."
I would rather see them take that money and put it into a better Saturday Night SciFi Movie.
RTFG - Read The F#$%ing Google!
A large group kills a big monster. Then, in a shocking twist, goes back to do it again! As their leader said, "He's got a 10% Rare drop rate. Gotta get that full set."
Next week, watch as people complain about the latest changes, and kill 10 of the local wildlife for a trader!
about as much as quick and nasty History Channel specials that make liberal use of video game footage. TV and video games are completely different mediums. Trying to shove them together and hope it works out never does.
Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
Given that people in general love to feel "famous", and given the popularity of MMO, this could at least be highly lucrative as far as a business goes, however, the quallity of such a combination remains to be seen. Depending on the "plot" of the show and game, I could see this being quite entertaining, especially for those envolved or even if you know someone envolved.
Combining the millions made on MMO's, and the millions made on stuff like 'American Idol'... i'd say the chance of this making money, is pretty high.
Sci-Fi channel has really been inventive with programming. It takes balls to re-do Battlestar Galactica. Bring back "Dr. Who" to the U.S. audience. Eureka is kind of cool too.
With "Big Bang Theory" on NBC, can anyone doubt its the year of the geek?
OMG, this is such a horrible idea. First they put effing wrestling on SciFi, now this unwatchable crap. Oh the humanity! When will the madness stop?
It's about time someone made a show that could tackle issues such as grooming and addictions to pretending to be a hot lesbian, rather than a fat, balding man.
This appeals to me because I happen to be a hot, young lesbians that just loves kids.
+1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
I say this could be rather cool. You have thousands of people who will be vying for the opportunity to tell their friends - "this was my mission." basically, you tap into an unlimited supply of writers, and all you have to do is cherry pick the best. Depending on who does the moderation, it could be a very inventive show.
-- All this knowledge is giving me a raging brainer.
Any word yet if Trion World Network is developing this MMO for free (or product placement)? I've heard there's an out-of-this-world job opportunity.
How many episodes can the audience endure with most of the roles shouting "GIEF EPIX!" at each other?
...where the star spends 15 hours farming for some rare drops.
Should be absolutely riveting.
"Give someone a program, frustrate them for a day... Teach someone to program, frustrate them for a lifetime."
How many internet groups will get into this just to fuck it up for everyone else? I'm sure anonymous, SA, [insert other internet group] will fill the ranks just so they can make the game and hence the tv show an abomination to play/watch.
I mean come on why would you give the hordes of gamers, who act a fool just to show off to 3 friends the chance to do the same on cable tv? the temptation is just too strong.
Hell I'll probably do it too if I can sign up fast enough to get the name "Leroy Jenkins"
http://greenobyl.com/ please.... think of the children!!
I, for one, would be very interested in watching The Leeroy Jenkins Chronicles. ^_^
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
I don't see the TV show becoming popular. After all, if you're a MMOG fan, wouldn't you rather be playing a game yourself rather than watching a TV show about other people playing it?
And that brings us to what will make this particular game better than the fifty bazillion other MMOGs on the market now: your character might get to be on TV. Except you won't care, because your character probably won't get to be on TV, and barring that, you'd rather be playing than watching.
Why don't they drop this schtick and give us a sequel to that halfway-decent D&D movie they made a few years back? (And no, I'm not talking about the one with Jeremy Irons.)
Oh great.
44 minutes of teabaging.
Maybe tivo can skip the show and just show the 16 minutes of commercials?
A Human Right
The simple solution to doing a game like this is to start telling the Chinese gold farmers to start playing, We can have WW3 on-line to pvp gold farmers! That would be an event to broad cast.
...but the plural of "medium" is "media", not "mediums". I think the latter *might* be acceptable in some circles, if you are talking about a group of people who channel the spirits of the dead, but even then. It wouldn't be a big deal, except you'd think that the press person--assuming they were quoted correctly in TFA--for a MEDIA company would know that.
The CB App. What's your 20?
it could be great, as long as the TV crew and leadership can use the material to create something evocative. A TV show that can frame Leeroy Jenkins (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCNJRfSZBU) and Gnome Vasion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxD7p0rcBVM) in some sort of context and retain the original humor/drama/etc would absolutely be worthy of note.
Next week we're going to run the infomercial dungeon. The Saladmaster's a bitch at the end but he tends to drop credit card numbers.
www.voiceofthehive.com - Beekeeping and Honeybees for those who don't.
When the Internet thinks it can leak into the TV, it will just put penises everywhere.
