The game creators did a masterful job of pushing the game by teaming up with Syfy to create a "show" that's based around the premise of the game. While there's been movies based off a game, there haven't been very many cases of where the game and the tv/movie worked hand-in-hand such as this. Now, if they'd only invested in the infrastructure necessary to handle the large number of people wanting to play, then it'd would've been perfect.
Funny. I've been really getting into this show (tonight is the season finale) and I've always known there was a game as well, but I had assumed the game was a marketing throw-along to the show. Was the game on the market before the show? The show itself doesn't have that over-structured feel that films based on games always have.
It was inevitable. Just like marketing action figures and princess costumes are planned along with a specific genre of movie.
I, too, have been following the show and am looking forward to tonight's finale. As for the game... never played it. On the gaming forums I lurk, the general consensus seems to be that the game is a moderately fun, but somewhat shallow, experience. It's not 'bad,' but... not something I'm dying to get my hands on either. Similar to what GingerCoffee said, I don't find the game+show tie-in groundbreaking by any means. It was inevitable, and I suspect more TV producers and game developers will follow suit and do it better. My greatest fear, back when Defiance was only a concept, was that one would drag the other down. I've had my fingers crossed, waiting for a new sci-fi show to sink my teeth into, and all I could think is "oh, great, here comes a lame show riding the coat tails of a great game," or vice versa. Thankfully, that prophecy didn't come to fruition. What I got was a decent show coupled to a mediocre game. As far as I can see, neither seems to be hurting or helping the other. Which raises the question: how many people are actually buying the game because of the show, or watching the show because of the game? I don't think the show is selling the game, the way SyFy intended. (But I do feel the urge to buy a Dodge Charger, for some reason. ) Oh well, at least we got a decent sci-fi show out of it. The second season has already been cleared, so no complaints over here.
That bit about the Charger was funny. They've been plugging that commercial for all it's worth. My major fear/hope with this show as that it hit the floor with multiple arcs flaring in all directions. Either these come together in a cohesive stream or they trickle away, meaninglessly evaporating into nothing. From a personal stance, I'm enjoying the SyFy Channel's investment in having "diverse" characters and handling them well. The little lesbian story arc is enjoyable because it neither sanitizes into symbolic handholding nor does it demonize it. The two characters are very complex and this is just one of their shared facets.
Never watched the show, but I do need to point out that the game is really bad. It features game-breaking bugs, a low framerate, considerable lag, brain-dead AI, and dull, mindless quests that modern MMOs have long since moved away from. That's the problem with such cross-promotion. Even if the groups responsible for each were entirely separate, they still have to coordinate release dates . The development cycle for a game (let alone an MMO) is much longer than for a television show, so having far less time to work on the project usually leads to disaster. It's noteworthy that even with games that are movie tie-ins, they range from mediocre to horrendous. (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Thor, Green Lantern, Battleship, Watchmen, etc.) The only series of games partially based on a popular movie franchise that were any good (Arkham Asylum and Arkham City) were not directly based on any specific movie, and were not released around the time of any of the pictures.
I have to agree that after watching the show and the Game i didn't get too into either. however i do have to say that the show is better. i felt like the game suffered from the same annoying fetch quests with no real plot to drive it along. also the mechanics really sucked. I LOVE the idea of merging the two mediums in a way that people can do both and as such better the overall experience. I hope at the very least this paved the way for future developers to go down the same path with more success.
I don't have anything but mobile Internet at the moment so my gameplay abilities are severely restricted. However, I have to say that Defiance was a stroke of genius and I wish I had come up with it first....
