If trademark is to be believed

Apr 6, 2009 17:01 GMT  ·  By

The latest trend in the integration of videogames and other forms of entertainment is no longer linked to a movie, but to a television show. A videogame, Via Domus, was released drawing inspiration from the popular series Lost, although it failed to draw the attention of the long time fans of the franchise. Recently, a Grey's Anatomy videogame was published, with players taking charge of the characters from the series as they engaged in medical mini games.

And now there are signs that soon we might be taking on the role of Don Draper in a videogame, as Lionsgate has trademarked the Mad Men videogame. Of course, a trademark does not actually mean that a videogame will be developed and produced. The company might just be trying to make sure that no one else takes it and creates a videogame based on the franchise. But there are some exciting opportunities related to it.

After all, Mad Men is a series that emphasizes dialog, strong characters, a complex narrative thread and many twists and turns. There are already two seasons out and a third one is in the production period, scheduled to air this year. Where can a videogame find a place between them?

The smart money is on the Mad Men videogame being just a casual title, probably centered around events that have already been depicted on the show and featuring some mini games centered around advertising, like creating the perfect slogan or the perfect art for a campaign.

But Lionsgate could be aiming higher, getting ready to craft a deeper game, which is tied to the series but not featuring the same characters. We could see a young account executive walking into an advertising company in order to build a career and the game could actually turn out to be a deep simulation of how the advertising world worked in the '60's. We’ll bring you more details if and when Mad Men the videogame appears.