Fans cannot get enough of their fictional universes. I've seen the wikis for WoW and other MMOs grow larger than the wikipediae of several second-tier languages. The wikis for complex TV shows (BSG, Lost, 24, etc) are almost as big.
Give these fans a place to 'play' inside a universe linked in with a TV show? Oh yeah-- there's nothing "stupid" about this idea at all.
davejenkins.com |
During the alien invasion, half of the "defenders" turn and attack the other defenders. Maybe the aliens have mind-control powers?
Meanwhile, other defenders are busy looting their fallen comrades.
Still another group of defenders is busily arranging items to spell out the word "FUCK" on the battlefield.
However it smells like the show that came out mid-eighties that was "interactive" the person would buy certain weapons and they would shoot the screen. I do not remember what it was called..it was about a computer that was pulling all life into it. There was five freedom fighters....
MMO == Massively Multiplayer Online?
Is that how the kids talk these days? Kinda like "wanna cyber" -- "Hay d00dz, whats ur favorite online?"
Breakfast served all day!
They could name the show "Last Virgin Standing"; during epic battles they could have hot babes attempt to seduce top scoring players away from fighting.
I'm putting together an online petition to start a new STEAMPUNK channel. Watch this space for more!
It's bad enough already with dozens of shows which seemingly make no sense unless you've also watched the podcasts, read the magazine, surfed through the website and decoded the clues to unlock secret sections, watched the spin off series where they explain the back plot, played the video game, watched the hidden features in the DVD, used the decoder ring in the special pack of Krusty-Os,... Can't we just have normal tv shows!!!!
I hit play too quickly while going through the commercials during last week's Battlestar and saw a commercial for EVE where they did it as a faux news cast about some star ship commander ramming a space station. It was a little cheesy but I suspect its the kind of premise they're going for here. The game that's played would have to follow the lines of EVE where the focus is PvP, and the "drama" comes from players attacking each other, coming up with scams, backstabbing, forming alliances, etc. I can't really see some pre-canned dungeon raid content making a good TV show.
TBH, this sounds more like a PR stunt for the MMO than anything relevant to the Sci-Fi channel.
I mean, think about it in the context of existing MMOs: sure, the quests are fun, but would you really want to see a TV show about most of them? Let's assume you're a SF fan, in fact a SW fan. (Role-play a bit, if you aren't;) Would you want to see SWG footage on TV?
Or maybe you're into medieval fantasy? Well, exactly which of WoW's (or EQ2's, or whatever) quests would be great fun to watch on TV?
This week we follow the adventures of grunt Horribly Polygonal and his trusty sidekick Tusked Girl, two simple hunter-gatherers, as they slaughter Durotar Tigers by the dozen, unaware (yet) that only 1 in 10 Tigers has a skin. And will they manage to pull voodoo trolls one at a time, while the rest of the tribe wanders obliviously 10 ft away from the fight? Or will Tusked Girl get impatient again and over-aggro? Watch them meet a new group member and enjoy the suspense of finding out: is he a n00b and gonna get them wiped? Is he going to leave the group immediately after he gets the last skin?
And next week we can follow them through the Barrens, as they slaughter about 100 Zebras to get 4 hooves each. (You'd think that being asked to bring 4 hooves, would mean one zebra, right? Shows how much you pampered city-folk know about hunting.)
Or watch Tamriel the wise druid preserve the balance and harmony of nature... by slaughtering bears wholesale and waiting for them to respawn. Then slaughtering them again. 'Cause he just got bored of alchemy and went leatherworking, so now he needs leather to grind it up. (Remember, kids: living in harmony with nature means taking all you want, but not more than that!)
Don't get me wrong. In the game it's fun. But 99% of the stuff I did in MMO's, even _I_ wouldn't want to see it on TV.
On the bright side, as a SF fan, I am looking forward to a new SF MMO. Nothing against medieval fantasy as such, but God knows there's no need for 99% of the market to be medieval fantasy. It's nice to have a choice. So I'll probably buy it anyway. But, still, just saying, I doubt that the whole Sci-Fi channel thing is more than a PR stunt.
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
Gives new meaning to LCD TV.
This guy's the limit!
This has epic fail written all over it.
Can you imagine? Instead of concentrating on what will make a good game, they will essentially drive game mechanics to boost ratings, decisions made by some corporate marketing "genius" who thinks they know what makes good TV. Pair this with the hordes of people desperate for their 15 minutes of fame and that's a recipe for one of two things.
