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So much for Firefly...
cpauls
Member Posts: 40
Massively interview: Multiverse explains the Buffy MMO, Firefly's delay
"Yesterday we brought you word that the folks at Multiverse (the developers of the MMO middleware) are in development on an MMO based on Buffy the Vampire slayer. At the same time, news came out the Firefly MMO will now be delayed considerably while they focus their efforts that other IP from writing dynamo Joss Whedon. Yesterday evening we had the chance to speak with Mr. Corey Bridges, Co-founder, Executive Producer and Marketing Director for the company. Mr. Bridges took some time out of his busy schedule at the Virtual Worlds Expo to explain a bit more about the Buffy/Firefly MMO hoopla.
Most interesting, it sounds as though (despite the lack of any announcements about it) there has actually been some forward movement on the Firefly MMO! Mr. Bridges could say almost nothing about it because of contractual obligations with Fox (the owners of the Firefly IP), but what he could say left us with the tantalizing impression we may actually see that Firefly game someday. Read on for all of that discussion, plus tidbits on why they're working on a Buffy title, a bit on what the game will be like, and the interactions between the 2D and 3D game spaces.
You folks put out a number of interesting announcements this week, but the one many people were most drawn to was the news of new titles. You announced that you were pushing off the Firefly IP MMO, and it sounds like you are already in development on an MMO set in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer IP. Is that accurate?
Corey Bridges: That is accurate. We are already in development with Buffy. That's obviously different than when we announced the Firely arrangement. There, we hadn't begun work on it. Annoying as heck that we had to delay the Firefly game.
Can you talk at all about what happened with the Firefly IP?
CB: I'm actually contractually bound from saying much about that at this time. I can say that it's not an issue of someone being at fault. Neither Multiverse or Fox, or anyone in specific made an error in this. There are just some issues that need to be worked through. Hopefully things will get back on track before too long.
"We are not announcing any relationship with Joss, but I would love to work on these games with him. We're definitely seeing what we can do on that front."
Fox and Multiverse had long talks about this, but we felt that it was appropriate - even though it would open us up to people venting their frustrations – to be candid and transparent about this. Fox especially wanted to do a release to let fans know that plans are released for right now. We really look forward to picking this back up as soon as possible. We are really happy to be working with them, and they're really happy to be working with us.
Our understanding has always been that you had the license, and that you didn't plan to develop it, but instead you were searching for a developer for the game. Is that correct?
CB: That is accurate.
Would it be a huge leap to say that you haven't found the right group to work with on that front?
CB: That I would not say.
Has there been any pre-production or work done on the project at all?
CB: Yes. Wrapped up in this is unfortunately the reality that we can't talk about this project. I'm dying to say more, it's one of the great frustrations in my life that we can't talk about it. We were moving and grooving, and now we have to put the breaks on. Hopefully things will change..."
Comments
A buffy MMO? wow never seen a MMO die the second it was announced who the hell would play a MMO based on that horrid IP.
Playing: Nothing
Looking forward to: Nothing
Heh. My take is "you'd be surprised".
Many people don't share your tastes, mind you.
Well there have been worse MMO IP's announced... there was ah... er... hmmmmmmm....
I may need help with this one... next thing you know there will be a "Charmed" MMO or "Gilmore Girls" MMO announced.
However... there was that one mention of Naughty America MMO... but I think I'd find more interest in that then in Buffy...
"And after blizzard takes over the world, they are gonna gather a bunch of lemmings, sit on their fat asses near a cliff, and watch the little fuzzy bastards suicide dive into the ground below. . . . . all just for their own entertainment."
Buffy and her college friends are so retarded, her vampire enemies so pathetic and her universe (college/vampire lairs/home) so limited (as herself), I can't see how they could build an MMO on this.
I think the Sims Online would have a better environment then that show.
"And after blizzard takes over the world, they are gonna gather a bunch of lemmings, sit on their fat asses near a cliff, and watch the little fuzzy bastards suicide dive into the ground below. . . . . all just for their own entertainment."
