Defiance Reporter – MMO Reporter

Defiance Reporter – MMO Reporter


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Defiance Reporter Episode 004 - From San Fran to St. Louie

April 15, 2013

This week, Chris and Ben recap the show in anticipation of the 2 hour premiere and discuss the work of Musical Composer Bear McCreary.


Listen now:


DRAMA IN DEFIANCE

Quick Summary of the Show Premise


Present day arks appear in orbit around the planet. These aliens come not to attack but to find a new home. Things go terribly wrong and war breaks out until there is a cataclysmic event that changes earth. Now humans and votans are struggling to live together.


 


Votan Races




  • Castithans -â€Supermodels of the Votan races†Pale and beautiful. Have a dying aristocracy in place.




  • Irathients – “feral race, tend to be wild†Orange skinned with the white facial marks.




  • Indogene – “technical geniuses†these are the textured white, tall, and thin aliens with no hair




  • Sensoth – “who look like wookiesâ€




  • Liberata – “serving class†Look like alien dwarves.






  • Gulanee – a race of energy beings






  • Volge – Race of Automatons. Seen frequently in the trailer






  • There are plenty of mentions of an EIGHT race believed to have perished with the Votanis system. No further details are available and will probably be a tool for further plot development with the show/game.




Major Players




  • Joshua Nolan and Irisa – our wandering, odd-couple ark hunters just looking out for one another while looking for their payday and ticket to paradise (Antarctica)




  • Datak, Stahma, and Alak Tarr – a wealthy and dangerous family with roots in underground enterprises




  • Rafe, Luke, Quentin, and Christie McCawley – Defiance’s richest and well respected family with secrets of their own.




  • Amanda and Kenya Rosewater – Amanda is the new, wet behind the ears, mayor of Defiance, and her sister is the proprietor of the Need/Want, the local social hub.




  • Tommy Lasalle – Lawkeeper of Defiance looking for a fresh start from his shady past.




 


Take a minute and watch the first 14 minutes of Defiance on Hulu


http://www.hulu.com/watch/445503


 


Making of Defiance Special on Syfy




  • This was basically all the “Making of..†snippets on the Defiance media page and youtube page stitched together to make a half hour special for TV




  • The coolest bit was the futuristic Dodge Charger commercial




    • Electronic Stability Control…




    • Stainless steel bumper cage…




    • Petrohol-fueled Afterburners…




    • The All NEW 2046 Dodge Charger






  • If you’re still interested in watching this, you can watch the whole thing on Syfy.com. http://www.syfy.com/videos/Homepage/vid:2638012




 


Digital Trends – SyFy’s game-infused ‘Defiance’ TV series falls short of its revolutionary potential [Ryan Fleming]


http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/defiance-the-tv-show-review/




  • Defiance has the potential to forever change the way television and video games entwine. Rather than spinning a successful TV show into a half-baked video game – or vice versa – the story of the Defiance universe plays out in parallel in both a video game and a TV series




  • Yet for all the originality in its premise, Defiance still gives off the inescapable sense that you’ve seen it all before.




  • Defiance draws originality from its setting: an Earth unlike any we’ve seen before.




  • The characters all fall into easily understandable archetypes, from the roguish yet courageous hero, to the warrior woman with a tough shell covering a gentle soul, to the do-gooder mayor. Science-fiction fans will recognize all the tropes.




  • The cliche writing dulls an otherwise sharp ensemble of actors.




  • There is a lot of story waiting to be told.




  • Only four hours of the show have been released so far (the two-hour pilot and the two episodes proceeding it), but there haven’t been any stories as compelling as the setting.




  • Strip away the aliens and weird mismatch of technology and you could place the show in the Wild West without missing a beat.




  • Yet despite the wasted potential, the show is entertaining.




 


Blastr – Defiance premieres on Syfy in just 5 days. Learn all about the transmedia event.


http://www.blastr.com/2013-4-5/defiance-premieres-syfy-just-5-days-learn-all-about-transmedia-event


 




  • This made me laugh. Blastr put no effort into this article that us supposed to teach us all about the transmedia event and all it did was say “Our parent company, Syfy, is launching an all new epic sci-fi series. Here, watch this trailer.â€




  • Still, the Changed World trailer is one of my more favorite ones since it showcases the show headliners.




 


USA Today – Can Syfy’s ‘Defiance’ become a cult hit? [Whitney Matheson]


http://www.usatoday.com/story/popcandy/2013/03/26/defiance-syfy/2021795/




  • It’s safe to say that if any new TV series wants to succeed in 2013, it would be wise for the show to incorporate some sort of interactive element.




  • Syfy has posted the first 14 minutes of Defiance’s pilot online. Though I’m not much of a gamer, I’d like to see the full episode; I was impressed by the special effects.