One, it could be the worst possible TV stunt ever produced, one that could leave some gamers in a lurch when they pull the plug on the show (which they eventually will do) and shut down the game. Or Two, it could be the biggest sensation this side of American Idol that plays down to the lowest common denominator.
You complicate the dialog to much;
Leeeerrooooy Jenkins!!!
Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
I can only see this realized like those "interactive" morning cartoon shows where they try to get the audience involved by showing an outline of a character in the show and pretend to care that the viewer got the character's name right. Like a subtle infomercial where if you act within 30 minutes you can get free loot as long as you hand over your cc#. Or a 3-D kids movie where the action stops to tell viewers to "put on your dimensional spectacles".
Seriously, can anyone name any smart move that the Sci-fi channel has ever made, with the notable exceptions of picking up MST3K and Battlestar Galactica?
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
With this model, you NEVER know if the hero is going to be killed or not. Will the boss monster win?
On the other hand, who cares? The hero will get a rez and be back to fight the boss monster next week.
Will this thing work on Linux?
I am not really here right now.
Specifically, the number of ways you can represent a penis in-game.
If the game has any form of free-form design, like Second Life, then the flying penises is obvious.
If you can design your own cloth patterns or guild banners by placing preselected images, there's all kinds of ways you can place white dots on a black background to make out a penis pattern.
If you show faction chat on TV, there's always penis ASCII art.
If all else fails, you can trust on simply standing in a penis formation as the overhead camera swoops by. A lot of people with big dark wigs surrounding a lineup of white-haired ones should do it.
Not to miss the opportunity of custom mustaches, either.
I also hope the paid actors will enjoy dealing with a thousand dark skinned characters with afros saying there is AIDS in the pool.
Already been done. check out the player created 'Clear Skies' video. Plenty of mirrors listed. http://myeve.eve-online.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=783871&page=2
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gFx4bJpKLs8
This could (though I won't say will) be a chance to do something new and interesting with the genre-- something that is much closer to the "interactive movie" that gets buzzed around so much. It works like this:
Make the game a living world. That is, events in-game end up changing the game world... the landscape, politics, society, etc. Except that MMOs can't seem to have a single server, right? Not a problem.
The devs plan out world-changing quests/events/whatever. Except that they need to be designed to be very open-ended. There should be several ways that the event CAN unfold. It will be up to how the players handle the quest as to determine the exact way it will unfold.
This event gets run over and over in different instances over different servers. At the end of the "event"'s time period, the most popular/interesting/well done/etc version takes effect, and the world changes.
Now, as a player, how can you tell wtf just happened. In your instance, you killed Queen Zxxyrx. Why is it that the world says she escaped and founded a new island off the coast of Grak? How did that happen? What does it mean?
Enter the TV show. You take the framework of the dev's game design as the basis for that week's episode. You flesh it out with the actions of the in-game players. Like any adaptation, some things will change. The dialog will have to be translated from 1337 into English, and edited for content / dramatic effect. It could event be that the character's actions are transposed onto recurring TV show characters. (Instead of luvs2spwg driving off Queen Zxxyrx, Sir Weekly the Recognizable does it)
And that's how you do it. Every week, present a challenge. The players who overcome it in the most impressive / creative / unique / dramatic / any other criteria way that week not only get a chance to change the world, but their deeds will be adapted for TV. Throw in a bunch of in-game references that gamers will get (but non-gamers won't go wtf over), and voila. TV show.
UTF-8: There and Back Again
Portal.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
Yep, that would be a great way to do it.
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The problem is that the most likely players will NOT be interested in furthering the plot in any reasonable fashion. They'll be out to be griefers. There's only so many times that the main objective can be lost because some group of players start attacking the other players.
Lose the main battle because of mind-controlled "slaves" who turn on the rest
Retreat to the mountains
Where more mind-controlled slaves lead group after group of aliens to the camp
Forcing the main party to retreat further into the mountains
Until the producers rule out wandering aliens
Whereupon more mind-controlled slaves gank one of the stronger members of the group
lather, rinse, repeat
In between boss monster fights, he hangs out at the local graveyard where various undead creatures appear at random for him to slay.
Kind of like "Buffy" crossed with "Dog the Bounty Hunter" and "The Dog Whisperer". For the average skeleton, their appearance is usually preceded by a bone rattling sound. Which gives me enough time to switch weapons to my mace of undead slaying which gives me a +25 against skeletons. Ghosts are preceded by a howling wind type sound so I switch weapons to my silver scimitar of holiness.