First of all, it's not a horrible IP. You obviously have no appreiciation or understanding of "camp". Not that you have to but that's what Buffy is about.
Secondly, you are correct, it's a horrible IP to make a game off of as there just isn't going to be a lot there. People like Buffy because of the characters and their interactions. Not becuase the setting is amazing. To that end, the same could be said of Firefly.
Both will not do well.
And I'm huge fans of both.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
First of all, it's not a horrible IP. You obviously have no appreiciation or understanding of "camp". Not that you have to but that's what Buffy is about.
Secondly, you are correct, it's a horrible IP to make a game off of as there just isn't going to be a lot there. People like Buffy because of the characters and their interactions. Not becuase the setting is amazing. To that end, the same could be said of Firefly.
Both will not do well.
And I'm huge fans of both.
I'm a huge fan of both, and I think you're very wrong about firefly. The different planets, the alliance/outer system dynamic, the smugglers, the way each planet was a law unto itself, etc. Great setting.
Buffy MMO will fail. It's failure given living form as a game.
In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.
-Thomas Jefferson
First of all, it's not a horrible IP. You obviously have no appreiciation or understanding of "camp". Not that you have to but that's what Buffy is about.
Secondly, you are correct, it's a horrible IP to make a game off of as there just isn't going to be a lot there. People like Buffy because of the characters and their interactions. Not becuase the setting is amazing. To that end, the same could be said of Firefly.
Both will not do well.
And I'm huge fans of both.
I'm a huge fan of both, and I think you're very wrong about firefly. The different planets, the alliance/outer system dynamic, the smugglers, the way each planet was a law unto itself, etc. Great setting.
Buffy MMO will fail. It's failure given living form as a game.
Not at all, for the reason you listed.
People didn't watch Firefly because of different Planets the alliance or the out system dynamic. They watched it for the characters and the humor. That is why it was a success with its fans.
An MMO is just not really going to capture that and certainly not going to bring in the numbers needed for it to be a success. But that is my though on the matter. If it does come to fruition then we will see.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Oh just so the Buffy fanbois/girls don't jump all over me when I say Horrid IP i mean for a MMO not in general.
I didn't mind buffy as a show..... well it sucked after angel left but thats better left for a off topic thread LOL!
Playing: Nothing
Looking forward to: Nothing
firefly would have been an awesome mmorpg, much better than buffy. You have ships, guns, planets, space, cities, alliance, browncoats, reavers, smugglers, etc. This would have been a huge mmorpg if done right imho.
I'd have to agree with that.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
First of all, it's not a horrible IP. You obviously have no appreiciation or understanding of "camp". Not that you have to but that's what Buffy is about.
Secondly, you are correct, it's a horrible IP to make a game off of as there just isn't going to be a lot there. People like Buffy because of the characters and their interactions. Not becuase the setting is amazing. To that end, the same could be said of Firefly.
Both will not do well.
And I'm huge fans of both.
I'm a huge fan of both, and I think you're very wrong about firefly. The different planets, the alliance/outer system dynamic, the smugglers, the way each planet was a law unto itself, etc. Great setting.
Buffy MMO will fail. It's failure given living form as a game.
Not at all, for the reason you listed.
People didn't watch Firefly because of different Planets the alliance or the out system dynamic. They watched it for the characters and the humor. That is why it was a success with its fans.
An MMO is just not really going to capture that and certainly not going to bring in the numbers needed for it to be a success. But that is my though on the matter. If it does come to fruition then we will see.
people watch shows for the reason you listed. Firefly just happened to have a huge story and history along with it. it doesnt matter if people watch it to be entertained by the characters, the lore is still there in Firefly hell it has more story/lore then alot of the video games on the market now, i would love to see you try and say that im wrong. I have the series on dvd and i have serenity, apparently you werent paying much attention to the setting when you were watching the shows and movie.
