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Sci Fi / SyFy switch takes effect tomorrow, still doesn't make any sense
We're still not sure what to make of Sci Fi Channel's decision to rebrand as "Sy Fy" but the time has come, tomorrow night when you tune in to peep the series premiere of Warehouse 13 (trailer embedded after the break) the channel guide should look a bit different. So, after a couple of months to settle in are you still reacting with pitchforks, torches and boycotts or just ignoring the switch altogether?
E3 2009: Sci-Fi MMO is an "action RPG"
While visiting with Trion World Network at E3, we were unable to snag any new details on the Sci-Fi MMO beyond this poster - at least any that we can share with you, anyway. (Some of the early concept art flashed across the monitors, and it looks pretty cool if we do say so ourselves.) We did find out that this new MMO is currently codenamed "Channel 3" and is going to be an "MMOARPG", or a massively multiplayer action role-playing game. Of course, what precisely this means is largely anyone's guess. What makes it more action-based than a normal MMORPG? Will the action be due to the tie-in with the upcoming Sci-Fi series? Will they change their earlier statements and perhaps film action-y parts of the upcoming series in-game? Or is it just going to be buttonmashapolooza, with attacks coming as fast as you're able to faceroll your keyboard? Who knows! We'll keep our eyes peeled and ears to the ground in case the folks at Trion World Entertainment decide to let slip with any more tantalizing tidbits about this upcoming TV/MMO hybrid property. (Well, assuming they also don't catch us taking pictures of the monitors showing off concept art next time. Boooo.)
Trion to debut 'Heroes of Telara' at E3
Trion World Network has confirmed the rumors: it will reveal its first game at E3 next month. Unfortunately, details of its debut offering, Heroes of Telara, are slim, but the press release for the announced MMORPG contained such carefully spun phrases as "limitless new content" and "unprecedented level of rich and dynamic gameplay." So, your guess is as good as ours.If the name Trion sounds familiar, but you can't think of a single game the company has made, don't feel bad. Trion drama has swept the internet for quite some time. In late 2008, it was revealed the server-based gaming company had raised over $100 million in capital but had yet to release a single title. In late April 2009, Joystiq received a rather inflammatory anonymous tip that Trion president and chief creative officer, Jon Van Canegham, had been removed from his position -- but Trion reps maintain the split was a "natural evolution of the growing company."Trion World Network is also collaborating with the Sci-Fi Channel (soon to be SyFy) on an MMO/TV hybrid project and recently announced plans to work with developer Petroglyph (of Star Wars: Empire at War fame) on an unnamed MMORTS title.[Via BigDownload]
Trion to reveal first MMO at E3: Heroes of Telara
One of the newer industry players in the MMO world is Trion World Network, which first came to our attention nearly a year ago with word of an MMO being made in partnership with the Sci-Fi Channel (soon to be rebranded as "Syfy"). Since then we've learned that there are multiple titles and publishing deals in the works at Trion. Trion has now announced that the first title they'll unveil is "Heroes of Telara", which they'll be showing off at this year's E3 Expo in June. Details on the title are extremely scarce, but the Trion PR line is one of the first game descriptions we've seen thus far for their previously codenamed "Channel 1" MMO: "Heroes of Telara is a fantasy Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) where everyday gamers are forged into legendary heroes. In Heroes of Telara players are challenged to conquer the unknown in an epic, ever-changing world. Heroes of Telara will feature an unprecedented level of rich and dynamic gameplay, driven by recurring events, unexpected challenges and limitless new content."We'll be on the lookout for more info about Heroes of Telara as well as the other Trion MMOs as details emerge.
Trion transitions President into career options elsewhere
Although we know Trion World has an MMO for Sci-Fi Channel in the works and a fantasy MMO planned for the console, we've heard very little beyond that. Well, okay - we also knew they have an all-star team, 100 million in funding, and recently joined the ESA too. That said, our sister site Joystiq got a rather unpleasant insider email about the company with one piece of information we've since been able to corroborate. Apparently their President and Chief Operational Officer, Jon Van Caneghem, has "transitioned" out of his job at Trion, and will be seeking opportunity elsewhere. According to Trion's statement: Jon Van Caneghem has transitioned out of his role as president and no longer holds any operational responsibilities at Trion. His creative and operational roles have been distributed among the talented senior team.The rest of their statement is behind the break for those curious.