Way 'back in the day', 1996, a group of us hard core gamers who owned a video production company and software development company, took this idea to the SCI-Fi channel . We put forward the idea of a weekly half hour news cast that would tie together the overall flow and development of the game story line with the exploits of both random and key players within the game. In addition it would explain game play new features and such. We did a sample game and news cast.
They wrote us off as a bunch of flakes, after all the Internet and Internet Gaming was 'just hype and a passing fad at best and the Internet will never be connected to every household' after all Microsoft was not even in the space.
Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
They can't even make movies right..
If you've ever seen an "open-ended" MMO with players in charge of creation (say, Second Life), you've probably seen little sparks of creativity in a sea of boring copies of trendy junk. 90% of everything is crap. And the little sparks of creativity don't tie together: one person's perfect recreation of the rebel base on Hoth is right next to another person's gothic revival castle, and they clash horribly.
The same is true of TV shows with a large pool of authors (say, your average sitcom). Some episodes are good, some bad, but none of them mesh up together, and you're left with a mess.
For both MMOs and TV shows, a dictatorial author is the only route to success. The best MMOs (say, World of Warcraft or EVE) allow roleplaying only within the tight rules of the game world. The best TV shows (say, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, or Firefly) have just one or two guys who call the shots for the layout of the whole show, and set firm boundaries for the writers.
An open-ended MMO inspired by a TV show, and an authorless TV show inspired by the MMO? It's the blind leading the blind, a ship without a rudder, drifting off into banality.
And if the show *does* get a visionary author to conduct the show, then the whole MMO / TV connection is pretty much irrelevant, it becomes, first and foremost, the author's story to tell.
I can't wait to see an MMOG brought to life on TV! What with dramatic, sweeping camera angles over people standing in one place shouting profanity and racial epithets all day long, the running joke of people running up to everyone on the streets begging for cash/gold/gil/meat, the drama of an entirely disposable cast due to constant PvPing, the mystery of tears in the fabric of space and time as users find exploits and cheats, the intrigue of time warps when said exploits are fixed and inevitably rolled back, the interpersonal relationships made by admins and other GMs creating things for people just because they're hot or long-time residents of the game...
Only thing that brings me to that network these days.
I wonder how the legal rights to the on-line players having actors play them on the tv version of the game would pan out. I guess they might put in a disclaimer saying that you have no rights to the show if your character is chosen as one of the lead roles in the t.v. version, but i wonder if that type of disclaimer would hold up in court.
I bet we can all think of some of our favorite films, shows or games that could have easily become "stupid" if things had gone differently or mis-handled.
The least we can do when an outfit tries something that has potential coolness is to hold off on the "possibly stupid" suggestion until things start to take shape.
God knows the people who make television shows need lots of encouragement. I'm sure they get lots and lots of: "You want to make a show where the hero wears a long knit scarf and travels through time in a phone booth? Hey, Murray! Did you hear this one? This schmegegge wants to make a show a show about..what's his name? "Who?" No, that's what I asked you! Will you please throw this schmuckaluvich out of my office already?"
You are welcome on my lawn.
Everyone is assuming this MMO will fall into the WOW, EQ, Conan, WoL, etc. genre. I actually think something like a forensic analysis (CSI) or crime investigation (Law and Order) type game would do quite well. I don't think this would draw the millions those other games have. But having something like 100,000 people trying to figure out an answer to a difficult mystery or even classic cases and then drive a show about it might be quite entertaining. Like have a weekly lead in show to introduce the content, have it ready in some new instance/zone, and let the player base "fight" for clues and content to solve the case. Then have a follow-up show (basically already scripted) show a representation of how that play/guild/clan/team solved the case. Another option would be a medical drama. Have people in the same sense above fight for clues on diagnosis (House, ER) or just fight to save the onslaught of victims. Hell you could have a combo show like "Bones", or "Crossing Jordan". They have the ME and an investigative style. Essentially all that would need to change would be the locals and details of the case. Those scripted shows all use the same sets, actors, and regurgitated themes just like an MMO. The subjects are immensely popular so this idea does have some merit. But pulling of the tie in would be difficult but not impossible. I think they would need to set up a solid TV presence before introducing the MMO aspect. My guess is some TV executive thought, "how much fun would it be to help CSI figure out a case real time?". I think it would be fun, but the grind for rep, resources and leveling (example CSI level 2 you can walk the crime scene and collect evidence, not just take pictures).
"Texas"...well..."I've never seen that movie"...exactly!
