DIGITAL TRENDS: Defiantly transmedia: Syfy’s Mark Stern talks about Defiance and multi-platform worlds
By Adam Rosenberg
February 13, 2013
Syfy president Mark Stern has gotten a crash course in video game culture over the past few years. Not only from the cable network’s relationship with THQ on Red Faction, but also a five-years-strong partnership with Trion Worlds that culminates in April with the two-pronged launch of Defiance as both a game and a sci-fi TV series. It’s pure transmedia, a word that buzzes for some and feels dirty to others. It’s a new adventure for Stern, who has worked with Trion for the past half-decade on assembling something that fans of sci-fi – whether gamer, TV-lover, or both – can connect with. This is no small challenge for someone who openly admits to having only a light background in video games.
“I grew up in the era of Pong and arcade games, so my experience with gaming is living vicariously through my son,” Stern told Digital Trends in an interview at the 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit. “I have a teenager. I feel very versed riding side-saddle watching him play every single game, but I’m a complete neophyte when it comes to the intricacies of what makes a great MMO versus not.”
“That’s very scary for me, because I’m completely colorblind when I look at Defiance… I have no idea if it’s a great game or not, except that I trust these guys. They seem to know what they’re doing and they’ve been very truthful and honest. So I’m kind of going on faith...”
Defiance cast includes Tony Curran, Jaime Murray, Julie Benz, Mia Kirshner, Grant Bowler, Stephanie Leonidas and Graham Greene.
... That trust seems to be well-placed. Trion is no newcomer to the games space, having impressed most everyone who played its 2011 MMORPG Rift with its imaginative world, top-notch technical execution, and original ideas. Syfy is no stranger to taking chances either, or to throwing support behind ideas that click with some community or another. Stern is very much aware that delivering quality content on television is not as simple as saying ‘Let’s make a series that people will respect,’ and he’s learned from past and current games partnerships that it’s much the same situation in the interactive space.
“I think I’ve gained a real respect for the fact that, like my media, it looks easy from the outside,” Stern explained. “You really realize there’s so much intricacy and expertise. It’s a creative process and it’s iterative like ours is [on TV]. I gained a deep respect for how difficult [game development] really is, that it’s not just polygons and guns. How deeply these guys go in their mythology is really impressive to me...”
Defiance's Grant Bowler and Julie Benz
Defiance premieres on Syfy on Monday, April 15, 2013 at 9/8C with a two-hour premiere episode.
In Defiance™, the future is a dangerous place. Starship wreckage is raining to Earth in massive "Arkfall" events that transform the landscape. Experience one first-hand as countless other players -- and a star from the Syfy series -- battle to survive and profit. Watch Ark Hunters wield the weapons of tomorrow against alien-hybrid horrors in a dynamic, scaling encounter, then travel seamlessly through a unified world into the weekly TV series. This -- Defiance -- is the future of transmedia entertainment.
The first of its kind, Defiance is the quintessential media property created with Igniters in mind— sparking their imaginations while encouraging them to truly open their minds to what is possible.
Set on Earth thirty years in the future, Defiance is a story of courage and survival on a new frontier where humans and aliens must band together to defend their very existence. United they stand. Divided they fall. It’s do or die in the small town of Defiance.
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