WCG Ultimate Gamer reality show hits SciFi Channel March 10
If you've found yourself looking for new mediums of entertainment since the heartbreaking season finale of The Bachelor, a new program on SciFi Channel might tickle your reality programming fancy. WCG Ultimate Gamer, the first episode of which airs Tuesday, March 10, will follow 12 gaming enthusiasts as they "embark on an intense and emotional journey" for a prize of $100,000, some Samsung products and the right to represent the titular World Cyber Games league at gaming events across the globe. We anticipate they'll learn a bit about themselves along the way. That's the best prize of all, really.Contestants will compete in popular video games (Rock Band 2 is the focus for episode one) and -- wait for it -- "real-life challenges inspired by best-selling game titles." As much as we wish they'd leave that particular enterprise in more capable hands, we'll probably check it out. We could ostensibly watch reruns of Rock of Love: Charm School to satisfy our debilitating reality TV addiction, but, well, we already know how that one ends.
Can the sci-fi genre succeed?
Earth and Beyond. Star Wars Galaxies. Auto Assault. Tabula Rasa. For a genre that dominates television and written media, science fiction can't seem to find a good foothold in the MMO industry past EVE Online. Even the upcoming Stargate Worlds is on shaky ground, and it hasn't even stepped over the threshold into the market. With a genre so plagued by failure, what can a company do to succeed like CCP? Can Star Trek Online, Jumpgate Evolution, and Star Wars: The Old Republic shake the curse?These were the topics of a recent interview between Cody Bye of Ten Ton Hammer and Rob Hill and Kevin Beardslee of Trion World Network, the developers behind the Sci-Fi channel's MMORPG/television tie-in game. The interview covers all manner of things, like how Trion seeks to differentiate themselves from the current MMO market, how they want to interact with their community, how they are handling the creation of the game next to the television series, and how Blizzard's polish mantra can really support a well made game. You can check out the full interview over at Ten Ton Hammer.
SCI FI and Trion hire ex-Blizzard talent for MMO/TV show project
You may remember the announcement this summer from the cable channel SCI FI about their collaboration with Trion World Network to create the first-ever television series connected with an MMO. While this news perked the interest of many gamers and SCI FI fans, we have only heard sprinkles of news here and there about the project.Today, both companies announced the hiring of two new top industry talents for this MMO/TV show project. One is Kevin Beardslee, who you may know as a founder of Carbine Studios and a former developer on Blizzard's World of Wacraft. He will act as the Senior Development Director for the game half of the project. For the television side, Peter Egan (no relation to our own James Egan) will be writing the pilot episode on SCI FI. His previous work includes Playmakers (ESPN), Over There (FX Network), Medium, Medical Investigation (both on NBC) and SCI FI's own The Dresden Files. We wish both men the best of luck in their roles with this new innovative project.
New Sci-Fi gaming show takes the physical challenge
The Sci-Fi Channel has partnered with Samsung and Granada America to hunt down the most well-rounded gamer in the United States as part of WCG GameQuest, a new "elimination-style" game show. Besides bragging rights (and sore thumbs), the winner of the "competition series" will also walk away with $100,000 and trips to attend future World Cyber Games events. However, to survive the eight-episode tournament, contestants will not only have to stand up to the rigors of gameplay, but also real-life "physical challenges." We hope to see the gaming elite vie for superiority by plunging head first Double Dare-style into pools of slime when WCG GameQuest hits the airwaves in the first quarter of 2009.
The Digital Continuum: Kaiju MMO
I know there's been a The Daily Grind about this subject already, but I felt like talking about my own personal kaiju (giant monster) MMO and this is just the place for that. Growing up there were certain things I could count on. For instance, there would always be some sort of Anime marathon in the summertime on the Sci-Fi Channel and that very same channel was also usually good for giant monster movies. Oh yeah and you could always count on a new Megaman game coming out that year.It's strange how this never occurred to me but giant monsters are almost perfect as a theme for an MMO. Purely because the theme itself provides a gigantic, epic sort of combat gameplay that is central to the thrill of massively multiplayer online games. Whether it's a game where the players create and control their own giant monsters or fight against the monsters is the choice I've been struggling to answer -- but then something dawned on me. The two game types, when combined, make for a very interesting type of MMO experience.
