Games To Get Excited For: Defiance

It’s not often we see innovation in games these days.  With this generation of consoles going on longer than most expected it appears that developers & publishers a like are less and less willing to take a chance on something different or something not a proven sequel.

Luckily there are still some developers willing to take a chance.  Dust 514 & Eve Online is probably the best example of a recent situation where a developer is looking to do something different.   Basically taking two very different genre’s:  Space Sim Combat & First Person Shooter and merging them into one game world where what you do in one game will impact the other.  It’s interesting, ambitious and from what we can tell from the beta appears to work pretty well.

There is a game however that is looking  to set an even higher bar on ambition.  Defiance (created by Trion World Network in conjunction with the Syfy channel) is a game that is looking to merge Television and Video Games.  Not in the way you would think either.  Typically we see this kind of game and think its just licensed IP.  Defiance however is looking to something never really done before.  Defiance is an open world first person shooter set in a parallel setting to the TV show that will be a constantly evolving world.  You will have a unique persistent character with upgrades and customization.  Most importantly events in game may be portrayed into the television show and vice versa.

To be clear, executive producer Kevin Murphy said that although the producers of both the TV show and the game will collaborate on creating parallel realities, players of the game will have no influence over “major” plot points in either one.  The game has its own narrative and story lines. They are shared universes with dual portals. If there is a catastrophic weather experience [in the TV show], the characters in the game [may] put that in motion.” He said the game will create an illusion of spontaneity, but “if you are supposed to get the gadget, you will get the gadget.”

The TV show will launch on April 15th and have 12 scheduled episodes.  The game is currently set to hit retail shelves on April 2, 2013.  We hope their ambition pays off.

Title: Defiance
Developer: Trion World Network
Publisher: Trion World Network
Release Date:  April 2, 2013
Platforms:  PC, PS3 & Xbox 360