Defiance featurette crosses the line

Syfy has released a behind-the-scenes featurette for its upcoming sci-fi thriller Defiance, which will air alongside a video game being developed by Trion Worlds.

The video offers a glimpse of Defiance as both a show and video game, and include interviews with the cast and crew.

It seems the show and the game will not be taking place in quite the same space.

Meaning, the series will be a character drama in St. Louis and the game will be an MMO set in San Francisco. Nevertheless, they will be connected by this very interesting world-building set on an earth which has been partially terraformed by an alien race – so it will somehow combine elements of the two environments.

The show’s story centers on the new Mayor of St. Louis and the leadership of the resistance against the alien occupation. Events in the show will have a dramatic effect on the changing scope of the game, and visa versa.

Essentially, it’s a grand experiment, and I, for one, hope that it succeeds. Simply put, the potential for this kind of media integration is vast, and it would be a shame if no one ever tries it again, just because Syfy couldn’t pull it off.

Here’s the official synopsis of the show:

Set in the near future, Defiance introduces a world where humans and aliens must learn to live together on an exotic new Earth that has been transformed by alien terra-forming machines.

Bowler plays Jeb Nolan, the law keeper in a bustling frontier boomtown that is one of the new world’s few oasis of civility and inclusion. Nolan is a former Marine who fought in the alien conflict and suffered the loss of his wife and child in the war. The trauma transformed him into a lone wanderer in the wilds of this new and dangerous world, bringing him to the town where his peacekeeping skills make him a valuable addition this new community.

The dramatic tapestry of the series and the intense action of the game will exist in a single universe, evolving together over time to tell an overall story that is more powerful together.

Defiance, the show and the game, are currently planned for a Spring 2013 debut.