Playing: EVE Online
Favorite MMOs: WoW, SWG Pre-cu, Lineage 2, UO, EQ, EVE online
Looking forward to: Archeage, Kingdom Under Fire 2
KUF2's Official Website - http://www.kufii.com/ENG/ -
I want a Walker Texas Ranger mmo.
Chuck norris ftw.
Can you imagine 200 level 1 chuck norris' in starting area?
First of all, it's not a horrible IP. You obviously have no appreiciation or understanding of "camp". Not that you have to but that's what Buffy is about.
Secondly, you are correct, it's a horrible IP to make a game off of as there just isn't going to be a lot there. People like Buffy because of the characters and their interactions. Not becuase the setting is amazing. To that end, the same could be said of Firefly.
Both will not do well.
And I'm huge fans of both.
I'm a huge fan of both, and I think you're very wrong about firefly. The different planets, the alliance/outer system dynamic, the smugglers, the way each planet was a law unto itself, etc. Great setting.
Buffy MMO will fail. It's failure given living form as a game.
Not at all, for the reason you listed.
People didn't watch Firefly because of different Planets the alliance or the out system dynamic. They watched it for the characters and the humor. That is why it was a success with its fans.
An MMO is just not really going to capture that and certainly not going to bring in the numbers needed for it to be a success. But that is my though on the matter. If it does come to fruition then we will see.
people watch shows for the reason you listed. Firefly just happened to have a huge story and history along with it. it doesnt matter if people watch it to be entertained by the characters, the lore is still there in Firefly hell it has more story/lore then alot of the video games on the market now, i would love to see you try and say that im wrong. I have the series on dvd and i have serenity, apparently you werent paying much attention to the setting when you were watching the shows and movie.
*Rolls eyes*
"Lighten up Francis"
No one is saying that there isn't lore or backstory there. Don't look for an argument where there isn't one. But the catch of shows like Firefly and and Buffy are the characters and the humor.
If a person is going to purchase a game that is based in those worlds, are they really lookikng for a space saga with an alliance that subjugates it's people (which is not anything entirely new anyways) or a small town that is besieged by vampires and demons (which could also be based on the world of "Supernatural" while we are at it"?
They are going to want to try to capture the humor as well as character interaction that these shows provided.
But an mmo is just not going to be able to do it. I mean, heck, let's look at something similiar, "The Lord of the Rings".
You go and meet Elrond or Gandalf and what do you find? Some rigid in game NPC that pivots on an axis when his text pops up to convey information.
Not exactly epic or inspiring.
Now couple that with the idea that players are going to want the original actors to play the in game characters.
How much of a let down will it be to have a "Buffy sound alike" if Sarah Michelle Gellar doesn't do the voice? Are you familiar with the Buffy X-'Box games?
A friend of mine was very into Buffy and was bummed because it went off the air. So I just bought an X-Box and got the games so that we could do something "Buffy related". Well, not all the actors took part in those games and the quasi character soundling voices just don't do it. If anything, they remove one from any sense of immersion because of the obvious comparison.
So no, I don't think these games will be successful. If they come to fruition then we'll just find out. I'd be happy to be proven wrong.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Hey, the Buffy series was a good program, but making a MMO on it? Sorry, don't mean to insult anyone, but I think the idea is just ludicrous.
All these networks want to extend the income from these shows. Current trend is that they think a MMO is the next big thing. Unfortunately, with many of these shows, it would take a genius to extract a decent game out of it. I suppose they are getting funding from Fox. I guess Fox will probably take a bath on this before they learn.
Is Buffy really that bad? I think not.
Buffy / Vampire Slayer: Tank Class
Willow / Sorcerer: DPS class
Giles: Crowd controller / healing
It looks more like a eq/wow clone than a complete failure. It may not be great, but it can become playable and fun.
First of all, it's not a horrible IP. You obviously have no appreiciation or understanding of "camp". Not that you have to but that's what Buffy is about.