  • Defiance has some cult cred with the cast,




    • Julie Benz from Buffy/Angel and Dexter




    • Mia Kirshner from The L Word




    • Jaime Murray, Warehouse 13 and  Dexter






  • She’s a sucker for any show that declares, “There’s a storm coming!”




 


Today Show – April 10, 2013


http://www.today.com/video/today/51492110#51492110




  • Julie Benz – At its core the show is a character driven drama. It just happens to be wrapped in science fiction.




  • Grant Bowler – This thing is essentially at its heart an immigrant drama. Its the story of America. Its a story of a group of desperate people, a group of desperate races, from very very different cultures and backgrounds, who are stuck essentially in the same liferaft.




  • Its no longer earth, but its also not what the aliens left behind, so everybody is out of sorts




  • The video game segment of the show was terrible. Kathie Lee and Hoda look like they’ve never held a controller in their life and Julie and Grant, while have played the game before, were having some issues themselves.




 


[Show Predictions]


Ben



  • [recap] Alak and Christie get married and Quentin dies.
  • [recap] Nolan will have relations and maybe feelings for Kenya, but will get spurned and fall for Amanda.
  • [new] No new predictions at this time…

Chris



  • [recap] Alak and Christie’s relationship will be put in jeopardy by Irisa.
  • [recap]  We will be introduced to a character flaw in Amanda that could later cost her job. I’m guessing she’s done something illegal in her past….
  • [new] No new predictions at this time…

 


OFF THE SET

 


Massively – McCreary creates ‘vast musical history’ for Defiance


http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/09/mccreary-creates-vast-musical-history-for-defiance/


 


About Bear McCreary




  • I think what made Bear McCreary a household name in pop culture was his work in Battlestar Galactica




    • Variety lauded his work as “the most innovative music on TV today.â€




    • NPR said it “fits the action so perfectly it’s almost devastating: a sci-fi score like no other.â€






  • Io9.com declaired McCreary on eof the Ten Best Science Fiction Composers of All Time, listing him alongside legends John Williams (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Superman, ET) Jerry Goldsmith (The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, The Omen, Alien, Total Recall), and Bernard Hermann (Citizen Kane, The Day the Earth Stood Still, North by Northwest, The Birds, and other Hitchcock works and great science fiction classics)




  • Bears other credits include AMC’s The Walking Dead, which has become the highest rated series of the year, the swashbuckling score for Human Target which featured the LARGEST orchestra ever assembled in the history of serialized television, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Eureka, Caprica, The Cape, etc.. (Said to have worked on the upcoming film Knights of Badassdom)




  • Has currently completed his work on Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome and pulled some of what he learned from that to create the atmosphere of Defiance




  • Bear has worked on video game soundtracks before (SOCOM 4 and Dark Void) but never one where the player was free to roam and engage in any skirmish so there was no control over the order the music was heard. Each area needed music that stood on its own AND fit into the overall themes.




    • “When I compose the score for a project, I feel like I’m creating a musical world.  Projects like “Battlestar Galactica†and “Caprica†gave me incredible opportunities to not only score the drama on screen, but to provide snippets of music that directly impacted the characters and told the audience something about the worlds they came from.  Still, even those experiences couldn’t have prepared me for scoring both the game and series of “Defiance.â€






 


Working on Defiance




  • I was tasked with writing a daunting amount of music, including two hours of energetic music for the video game, and nearly eight hours of score for the thirteen-episode season.




  • “Defiance†needed much more than mere background score.  I was asked to take part in the world-building from the earliest stages of development.




  • I designed distinct musical styles for the various Votan races. I composed their classical music. I produced their contemporary pop songs. I adapted well-known Earth songs into alien interpretations and I wrote detailed treatises on the design, construction and functionality of Votan instruments.  I created a vast musical history for the world of “Defiance†and was then set loose to produce the score for both the game and the series.




  • Prior to Defiance, Bear worked on BLood and Chrome where he dipped his toes into the electronic synthesis thats so prominent in the main theme now.




 


NEWS FROM THE BAY AREA

[What we did in game]


Ben




  • I’ve reached an EGO rating of 314




  • I’ve been slowly working my way down to the Golden Gate, doing all side missions along the main quest-line to get the bulk of the area pursuits completed.




  • Finished the Episodic missions featuring Irisa and Nolan




  • Formed our clan Igni Ferroque <defiancereporter.guildlaunch.com>




Chris




  • Ego Rating 114




  • Not enough gamplay time, so I’m trying to focus on the story missions so that I’m ready when the show premieres.




  • Loving the races. Haven’t won any yet, but I enjoy the challenge. They really remind me of the speed challenges in DCUO.




