14 DAY TRIAL // Developer Trion, that currently has no game titles under its release belt, has announced that it is entering a partnership with the well known Sci-Fi Channel to produce an MMO. Seeing how, these days, everybody wants to turn every piece of intellectual property into a massive multiplayer world, this should not be big news. However, the project that Trion and Sci-Fi are developing is a revolution in the way a videogame and a television show can be combined to create a whole new experience.
Basically, Trion is creating a massive multiplayer experience that's based on a television show that, in itself, is based on the massive multiplayer game. The feedback loop that I've just described is what Triton is counting on to make a truly great experience and what David Howe, the president of the Sci-Fi Channel, has described as "the Holy Grail for us, without a doubt; this is ground-breaking, and I don't say that lightly".
As the MMO debuts, and players draw in the background story and the initial setup of the universe, Sci-Fi will see which elements are the most interesting to players and will tailor the television show so that it showcases those elements and expands upon them, thereby offering information related to the MMO to the players.
Howe wants the experience immersion to be total. He says that "a television show that is on once a week isn't enough. The fans today want the experience to go beyond that." He described one of the possible scenarios regarding the new game by saying that "we can tell them that there will be an alien invasion at a certain place in the game, at a certain time, and to be there with all their friends and be ready. The outcome depends on them. And then that battle will be part of the universe in the show."
The concept is great, but the success of this MMO and accompanying television show will depend heavily on the story that they will tell, as well as on the way the MMO gameplay will be developed. I, for one, am eagerly expecting more information from Trion and the Sci-Fi Channel.