Secondly, you are correct, it's a horrible IP to make a game off of as there just isn't going to be a lot there. People like Buffy because of the characters and their interactions. Not becuase the setting is amazing. To that end, the same could be said of Firefly.
Both will not do well.
And I'm huge fans of both.
I'm a huge fan of both, and I think you're very wrong about firefly. The different planets, the alliance/outer system dynamic, the smugglers, the way each planet was a law unto itself, etc. Great setting.
Buffy MMO will fail. It's failure given living form as a game.
Not at all, for the reason you listed.
People didn't watch Firefly because of different Planets the alliance or the out system dynamic. They watched it for the characters and the humor. That is why it was a success with its fans.
An MMO is just not really going to capture that and certainly not going to bring in the numbers needed for it to be a success. But that is my though on the matter. If it does come to fruition then we will see.
people watch shows for the reason you listed. Firefly just happened to have a huge story and history along with it. it doesnt matter if people watch it to be entertained by the characters, the lore is still there in Firefly hell it has more story/lore then alot of the video games on the market now, i would love to see you try and say that im wrong. I have the series on dvd and i have serenity, apparently you werent paying much attention to the setting when you were watching the shows and movie.
*Rolls eyes*
"Lighten up Francis"
No one is saying that there isn't lore or backstory there. Don't look for an argument where there isn't one. But the catch of shows like Firefly and and Buffy are the characters and the humor.
If a person is going to purchase a game that is based in those worlds, are they really lookikng for a space saga with an alliance that subjugates it's people (which is not anything entirely new anyways) or a small town that is besieged by vampires and demons (which could also be based on the world of "Supernatural" while we are at it"?
Yeah they will be looking for a game based in those worlds, because its a video game, and if they did base it in the world of the IP im sure it would be ALOT more succesful then expecting a small town. It is an MMORPG, obviously the people playing it wont go in and expect to find humor.
They are going to want to try to capture the humor as well as character interaction that these shows provided.
why should they? It isnt a TV show, is a game .... a MMORPG......
But an mmo is just not going to be able to do it. I mean, heck, let's look at something similiar, "The Lord of the Rings".
o.k. lets look at a succesful MMO
You go and meet Elrond or Gandalf and what do you find? Some rigid in game NPC that pivots on an axis when his text pops up to convey information.
Not exactly epic or inspiring.
yeah, but they had 500k+ subs for quite a long time. Succesful for any MMORPG
Now couple that with the idea that players are going to want the original actors to play the in game characters.
who wants to play the ingame characters? Again, this is an MMORPG. Maybe in a single player game, you would want to play the ingame characters. LOL you sound like somebody from SWG trying to make a game more "iconic".
How much of a let down will it be to have a "Buffy sound alike" if Sarah Michelle Gellar doesn't do the voice? Are you familiar with the Buffy X-'Box games?
no, and i really dont care about buffy, i didnt mention anything about that show in my post.
A friend of mine was very into Buffy and was bummed because it went off the air. So I just bought an X-Box and got the games so that we could do something "Buffy related". Well, not all the actors took part in those games and the quasi character soundling voices just don't do it. If anything, they remove one from any sense of immersion because of the obvious comparison.
i never buy single player games that are based off a tv show. They usually are very badly done.
So no, I don't think these games will be successful. If they come to fruition then we'll just find out. I'd be happy to be proven wrong.
i never said buffy would be succesful ... i agree buffy will fail before it starts. Firefly has a whole universe rich with a faction war and striving planets.
you are explaining the mechanics of making a SINGLE player game. Who in their right minds goes into a MMORPG looking to be aragorn or gandalf? In firefly, you have 3 different parts of the story to choose from. They could base it during the series, they could base it during the war, or after the movie serenity. You have 2 factions, plenty of ships, guns, melee proffessions, space travel, a galaxy...... i could go on, but you will probably ignore this and go on to say something like SWG and LOTR were unsuccesful because they werent iconic enough.