 


State of the game (we’re on day 9 at time of recording this)


http://community.defiance.com/en/2013/04/08/day-6-improvements-improvements-improvements-niiiice-wtf/




  • So far it looks like the XBOX platform in the North American region is having the most disconnect issues




  • Nathan Richardsson has mentioned “seeing improvements†in the vast list of what’s broken. How? “What do we measure? Everything. From forums and twitter to player behavior and server metrics. And my psychic gimp in my cellar.â€




  • Trion’s priorities right now:




    • Game Server Crashes




    • Disappearing Items & Salvage Matrix – most common case happens when you are in your Salvage Matrix while on your way to a match or instance




    • Chat and VOIP  - still on the list but still being worked on






  • There are going to be two upcoming “fix and improvement†patches and then the DLC, so right now the dev team is prioritizing issues they are able to work on before their actual assigned tasks (ie, if they can help, they will BEFORE working on their actual assigned tasks). That order looks a little something like this:




    • Full Cluster Crashes




    • Game Server Crashes




    • Live Gameplay Issues




    • Upcoming Patches




    • DLCs






  • Patch in a week (probably the 15th), next patch a week after that, and DLC moved out to focus on fixes




 


An Introduction to Contracts


http://community.defiance.com/en/2013/04/05/a-introduction-to-defiance-contracts/




  • Defiance has contracts that you can choose to complete for extra rewards.




  • Contracts are similar to your Daily Quests in Guild Wars 2, quests you acquire from task boards in Lord of the Rings online, etc. They are your daily,repeatable quests.




  • Contracts are found in your EGO menu under the Goals section and a menu over from Pursuits




  • Contracts expire/refresh at 19:05 UTC //Coordinated Universal Time (which is just past noon pacific time), on Mondays for the weekly contracts.




  • There is a scale of rewards for the Contracts, so even if you don’t completely finish the full contract goal you can get a partial rewards.




  • Rewards are scrip, ark salvage, and reputation with one of the factions in the world of Defiance.




  • There are special vendors associated with each faction.  These faction vendors sell items that may not be available on normal vendors, at a cost of scrip plus reputation.




    • So its interesting to note now we have another form of currency: Script, Salvage, Keys, Fragments, Bits, and Rep (for 5 factions)






 


Massively Speaking  ep.244 – Jef Reheard


http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/04/09/massively-speaking-episode-244-defiant-until-the-end/




  • Fun in small doses “for what it isâ€




  • Outgrowing shooters




  • Has interesting crafting mechanics




  • probably won’t play it unless the show really grabs him




  • not many issues with PC version




  • developed primarily for consoles and pc is an afterthought




  • defiance’s interface is just “yikesâ€




  • graphics are a mixed bag..




    • environment graphics looks nice




    • running animation looks bad






 


Ark Hunter Chronicles: Director’s Cut


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvP3xX1NFMU&feature=youtube_gdata




  • The completed, full length digital comic that follows Begbie and Drifter as they move on from their Echelon contracts and become something more




  • Depicts the lifestyle of an ark hunter in beautifully drawn stills set into motion




  • Begbie and Drifter are survivors and drafted by VBI to help fight for earth




  • Shows how one acquires an EGO implant for those special enough to be selected for it




  • Reveals a hidden threat and a common enemy that can unite humans and votans




 


Defiance – the Essential Guide


http://www.defiance.com/en/series/news/get-defiance-the-essential-guide


Go inside the universe of 2046 like never before with Defiance: The Essential Guide. This book has EVERYTHING you’d want in a Defiance companion, including:




  • Character profiles




  • Behind-the-scenes photos and videos




  • Secret game codes




  • “Making Of” videos




  • 3D animations




  • Alien language translator




  • Defiance ePostcards




  • Downloadable show episodes




  • And much more!




 


LAST MINUTE ANNOUNCEMENTS

  2. Join our clan IGNI FERROQUE! <defiancereporter.guildlaunch.com>

    No registration required, just look for me in-game, Corso Vanlocke to get an invite!
  3. Join us during the two-hour premiere as we live-tweet during the show and watch for your chance to win some bits (real in-game store currency) and a digital copy of the game! Follow @defiancepodcast for your chance to win!

 


CONTACT US!


Email: defiance@mmoreporter.com


twitter: twitter.com/defiancepodcast or @defiancepodcast


site: defiancereporter.com


Voicemail: 616-666-6778 (and our new widget on the ride hand side of the page)


youtube: youtube.com/user/mmoreporternetwork


Ben: twitter.com/nebsinsane


Chris: twitter.com/almazar


 


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Defiance Reporter – MMO Reporter
By MMO Reporter
Chris and Ben discuss the latest and greatest news in the world of Defiance. From the TV show to the game, we cover it all!
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