Newsroom
Newsroom
General : Firefly MMORPG
Posted Dec 08, 2006 by Jon Wood
Wired News reports that the company Multiverse has acquired the rights to create a Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game based on the now cancelled FOX Sci-Fi television show, Firefly. Firely, which was created by Buffy the Vampire Slayer lead-man Joss Whedon, was cancelled in 2002, but retains a fanatical following amongst fans.
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Like Capt. Mal Reynolds stumbling in after a bar fight, the short-lived but much beloved sci-fi series Firefly will soon make an unexpected return, not as a TV show, but as a massively multiplayer online game. Now that's shiny. Multiverse, maker of a free MMO-creation platform, plans to announce Friday morning that it's struck a deal with Fox Licensing to turn the show into an MMORPG in the fashion of Star Wars Galaxies or Eve Online. The "Browncoats," as Firefly's most devoted fans are known, have been campaigning to bring the show back almost since the moment it was canceled in late 2002. Now they'll get their wish, albeit in a new form. |
To read the whole Wired article click here.
God that show sucked...Tulga or NP3 would be a perfect fit for that MMO
Spiritglow
I can understand someone not liking Firefly, but 'suck' it did not.
Sheesh, I cant believe the first poster to reply to this news actually thinks Firefly sucks... Its one of the most amazing television series I have ever seen, and I have to say that normally I hate sci fi television, but Firefly was just so different. I think it could make an excellent mmorpg.
For you who do not know what firefly is, look up firefly (tv series) on wikipedia and maybe rent or buy the dvds. It is simply amazing and worth giving a few minutes to look into.
Only one thing to say to the insta-haters...
"Hell, I'll kill a man in a fair fight... or if I think he's gonna start a fair fight..."
heh :)
Well, we all know that star wars franchise is a pretty sold out. Anything for a cheap buck. Did you know that they are working on a Starwars drama tv show? The OC in space is the idea, I think.
Anyways, Joss has certainly been searching for outlets for his firefly universe, but I dont think he would sell out exactly. On the other hand, he has had such a hard time keeping the project going, he may have been inclined to take offers despite knowing the developers arent going to stay true to the firefly universe or make a decent game.
The game is going to be developed by Multiverse. Multiverse doesnt have any games out yet, but it is working on a mmorpg game engine that they hope they will be able to sell to other mmorpg developers. It looks much more promising than some similiar cases, such as the mmorpg SEED and its developers 'brilliant' idea to try making the engine from scratch then selling it, but I wouldnt put too much faith into Multiverse yet.
I guess you can download a demo of the Multiverse engine at their site. I downloaded it, and after going through a staggered system of 'automatic' updates, the game world pretended to load, then crashed. Oh well though, they say its still in beta and all, so we should reserve judgement.
Will they implement compagnones ?
Hi Inara, cyber?
"Hey Im the dude with Ser3nity."
"No, I have Seren1ty."
"Bull, I own sErEnItY. Go cRaP yourself."
"Thats not Serenity, my ship is S3r3n1ty."
"Pfft. None of you guys know anything, my ship is SeReNiTy."
"Well at least Ive got the prostitute with me."
"No, shes mine, you cant have her."
I think it would be cooler if everybody just forgot about the TV show.
I'm really surprised that a Star Trek mmo is in the works, after the failure that is SWG. I think they are in for a rude awakening.
Anyone ever see Space: Above and Beyond? Now that sci fi show rocked!!
Oops, knew I shouldve read the replies first. sorry!
I agree though, Firefly was cool... but I do not see myself playing a Firefly MMO when instead I could play a Star Trek Online or a Stargate Worlds game. Sorry, Firefly was a cool TV show and all... but... it doesnt cut it as an MMORPG that I would play in place of those 2 games I mentioned as my future space MMOs. Unless it was really awesome. But the company behind it better have invested at least $20 million into it or it wont get my subscription over those 2 upcoming games I mentioned. Sorry.
EDIT -- by the way, the demise of Star Wars Galaxies has NOTHING to do with how well Star Trek Online will do. SWG went down in flames because their devs radically changed the game on players, not because it was sci-fi. I dont see how that has anything to do with STO...
Excellent TV series, but i dunno about it being a MMO.
The realist in me says "sucktacular!"
Now if they'd make a Sequel to the movie "Serenity"
I hate sci-fi, no I really do. I always almost fall asleep watching the shows, my friends have made me watch stargate and other sci-fi shows a few times, Firefly though... I loved it even though I'm more of a fantasy person.