Totally thought they were turning ECW into MMA...that kinda day
What the hell is SciFi channel thinking? First they replace most of the decent shows they had with fake ghost hunter shows. Now they want the outcome of a game to dictate the major plot points in a TV show?
Someone has not thought this through. People will force the game to go in directions that will make any kind of TV show look silly. It is pretty easy to get all of your team killed off either by letting the enemy through the lines or by fragging them your self.
Time to pick up some books and turn the TV and computer off for awhile.
Anyone know of some good Science Fiction books that have been release lately?
I know it wasn't on the Sci-Fi channel, but Red vs. Blue was pretty damn funny. If they have fun with the show and not try to keep it too serious it might actually not be half bad.
The SF channel puts the players in their new Fantasy MMO into a DEFENSIVE situation and the players go even more completely clueless than usual because NO RPG they have EVER played has forced them to DEFEND ANYTHING against ANYTHING!
The player's minds melt down and are served as soup for at the next DragonCon - which is held by and for REAL dragons in the game!
The last time I played an interactive game along with a sci-fi TV show was Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future. I suspect this one will be about as successful.
Support Right To Repair Legislation.
MMO == Marine Mammal Observation Clearly, Sci-Fi Channel has figured out a way to automatically tell when its shows have jumped the porpoise!
Breakfast served all day!
>The hero will get a rez and be back to fight the boss monster next week.
So it's like the old Flash Gordon serials, then? Or, given the state of the SCi-Fi Channel these days, Flesh Gordon.
Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
So much potential here. Gathering potatoes, drying dung. When is this going to happen?
I did a search of the page, and noone seemed to post what I thought of...
Odd.
Well, here's two words that seem to Apply to this. "Final Fantasy"
Here is... I'm not sure what to call it... it is a series of games, an MMORPG, and a series of animated movies. Seems like movies were made from the major plot lines used in the games. Sure, you can fire up Final Fantasy XI and grind away, but if you are silly enough to think that TV producers would turn THAT material into a program... you aren't very imaginative.
Now, what would making a TV series that is loosely based on an MMO really be looking for? Well, picture this. Picture that there is a quest for a party of players. Say that quest is a bit convoluted. Let's say that 300 different parties of players go through this quest. Chances are, if records can be kept from each run of that quest, there will be MORE than enough material to set up a single TV ready visual run through of this same quest. I doubt that the Director would use screen caps of game action for the final product, but I bet that a director would LOVE video caps from the game to provide a basic framework to shoot from. I bet a director would enjoy using a spectator flying camera to observe game play from whatever angle he chooses, and to even be able to get players to act out scenes for a live and mobile storyboard.
TV shows and movies are supposed to be about the extraordinary events that make people stand out. Yes, I know that there are plenty of movies and TV shows that contain humdrum moments. However, those moments rarely ever make up the entire TV show (if it is a work of fiction or a dramatization of real events). So, instead of laughing about how much this show will be teh suXorz because all people are gonna see on their TV screens is some gold faming and a pile of Leeeeeeroy Jeeeeeenkinz wannabes... stop and think about it. The MMO is just going to allow people to play around in this new fictional universe BEFORE the storyline is revealed in the TV show. Their actions may possibly even make it into the show.
"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." -D. Adams
Because God only knows the only thing I want to do more than actually play an MMO is to watch someone else play one on TV. Sweet.
just an analog boy living in a digital age.
Their biggest problem is going to be finding ways to move the show in unexpected and creative directions. By making the show responsive to what will basically be the world's largest focus group, they run the risk of being very bland and predictable.
art (a TV series) imitating art (an MMO) imitating art (MMO's imitate SF or Fantasy literature) imitating whatever it is SF imitates.
Why is this news? G4 has been failing at this for years.
And quite frankly, South Park already did this about as well as it CAN be done.
It's really too bad. I used to watch Scifi quite often. I'm almost to the point now of simply excluding it from my channel list altogether.
What a ridiculous notion. Activity in most MMOs is repetitive and seldom follows a logical story arc, as you would expect with a regular TV show or movie. Watching someone take on their 100th rat outside the starter village will not make an exiting first episode.
They don't dare use any dialog encountered in the game as the average player in an MMO couldn't form a coherent sentance if their life depended on it. Speaking generally, most players of MMOs are some of the stupidest examples of humanity judging by what they utter in game. I am sure thats not the case but it would be hard to prove it wrong. Somehow the anonymity provided by playing an MMO brings out the moron in most people it seems.