Fact is, these 2 MMORPGs based on IPs were very well done and had a good sized community (SWG had 400k-500k at its peak, and LOTR had 500k+), and nobody that i saw wanted to go in and expect to be orlando bloom killing orcs in a giant war on a wall competing for kills over a midget.
it wasnt hard
Playing: EVE Online
Favorite MMOs: WoW, SWG Pre-cu, Lineage 2, UO, EQ, EVE online
Looking forward to: Archeage, Kingdom Under Fire 2
KUF2's Official Website - http://www.kufii.com/ENG/ -
At the end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she and her friends woke up the potential for thousands of Slayers throughout the world.
Jumping into the body of one of those Slayers and getting the chance to lurk through the underworld of Los Angeles... London.... Hong Kong... or whatever cities the Developers would choose, and hunt evils that prey on folk... Sounds like fun to me.
I think any game with an IP as successful as this one, CAN succeed. You know what it takes? Good developers.
Bad developers are the ones who ruin an IP, not the IP itself. Look at Star Wars.
First of all, it's not a horrible IP. You obviously have no appreiciation or understanding of "camp". Not that you have to but that's what Buffy is about.
Secondly, you are correct, it's a horrible IP to make a game off of as there just isn't going to be a lot there. People like Buffy because of the characters and their interactions. Not becuase the setting is amazing. To that end, the same could be said of Firefly.
Both will not do well.
And I'm huge fans of both.
I'm a huge fan of both, and I think you're very wrong about firefly. The different planets, the alliance/outer system dynamic, the smugglers, the way each planet was a law unto itself, etc. Great setting.
Buffy MMO will fail. It's failure given living form as a game.
Not at all, for the reason you listed.
People didn't watch Firefly because of different Planets the alliance or the out system dynamic. They watched it for the characters and the humor. That is why it was a success with its fans.
An MMO is just not really going to capture that and certainly not going to bring in the numbers needed for it to be a success. But that is my though on the matter. If it does come to fruition then we will see.
people watch shows for the reason you listed. Firefly just happened to have a huge story and history along with it. it doesnt matter if people watch it to be entertained by the characters, the lore is still there in Firefly hell it has more story/lore then alot of the video games on the market now, i would love to see you try and say that im wrong. I have the series on dvd and i have serenity, apparently you werent paying much attention to the setting when you were watching the shows and movie.
*Rolls eyes*
"Lighten up Francis"
No one is saying that there isn't lore or backstory there. Don't look for an argument where there isn't one. But the catch of shows like Firefly and and Buffy are the characters and the humor.
If a person is going to purchase a game that is based in those worlds, are they really lookikng for a space saga with an alliance that subjugates it's people (which is not anything entirely new anyways) or a small town that is besieged by vampires and demons (which could also be based on the world of "Supernatural" while we are at it"?
Yeah they will be looking for a game based in those worlds, because its a video game, and if they did base it in the world of the IP im sure it would be ALOT more succesful then expecting a small town. It is an MMORPG, obviously the people playing it wont go in and expect to find humor.
They are going to want to try to capture the humor as well as character interaction that these shows provided.
why should they? It isnt a TV show, is a game .... a MMORPG......
But an mmo is just not going to be able to do it. I mean, heck, let's look at something similiar, "The Lord of the Rings".
o.k. lets look at a succesful MMO
You go and meet Elrond or Gandalf and what do you find? Some rigid in game NPC that pivots on an axis when his text pops up to convey information.
Not exactly epic or inspiring.
yeah, but they had 500k+ subs for quite a long time. Succesful for any MMORPG
Now couple that with the idea that players are going to want the original actors to play the in game characters.
who wants to play the ingame characters? Again, this is an MMORPG. Maybe in a single player game, you would want to play the ingame characters. LOL you sound like somebody from SWG trying to make a game more "iconic".
How much of a let down will it be to have a "Buffy sound alike" if Sarah Michelle Gellar doesn't do the voice? Are you familiar with the Buffy X-'Box games?
no, and i really dont care about buffy, i didnt mention anything about that show in my post.