I'm not really looking forward to Stargate or Star Trek. What I'm wondering though is if they are gonna make it only space or only ground? Because I feel like Firefly should have both areas covered, I'm very doubtful they would/are gonna be succesful in making both areas of the game really good though but atleast I can hope. People seem to already say people are gonna name their ship "Fir3fly" and so on, so did I miss something and they already said they are gonna have space? I'm too sleepy to read it again.
The tv series Firefly was okay ,it definitly was nothing special then scrapped together from other populair sci-fi series, but i found it intertaining, will i be intrested in a MMO about it ?, dunno yet, i could say that every MMO looks intrested untill played or experianced the game itself, if they follow the way of what SWG once was pre-cu then maybe the game would become something, but i also am afraid that even thought the artical said there is a large fan base of the series i truly doubt that cause i have seen alott of tv-series been canceld just because the amount of viewers was far to low, and those series that where canceld with hugh viewer list got their return back on tv, we have seen this happen with Star Trek generations wich was supose to be the last series of STar trek but untill they got so many responses from the trekkies that they decided to contineu ST as "Enterprise", smallville, battlestar galactica, all these and probly more series got their return mostly thanks to all the viewers who wanted it back on tv. So if their was such a hugh fan base of firefly then why is the serie still canceld? The made a desperate attemt to make Firefly better know to make the movie of , but even that movie only reached a small amount of audience and no one can tell me the movie was a succes cause we all know what becomes with succesfull things......they will defintily not be canceld !!.
Do hope the game will be succesfull but i do hope that for every new game that come's out wich i might find intresting.
This could go either way, bad or good. The "demo world" they have set up doesn't look too fantastic, but it is just a demo so...
I'll give it some time and look back into it, but right now it seems like a dream.
You either don't understand the show, or you haven't seen it, since that couldn't be further from the truth.
Agree completely!
Agree completely
Also agree
Do MMO's have rules towards it's must have a world ? i can not speak out of experiance about EVE so i might be wrong but isn't it also a MMO but more about space ships then worlds??
And it quit funny to read people's reactions wich actualy have nothing to tribute to the discussion and i also think that you can see what type of gamers some people are in the way they react.
Opinions are always personal and should be respected and no disrespect meant but my little cousin of 4 years old can say stuff is crap and sucks and when he say's that i really do not mind but i do believe the majority of gamers or atleast the once that are able to write are able to come up more then those simple words and backup what they think is crap or is good and thats something worth respecting.
If done right I can totally see the Fireflly Universe lending itself very well to an MMO.
I think this company has a much bigger job ahead of them then they realize though and I'm more worried that they are just going to throw somethign together and slap the FF name onto it more then anything. Which I wouldn't be surprised with at all.
It's not as if Fox actually cares about the license and from what anyone can tell, Mr. Whedon didn't have a choice in the matter so who knows really.
All we can do is hope they make a decent attempt at it, but I certainly for the best.
From the Wired article:
"Bringing those environments and character types to life as an online game will be a challenge: Multiverse is not a game developer, but rather a platform provider whose product is still in beta. Instead of making the game itself, the company will hire a development team that will craft the virtual galaxy using Multiverse tools."
So it's anybody's guess on who'll be developing this one :) Since this is using the Multiverse platform the odds are we won't be seeing any big name studio doing it so there's no telling what's going to happen.
I wonder if they've someone in mind already, or if it's going to go to tender in some form. It'd be nice if some of the people who've been supporting the setting since the TV show was cancelled could have some input - not to mention Whedon and the other folks involved from the beginning.
I can understand someone not liking Firefly, but 'suck' it did not.
Yeah, it really would have been an acquired taste. Having said that, I loved the Movie as well as the show (own them both). I do not think it would be a great MMORPG. The show was the characters and the humor. Take that away and it all is pretty generic. Other than it being a sci fi mmorpg, what would be the draw? It has a small niche audience who really love the show. After that, I don't see people who are unaware of the show to be flocking to a game based on it.
I loved the show and the movie. The only way it would make a respectable showing as an MMO is if there was the right money/company behind it.
That's not going to happen and they should just not do it rather than tarnish the franchise.
