Wising up to the Firefly MMO's unique challenges

by Samuel Axon Apr 15th 2008 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, News items

It's been about a year and a half since Wired reported that the Firefly license would be MMO-ized by Multiverse. Since then, there's been a vacuum of news -- nada. The game is looking vaporware-esque at this point, but MMORPG nevertheless ran a feature article speculating as to what sorts of challenges the developers of the Firefly MMO will face.

The author goes through all sorts of possible approaches, from a Star Wars Galaxies-inspired ground game to an EVE Online-inspired space game -- even a mostly-social, barely-RPG, casual-type experience. We suspect the last of those is the most likely, if the game gets made at all. As the article notes, the project is not likely to have much funding, and while the audience is passionate, it's also small. That was FOX's problem, too. As we know, the challenges don't end there.

One concern MMORPG didn't bring up at all; Firefly was a character-driven series. Its setting was kind of interesting, but the characters were what made it all worthwhile. If Mal, Jayne, Inara, and Kaylee aren't a part of it, will anyone want to tune in? Turning this franchise into a successful MMO seems almost impossible. Regardless, Captain Mal Reynolds said "we have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty." If the folks at Multiverse pull off a Firefly MMO, that quote could be their mantra.

Tags: firefly, firefly-mmo, fox, joss-whedon, mmorpg, mmorpg.com, multiverse, serenifly, serenity, speculation

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

George McBain said on 2:03PM 4-16-2008

I think Firefly (and possibly, by my explanation in a bit, the Buffyverse) could be an excellent premise for a MMO or other extension (ie. novels not involving the characters).

I think a lot of fans of the Whedon-verse overlook the fact that his works provide such extensive mythology/universe/story beyond the characters seen on the screen. I am a HUGE Whedon fan, but I would love to see what else is going on in the Firefly universe and it doesn't necessarily have to tie to one of the main characters of the show. I guess what I am trying to say is that the fans, especially the gamers here, should look beyond Mal, Zoe, Wash, Jayne, ect. and see that there is a huge possibility for creativity within these IPs.

GameZig said on 10:03AM 6-05-2008

I don't think it's so much the characters that hooked me into believing this would make a good MMO. It's the universe, kind of reminds me of the early Star Wars. You know, the original ones where every ship wasn't shiney new like in the prequels. I think part of what makes the universe endearing is that everything is ragged and worn out. Ships need loving just to stay in the skies and there is that unexplored fringes of space feel to it.