A friend of mine was very into Buffy and was bummed because it went off the air. So I just bought an X-Box and got the games so that we could do something "Buffy related". Well, not all the actors took part in those games and the quasi character soundling voices just don't do it. If anything, they remove one from any sense of immersion because of the obvious comparison.
i never buy single player games that are based off a tv show. They usually are very badly done.
So no, I don't think these games will be successful. If they come to fruition then we'll just find out. I'd be happy to be proven wrong.
i never said buffy would be succesful ... i agree buffy will fail before it starts. Firefly has a whole universe rich with a faction war and striving planets.
you are explaining the mechanics of making a SINGLE player game. Who in their right minds goes into a MMORPG looking to be aragorn or gandalf? In firefly, you have 3 different parts of the story to choose from. They could base it during the series, they could base it during the war, or after the movie serenity. You have 2 factions, plenty of ships, guns, melee proffessions, space travel, a galaxy...... i could go on, but you will probably ignore this and go on to say something like SWG and LOTR were unsuccesful because they werent iconic enough.
Fact is, these 2 MMORPGs based on IPs were very well done and had a good sized community (SWG had 400k-500k at its peak, and LOTR had 500k+), and nobody that i saw wanted to go in and expect to be orlando bloom killing orcs in a giant war on a wall competing for kills over a midget.
it wasnt hard
Regardless of your points you have not convinced me. You are thinking of it as purely an mmo and I am saying that the people who will be salivating at the mouth for these games are doing so because of what I believe these people are going to want.
I'll wait for real proof of whether or not I'm proven wrong, not your opinion.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I am a big fan of Joss Wheden's work.
I though Buffy (At least the early seasons) were great, and I think firefly is one of the best Sci-Fi's out there.
But I have to agree with the majority, the "Buffyverse" although has been refined over a decade, is not a really good franchise to base an MMO off of.
Buffy has been in just about every medium, from comics to movies, each one (err...except for the movie.) has really gave something to it, but it doesn't strike me as a good MMO.
Firefly, on the other hand, I thought would always be a good MMO.
It has the nice look, a lush number of worlds, and it lends itsself to some kick ass gameplay. (Having both a skilled 3rd person rpg AND space game would be awesome. Being able to travel to different worlds and such,)
But no matter how I look at any of these, it looks like its going to be made, and unfortunatly, FOX has their fingers in it, so both MMOs will probably be complete shit anyway.
Groovy.
A buffy MMO? Really? You're kidding me..? I just don't see that happening.. well not successfully.. (i'm not insulting you or anything.. just personal opinion)
Though I would like to see a Firefly MMO in the near future. So long as they don't glue the game to the story in the series/movie and delve more into the Expanded Universe of the theme... it could be HUGE.
Everquest - 2000 - '02
Anarchy Online - '01-'02
Earth and Beyond - '02-'04
Star Wars Galaxies - '03-'06('07)
World of Warcraft - '04-'07
Age of Conan - '08 - shelved.
-Waiting on-
Star Trek Online
SW: The Old Republic
I dont really think it would exactly be Buffy as much as the concept of Vampire slayer.
Killing vampires would be fun for like 20 minutes lol...
Unless they added pvp like... You can be a vampire or a human, KILL EACHOTHER
lol...
anyways YAY FOR FIREFLY HOPE IT BECOMES LEGIT!!!!!!!!!!
Its easy to pee in the toilet, but most of us dont.
But you see, by the...oh...3rd season, the term "Vampire slayer" was pretty much abandoned.
Now, most "vampire slayers" are known as just "Slayers", because Buffy killed more demons and other creatures than actual Vampires...Actually Vampires really became the weaklings of the Buffyverse after a while.
Except for Angel, which made for one of the best Spin offs ever. I liked it a lot better than Buffy, really.
...Oh, God, why do I know this?
Groovy.
since it isn't high fantasy i will try it.
You know this is last months news?
This month, we're discussing Warhammer