Sci-Fi releases the genre for their new MMO
Recently we've reported on a partnership between Trion World Network and SCI FI channel to create a new MMO that will be tied into a SCI FI show. But, for all we knew about the new project, we didn't know what genre it would fall under or what the setting would be.That all changed in an interview from Ten Ton Hammer with Adam Stotsky, the executive vice-president of SCI FI channel, about the new SCI FI project. While most of the interview focuses on the partnership between Trion and SCI FI, Cody "Micajah" Bye was able to pull out the setting for the new project from Stotsky.Stotsky confirms that the project will be science fiction in nature, centering around Earth in an alternate universe."It will be a very different Earth than the one we currently know today," Stotsky told Bye during the interview.For the rest of the interview, drop by Ten Ton Hammer and check it out.
Sci-Fi Channel creating an MMO/TV show hybrid
With people spending less time watching TV and more time playing video games, TV networks are making increasingly unique attempts to get their audiences back. The latest example comes from the Sci-Fi Channel, which is integrating an upcoming TV series with a concurrent MMORPG that will affect and be affected by the on-air action."For example, we can tell [players] 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," Sci-Fi Channel President Dave Howe told the L.A. Times. "The outcome depends on them. And then that battle will be part of the universe in the show." Footage from in-game battles will be used in the show and the players choices themselves will guide which characters, settings and storylines are highlighted on the program.The game was originally planned to be an outgrowth of the channel's popular Battlestar Galactica remake, but the developers at Trion World Network decided it would be better to start fresh with new characters and environments. Both the show and the series will be set 80 to 100 years in the future and launched not that much sooner in the summer of 2010. More information is slated to be revealed at Comic-Con in July.
Massively interviews Jon Van Caneghem about the SCI FI Channel MMO
Trion World Network is quite a company -- without releasing a single game, they've put together millions of dollars in venture capital and compiled a staff list that's got team members from across the history of MMO games, from EverQuest and Ultima Online to World of Warcraft and City of Heroes.This week, they sent waves through the MMO community by announcing that not only were they working on a fantasy MMO to be helmed by Jon Van Caneghem (original creator of the Might and Magic series of RPG strategy games and co-founder of the company along with Lars Buttler), but that they were forming a groundbreaking partnership with the SCI FI Channel to develop and publish and MMO to live alongside a television show. Finally, we had a small glimpse of just what Trion, with all of their money and experience, were up to.To find out more, Massively sat down with Van Caneghem (a busy man since the news dropped on Monday) to chat about both the fantasy MMO and the SCI FI project, and what Trion's been working on since they formed. Van Caneghem told us why Trion wants to make a different kind of MMO, and how they'll balance an online game with a television series from the network that's running Battlestar Galactica. The interview starts right after you click the link below.
Trion on their new distribution platform
When young, unproven companies make that first step of announcing new projects, as Trion did yesterday, there are typically scant few details for gamers to work with in trying to figure out what the company is going to be like. Fortunately, Trion bigwigs Lars Buttler and Jon Von Caneghem were willing to sit down for an interview yesterday to discuss what the focus of their new company is going to be with the development of the Sci Fi Channel project and the unnamed fantasy game.Their big emphasis seemed to be on innovating the distribution model, removing the retail barrier for entry that may be keeping a lot of potential players from getting invested in serious MMO experiences. Along those lines, they also want to plug into social networking and let players feel they have a presence in the game world even when they're not sitting at their home PCs. Also interesting was their plans to centralize most of the "smart" elements of their games, like the physics calculations, server-side, reducing the hardware requirements for the player. They see their role as much as a platform provider for future MMOs as anything, but the proof is in the pudding, and their games are going to have to impress if they want to have any hopes of success.
Sci Fi Channel creating hybrid TV series and MMO
The Sci Fi Channel plans to air a TV series that simultaneously plays out as a massively multiplayer online game, the Los Angeles Times reports. This pairing of television writers with game designers will allow fans of the series to influence its story arc through their own actions in the virtual space. David Howe, president of the Sci Fi Channel, said, "This is the Holy Grail for us, without a doubt... this is groundbreaking, and I don't say that lightly."The large and dedicated player communities attached to various titles in the MMO space are appealing to the Sci Fi Channel. "Bundling a World of Warcraft player community with a series and an on-line social community is something the Sci Fi Channel has tried to puzzle out for several years," according to the Los Angeles Times. The Sci Fi Channel's desire to tap into the MMO market led them to work with Trion World Network, a California-based game company with some major investors standing behind it. The hope is that together, they will achieve a first in interactive entertainment: create a hybrid television series and online game, where players affect or even determine the direction of the show. If successful, this will stand as a milestone in the history of both television and games.
