Kickstarter: Firefly Universe Online

Devlish

Devlish

Devlish

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In twelve hours we see the launch of a new kickstarter for Firefly Universe Online. Ill be backing it to the hilt, but in order to do so I suspect youll have to be a manic fan.

(Kickstarter link to follow)

Original Press Release:

Press.06.11.jpg


Fair Warning

Now, for those not in the know, a Canadian guy called Craig Redl and a small studio called DarkCryo have been working for some time on an MMO ‘inspired by’ the Firefly Universe. This is important because Fox, who own everything about the show and are in many ways a lot like the skizzball Alliance (they're generally blamed for killing the show by showing the first episodes out of sequence - hey we all need bad guys), have a tendency to stomp on everything not imprinted with their names and generating revenue for them. They have of course already killed one MMO project.

A couple of weeks back DC got the indication that Fox would not be stomping on them 'probably'. This lead them to announce a kickstarter - at which point Kotaku labelled the whole project a hoax by the Yes Men to show the inherent suckerability of netizens. This put a wee dampener in the launch.

After some discussion with Kotaku, they have now come out and said they were wrong. But in the interest of fair disclosure, you can read all about it here, as well as see some of the few in-game pics out and get a bit more detail:

http://kotaku.com/5974538/the-planned-firefly+inspired-mmo-is-real-its-some-fans-labor-of-love

What you should take away from all this is yes, the game is real and Fox still haven’t positively stated they wont kill this. It would be a poor show if they did it AFTER the KS had concluded but until we hear otherwise this is still a possibility.

Update:

What makes Firefly so inviting to us and our DC Community is not strictly its cannon; it is its Crew and its Community. Regardless of the absence of derivative works, Players are in the company of their fellow Browncoats, and their fellow Firefly Fans. From the truly devoted of Joss Whedon’s followers, to Gamers simply looking to escape the cookie-cutter MMORPG. Since we are aiming for a 100% Fan-driven Universe, it is really up to the DC Community to determine how much tie-ins there will be. They are mindful of not intruding upon 20th’s derivatives, and our forums are a testament to their ingenuity of how we can accomplish both, and still maintain an open comm link with Fox Legal. It is our job to simply ask, read, and code.
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I will post a couple of pics and some FAQ info later when im out from behind this firewall, but here is the link to the DC website where you can find the FAQ:

www.darkcryo.com
 
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Nice idea but I have to say I do not like the look of this at all. I loved firefly but this.....
 
Newbie007 said:
Christ this has more fail written over it than the Stargate MMO that was attempted a few years back.
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Im not saying youre right, im not saying youre wrong. I would agree odds are stacked against it, but id settle for a small MMO in that universe seeing as how we're never getting the Big One.

Im looking at the KS as an opportunity for Fox to clarify their position, theyre going to need to react one way or another.
 
Linkex said:
Do fox own the license? If so, I would expect them to license it, but then cancel the license during the beta.
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If the licence was written properly they wouldn't be able to cancel unless contractual obligations were not met.
However I'd expect Fox to want a large sum of money to issue an licence...

I'd love to see more Firefly stuff, but unfortunately I doubt fox will release their grip on their IP cheaply.
 
Werewolf said:
If the licence was written properly they wouldn't be able to cancel unless contractual obligations were not met.
However I'd expect Fox to want a large sum of money to issue an licence...

I'd love to see more Firefly stuff, but unfortunately I doubt fox will release their grip on their IP cheaply.
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I suspect he was joking, as a reference to what they did to the series. It still burns, years later.

Reading the FAQ extract in the article, it sounds like they have a fine line to walk around not treading on Fox's IP, which I suspect means no reference to any of the icons from the game. I need to see their KS to see what actually makes this game Firefly orientated or is it just the name? If the KS goes through the roof I expect Fox to take a renewed interest.
 
And what happens if they raise X amount, achieve the KS and then Fox give them a cease and desist and tell them to **** off. WHat happens to people's money? This is exactly the kind of thing Kickstarter should not be used for.
 
The sad thing is this will easily exceed whatever goal they set and rather quickly.

I'd have backed it in a heartbeat if it was a proper attempt but this reeks of either failure or a clever scam. I hope i'm wrong but i won't touch it until it's licensed.
 
Sleepless said:
Reading the FAQ extract in the article, it sounds like they have a fine line to walk around not treading on Fox's IP, which I suspect means no reference to any of the icons from the game.
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Actually it means no reference to anything, including the name of the show, ship designs, names of planets, characters, races, organisations or groups. They would possibly have been able to get away with a game world that was essentially Firefly with the serial numbers filed off - most of the show was derivative in the first place - but after announcing it as a Firefly MMO they don't have a chance. If it is possible to tell that the game is set in the Firefly universe then they will be hit with a C&D. And if it isn't, why back it when it won't actually be a Firefly game?

In short: don't give these idiots one penny of your money, because it is 100% certain you will never see what you're paying for.
 
JeditOjanen said:
Actually it means no reference to anything, including the name of the show, ship designs, names of planets, characters, races, organisations or groups... In short: don't give these idiots one penny of your money, because it is 100% certain you will never see what you're paying for.
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I suspect youre right, but what i cant figure out (and what Im waiting for the KS to find out) is how they got the name past if there was not some degree of Fox consent. Surely thats the biggest IP flag right there, in the title? If so, I want to see how much else they can refer to, I also think they must be able to give KS some assurances, I dont think KS just takes on anybody that applies,

Essentially what were talking about is a western in space, which appeals to me greatly. I will be backing these guys, simply because I believe theres a chance of them pulling it off. As with all chances, I'll be calculating what degree the proposed MMO appeals to me vs the possibility of losing my cash and deciding how much to pledge then.
 
Fox generally hasn't been very amenable towards things like this - 99% of 3rd party games/mods in the past using their IP have had cease and desists issued by Fox.

Even the involvement of the original cast doesn't really mean much in that regard, they've generally been quite positive about supporting Firefly and trying to get involved with fan efforts but without the support of Fox.
 
No, it's legit, Fox are involved now. Their website is down just now though due to the amount of traffic that hit it after the comicon announcement.
 
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