This is great news for all Firefly fans! I loved the show and the movie (Serenity). I seem to remember that not so long ago there was a topic that had some discussions about Firefly possibly becoming a mmorpg, and most people thought it would never happen. I'm so glad that it has potential to turn into a mmorpg now, although I know nothing about the developer, so the idea sounds awesome, but it remains to be seen if the game will be any good. The 'verse' of Firefly is definitely one of my favorite settings, just after the World of Darkness by White Wolf.
THis is something to follow :)
I guess we'll wait and see.
Aside from the fact that SWG ended up being poorly implemented, Star Wars was fatally flawed as an MMORPG from the beginning because it was a "universe" that revolved around a single storyline, and pretty much everybody who saw the films naturally wanted to be a Jedi.
The crew of Firefly were a pretty interesting bunch of characters, but they weren't on any kind of epic quest to save the galaxy (not that they knew of anyway!) More importantly, the characters were all EQUALLY interesting. It was no harder to identify with any character or any "class" than any other.
The Firefly system of a hundred worlds - Alliance, former Browncoat and (apparently) even some mystery planets - would make a terrific basis for an MMORPG. When I first watched the series, I was turned off by the "Sci-fi Western" nonsense, and I hope that whoever ends up making the MMORPG doesn't focus too much on flying train robberies and laser pistols that look like 1800's Colt Revolvers.
But once the movie came out (and I got a chance to go back and watch all the TV episodes) I was able to get past all that, and I became hooked on this fascinating universe with a rivalry between uniformity and independence instead of the childish dichotomy of "good" and "bad." I'd love a chance to hang out there -- as any one of a hundred potential characters.
This is what concerns me the most with this entire process. First, I don't see how any decent sized development team is going to be willing to take on a project with little to no control over the game engine to be used, especially one that is supposed to be one of these "Ready to go MMO in box" type deals.
Plus, has anyone even managed to get to multiverse's webpage? It took forever to load but once your there, it's a little odd. There's no public press release accept for a link to the wired.com article about themselves... which is just dumb if you ask me.
The rest of the page looks alot like a big promiss deal with sentces like: "Make the best MMO in the market in half the time. Just buy this!". I don't know... sounds alot like what MMOcenter.com used to say before the coughed up a lung.
The more I look into this, the less and less I'm entirely convinced.
HUUURRRRAHHHH´HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111elevenanallthatjazzz
Best IDEA FOR A MMORPG EVER!!!!
It would simply rock...
FIREFLY as an MMO!!!!
i think a space/western would fly very well.... when they're in space it's about the technology, and when they're planet-side, well.. it's not. :)
the series was story driven enough that there is a lot of lore potential to be flushed out...
i do think in an MMO setting this franchise has a LOT of potential.
but hey, that's just me, what do i know, after all, I am not the proud owner of a cunning hat.
There is a god!
Now i just have to hope they do the series justice.
I believe they said they will issue the "official" announcement tomorrow.
What I don't understand is how they are claiming the game will come out in 2008. How can they have any idea when it might be done if they don't even have a developer yet?
they would have to let you be Chig (sp) tho! that'd be alot of fun.
Firefly MMO could be ace, dependws on the setting.
During the war?
Same timeline as firefly?
A second civil war after the film?
there is alot of possibilities.
Now thats shiny
, i'am a huuuge fan of firefly myself
, and i'll be looking forward to the game ...
If we are lycky, they might create a firefly season 2, like a half year after the game release
, if not sooner offcause
.
This is great news, I really hope they dont make the game suck.
Stradden,
So when do we get to see Firefly have its own page on here?
I am interested in seeing how this is going to flesh out. I loved the series, but I am a bit skeptical with all of the former big name IP flops we currently see. I hope they learn from their mistakes and make a really great game!
Well, I love firefly but seriously.
I dare you to take a look at the other MMORPGs that are being produced with Multiverse. Heres a link to a list of them along with trailers:
http://www.multiverse.net/games/built.jsp?cid=2&scid=1
I'm not sure if they could be competent in making a firefly MMORPG... Well... We'll just have to wait and see I guess.
last 2 days ive been all over the multiverse site i havent had any problems with it.
A couple decent trailers, and they are soliciting developers for firefly.
Please contact Raph.
thank you very much.
Why the heck do you need a storyline? Sure the Serenity movie had a storyline, because movies have to have an ending. But MMO's don't.
I personally have no more desire to save the universe than Mal did. And I'm at least as adverse as he would be to the idea of someone else plotting my life for me. Each episode in the series was just a bunch of guys on a ship trying to get by in a tough galaxy. Why can't that be the "storyline" for an MMO?
