Firefly MMORPG Wishlist by SergeantX

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Firefly MMORPG Wishlist

POSTED BY: SERGEANTX
UPDATED: Sunday, December 10, 2006 19:20
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 529
PAGE 1 of 1

Sunday, December 10, 2006 7:20 PM

Like a lot of you, I'm very excited by the possibility of an online Firefly RPG. But the prospect seems a little scary. The only thing worse than no Firefly game would be a crummy one. I wouldn't want to see it happen unless it's done right (or something close to right anyway).

I'm guessing we can agree on that sentiment, but what exactly will 'done right' mean? I'd like to come up with something like a mission statement of the kind of game we want to see. I'm not sure it will do any good, or whether the Multiverse people will give a hoot, but I think it's worth the effort.

To get the ball rolling, I'll lay down my list of key elements. Feel free to disagree, or tell me how right I am. And please add your own points. Maybe we can get some kind of consensus on the things that really matter and forward them on to someone who cares.

-----

Hmmm. So, what should the overall goal be? Right off the bat, we're faced with the obvious observation that some of the best elements of the series just aren't going to be primary features of a game. The key will be focusing on the elements that can be recreated in a computer game and nail them solidly.

Things like dialog, deeply layered story arcs and the playful wit of the series will be problematic in a game, especially one that allows freedom for many players to follow their interests. I'm not saying there shouldn't be an effort to recreate the dramatic quality of the series, but we have to be realistic.

But I'm still hopeful that the core of the Firefly magic can be captured in a well-designed game. In fact, I was drawn to the imagined 'verse of Firefly, in a game, over twenty years before the series ever aired.

Let me explain...

In 1977, Game Designer's Workshop releases Marc Miller's "Traveller", one of the very first table top roleplaying games. It was the second roleplaying game I'd played, after Dungeons and Dragons and it quickly became my favorite. Most significantly, it presented a vision of science fiction that was new to me. It wasn't the utopian Federation of Star Trek, and it lacked the mythic grandeur of Star Wars. Instead if followed the science fiction tradition more often represented in literature. Characters were normal people with realistic backgrounds and realistic vulnerabilities. The 'verse was filled with criminals, corrupt politicians, merchants, traders, and domineering militaries.

To give you an idea of how closely it matched the Firefly 'verse, the canonical Traveller campaign usually followed the exploits of military veterans running a tramp cargo ship. Sound familiar?

Traveller was a big reason why Firefly seemed instantly familiar to me. The point I'm making here is that Traveller was a game, a roleplaying game, that captured many of the key elements of the series. (I even harbor my own, as of yet unconfirmed, suspicions that Joss may have played Traveller in his youth. I've heard he is more than a little familiar with RPGs, so I suppose it's possible.) Anyway, if Traveller could do it, a well-designed MMORPG ought to be able to do likewise.

So what needs to be there...

1. Real People. Real Challenges. More than anything, the stories of Firefly felt realistic. When I say realistic, I'm not talking about hard sci-fi physics, or strict attention to scientific detail. I'm talking about plausible stories with accessible characters. The crew of Serenity weren't superhuman heroes saving the galaxy from ultimate evil. They were working class folks, struggling to get by in a 'verse indifferent to their concerns. They weren't incredibly talented or noble. They made mistakes and dealt with results. They cheated when they had to and did the occasional good deed when it worked out.

To that end, it's my hope that the game will avoid the common crpg trend of escalation. The usual pattern for computer adventure games (and most tabletop rpgs for that matter), involves perpetually improving characters paired with greater and greater challenges. This works for one shot games with story arcs that leads to some kind of climax. But for a recurring series, or game, it's just silly. It would lead quickly to a 'verse filled with 66th level Mals walking around mowing down Reavers like grass. Firefly should NOT be World of Warcraft in space.

2. Moral Dilemmas. Just behind the moral ambiguity of Firefly's characters, each of them had their own sense of right and wrong. They didn't always agree on where that line was to be drawn, but they did look to draw it. I really think a game true to the soul of Firefly will present characters with decisions that have real repercussions. Decisions that will define who they are and where they'll end up.

3. Alienation. The crew of Serenity found themselves regularly torn between the moral righteousness of core culture, and the gritty necessities of frontier life. In general, they had nowhere to turn. That aspect should be maintained in the game. I think it would be a real mistake to mimic the 'factions' feature of many MMORPGs. Characters shouldn't be offered the choice between Alliance or Browncoat. They should be equally rejected by both worlds.

I also believe the browncoats should NOT be resurrected as a power in the 'verse. They should remain the losers from the war and a hopeless hope that hangers-on like Mal cling to. They should never be a real threat to the Alliance. The tone of Firefly would be totally altered if the game feature some kind of 'browncoats gonna do it again' aspect.

Okay, I have more ideas, but I've rambled for too long. I'm interested in others observations. What do you all think?

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

YOUR OPTIONS

SHARE THREAD

NEW POSTS TODAY

USER	POST DATE

USER

POST DATE