The only way this would work is if it was a sarcastic comedy about MMOs written for an audience who has played those games. Considering how badly Hollywood/The TV Industry has portrayed MMOs so far in shows I don't think they will get it though*
* I just watched a first season episode of NCIS, where they had a player of an MMO (on a Naval ship at sea no less) who ended up dead because he and another guy who played on his ship decided to have a duel, and he ended up drowning at sea (its a long story and not worth relating). Among the evidence they got from the victim's quarters was his MMO Character Charter (I am sure they meant Character Sheet but got it wrong), as if anyone has a paper sheet for their MMO characters. I *love* NCIS as a show but this was utterly beyond lame. Obviously the writer of this episode knew nothing and thought they didn't have to do any research, that just mentioning MMOs would be enough to make it cool and relevant etc. Of course, they also had to portray players of MMOs as wierd freaks as well.
"The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
That's awesome.
The CB App. What's your 20?
What I'm wondering about is that most good TV shows take a while from writing to shooting to production. The quickest I've heard of is Southpark, an animated show that if it absolutely needs to, can take a week from writing to airing. Live action shows usually take much longer.
Plus, TV doesn't air many weeks, there are repeats, etc.
So what if an event happened on the MMO game, and 3 months later it's corresponding episode airs? The MMO has either moved on much beyond that, or the MMO will be just like other MMOs, but every month or so a special event would occur which would air on TV.
More likely, in any series, there are 4-5 big mega episode events a season, and the rest are, I don't want to say filler, but character/environment development, etc. Every episode can't be about a big fight. There will probably be a few like that every season, but there will be an episode about the main hero's childhood friend in trouble, the hopes and dreams of a secondary character, etc. The show will be fleshed out with other happenings.
So that means, the game will be like a normal MMO, with 3-4 big events a year which will be reflected in the show. Kind of like a show just set in the same universe as the game. Similar to now, where you can play Star Trek games, etc. Now, there will be some reference to the game's events in the show, but not often.
I think it's a great idea, but some of these logistical details are thoughtprovoking.
-"Those who fought today will die tommorow."-
Ok, other than its already been done - in an anime by the name of .hack://SIGN
Hell, the series is probably even more sci-fi/fantasy than the Sci-Fi channel itself.
some suit will see the light and cancel this turd in utero.
They're using their grammar skills there.
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Although, one thing bothers me: "he show's creators will also be able to get instant input on how viewers feel about the direction the plot is taking them and adjust accordingly".
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Yeah, like those guys couldn't just go to scifi.com, and read the fucking forums there.
Steve's Computer Service, Hobbs, NM
Sounds totally different than any previous tv shows. Seems natural, kind of Asimovian avatarical communication and entertainment. Guess it depends on scaling and if they can bring in alot more people than current title can handle, they could have some massive opportunity. To be a big hit they need to have some incredible graphics. The more life like it is the more it might bring in some non-gamers. Going for an all new world, without a preset story line is also a good idea for the first start. I agree if they brought in a Star Wars universe, to many people would be crying about the storyline. I can definatley see all the power gamers totaly going for it just to get their 10 mins of fame. As long as they make the computing requirement off the charts powerful than it will be good for the economy as a few million gamers upgrade their system just to try it out. How could you not try it?
I think only EVE could pull off something like this.
Having never played EVE, I am probably not one to comment, but I'll throw in my opinion.
Have group of characters whom are shapeshifters (or something to ensure the ability to change identity) that are ancient gods whom seek to restore their world and eradicate these humans that occupy their star systems (I'm thinking of the C'tan for some reason). Some of these characters will have insanely great drops.
Every month or 2 weeks, have an episode. Of course, only choice bits will be shown, and it could be a lot of work for the characters/writers/editors. Have multiple characters involved so there is an option of character(s) doing longer term stuff without the entire world knowing about it.
Explain out of game chatting as 'telepathy'. Heck, maybe even replace real world purchasing of game items with the purchaser *selling* sex, fembots or something like that.
...the series:
A group of African-American explorers attacks rumored to be invulnerable Goatse fortress, only to be beaten up by its sole inhabitant Uwe Boll. Over 9000 little girls are saved from pedobear invasion by a clever pizza delivery guy. Detectives are investigating incidents that started with Gaia city inhabitants receiving anonymous letters threatening to "hang them on their own longcat scarves". The crew of Dongcopter is missing in action.
Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
There have been rumors of a Firefly MMO in development for a while now. Either that or Andromeda Strain Online :{
Sounds like the Scifi version of Forever Eden.