Just like in the series, let us get together a few friends, or a guild, or go solo on our own ship. Just like in the series, we may meet people on the ground or in outer space and add them to our group. Or not. Either split a big haul more ways, or else try to keep a larger share of smaller jobs.
That's all the "storyline" you need. Sure a few curves thrown into the missions once in a while will make it more interesting, but you sure don't need a modern-day Tolkein to come up with those.
I sorta got the demo to work. It kept saying that it couldnt connect and crashing on me, but then it worked a few hours later. I had less than 2 frames per second though. I chatted with a couple people in the demo world and they said that they got okay frame rates, so I think something was up with the compatibility with my computer, I dunno what. Anyways, the world was insanely bland and all, but it is just a demo so you cant really expect it to be amazing...
The Multiverse software is for handing massive amounts of players anyways, its not for the graphic models and such, so it would be wrong to attribute the way the demo world looks to multiverse. I would attribute the way their website keeps going on and offline, and the way the demo world keeps going offline to them though
But hey! Its still in beta.
I actually have hard time believing they are making a MMO based on one of the crappiest tv shows ever. Oh dear, I so hope this will crash and burn as it rightfully deserve it. This was so bad, bad actors, bas stories, crappy characters, ridiculous world. No wonder they got rid of it quickly. The worse is that in order to put that tv show on tv they cancelled a real good tv show that was packed with potentials and already had many fans: James Cameron's post-apocalyptic tv show Dark Angel. Firefly can go to Hell and that MMO too.
I reckon dark angel and firefly suffered the same fates. Neither were liked by the Fox executives so both were put into the friday night death slot. I think you might have gotten the wrong impression of firefly, probably because it took the death slot after dark angel. Dont think that firefly is the cause of dark angel being cancelled though
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_Night_Death_slot
Actually Dark Angel was cancelled because 1: Fox could not afford two scifi series at the same time; 2: after 9/11, they tried to brighten up Dark Angel in the second season because they found the show too dark and depressing, other tv shows in the work were cancelled for the same reason, they were too dark and depressing for FOX; 3: they kept changing the time slot for Dark Angel to finally put it at a bad time slot so DA did not to get as much viewers as in the first season, bad decision for a new show starting to gain fans. So yes, Firefly is partly responsible for the cancellation of Dark Angel, it was either Dark Angel or Firefly.
It is nice seeing other than fantasy games being created.. I miss Earth and Beyond, maybe this will fill that void. I wont be holding my breath tho...
lol
I reckon
Not worth the attention of any Firefly fan, tbh.
I agree with xxthecorexx.....
They need to get Raph koster. Seeing Firefly done the way SWG was at release would put a bonnie smile on any lads face.
If you remember there are NO alien life forms in the "Verse".
So with only "real world" creatures what will we be fighting? It would be cool to make a money centric world where your goal was to get a better ship and a gun like Vera through a mission based system where you gain reputation as a outlaw or what ever.
I dont know I just cant see XPing off of cows and revers.
Thats a good point, and I'm pretty sure no ones said anything about how much input Joss will have... Which probably means he wont have very much input, because if he did have input, multiverse would probably be singing it from the rooftops for the firefly community. It might be too early to tell though. Joss has always treated firefly like his own baby, I would be surprised if he just threw it to some random small game developer and left his creation for dead.
I hope they dont use too many creatures, but I expect they'll probably end up adding at least a few weird little creatures here and there. As long as there isnt intelligent aliens or anything too outragously weird I dont think it would be getting off the lore too much. Hopefully most leveling up is off low level outland law enforcers, low land crooks, or from whoring, given that theres a whore class. *crosses fingers*
There's a similar discussion going here on MMORPG now that a company formed by Firefly fans has "unoffically" taken over development since Fox Studios and Multiverse abandoned it.
http://www.mmorpg.com/newsroom.cfm/read/20983#post
DarkCryo is asking fans for help in creating the game. They have a LONG 63 question survey asking lots of questions from basic gameplay mechanics to what timeperiod it should be in, how should death & looting be handled as well as playable factions. Each question allows for comments to further explain your opinion / position.
Take the survey now. Note that your comments, while anonymous, will be publically viewable.
http://www.fireflyuniverseonline.com
Plus I found they have a Facebook page with similar discussions in which DaryCryo is very active as well.
Stay Shiny!
Xirad