Another day.
Another apocalypse.
And once again Earth isn’t quite what it used to be.
Welcome to Defiance, a town on the edge of a new hospitable frontier (the old St Louis, Missouri) where what’s left of humanity co-exists uneasily with the seven species that make up the alien collective known as the Votan.
Given that the Votan triggered a decades-long war that eventually resulted in the accidental terraforming of Earth into a chasm-marked rid dustbowl that is inhospitable to almost all life, it’s not surprising that humanity views the interlopers with a less than charitable eye.
But the reality is this is Earth now, and both sides are stuck here and have to make the best of it, although it’s unlikely they will be sitting down to tea and scones anytime soon.
It’s an exciting premise and the team behind it are going to great lengths to deliver on it.
One innovative way they are going about this is simultaneously launching simultaneously the TV show with a game of the same name, which is being developed by Trion Worlds in close collaboration with the creatives at syfy.
If it sounds like an ambitious undertaking, it is, as John Gaudiosi makes clear in an article on au.ign.com that he posted last November:
“There have been plenty of examples of Hollywood adding interactivity to television series through Facebook games and second screen online options, but nothing to the magnitude of a fully realized world that offers a deep third-person perspective shooter as well as a dramatic serialized TV series. Defiance is set 30 years from now in a post-apocalyptic world. While the game takes place in the San Francisco Bay area, the TV series is set in the town of Defiance, which sits atop what used to be St. Louis (part of the arch still exists as a reminder). Characters, including those played by series stars Grant Bowler and Stephanie Leonidas, will make their debut in the game world before leaving for Defiance and picking things up in the show.”
It’s a bold strategy and may just convince a non-gamer like myself to dip my toes in the gaming world just to see if the meeting of TV and gaming adds to the experience of Defiance, and whether it is indeed the future of entertainment.
As Stephanie Leonidas who plays the Chief Lawmaker’s deputy in the show, it may pay for us to do just that (quote from the au.ign.com post previously referenced).
“The two worlds are going to collide quite a lot,” said Leonidas. “I think playing the game and seeing things happen there and how it will then affect the show is going to be very interesting. I don’t know whether I can say too much, but there are a few things that will happen through the game that will suddenly start affecting our characters in the show. There are things that might attack in the game first and then they might start attacking us. It’s going to be an amazing experience for fans who play the game and watch the series.”
If nothing else it will be an interesting experiment.
But while we wait for the future of entertainment to make its presence felt on April 15, we have this bright, shiny new trailer to keep us amused, and behold it is very good.
It has me so excited that perhaps I really should go shopping for an Xbox.
Anyone care to join me?