So, onto my second one of these. As I intend to run the nerd-show gamut with this feature, I figured I'd move onto Joss Whedon's venture into sci-fi: Firefly. Now while this show has plenty of action and spaceshippery, which instantly suggests some kind of action-shooter-spacesim of some kind, the focus (and most of the fanboy support of the show) comes from the sassy dialogue of the crew of the Serenity.
At least I think sassy is the right word for it.
There is only one genre that could bring justice to the sharp writing of a show rather than any kind of content, and that's the classic Point N' Click Adventure format. That's right, all those old Lucasart and Sierra games. However it would play more like the Indiana Jones games, where several actiony type sub-games would be integrated, as opposed to just a plain "use everything on everything to solve problems" Point N' Click. At this point I've decided to call them Point & Clicks instead of using that stupid N'. I mean, I could go back and edit past instances of it, but I think implementing the change now and announcing it is far more professional. Far more.
Though, in retrospect, while the above Point & Click format would be good for all the show's slapstick humor and one-liners, it might just be a little outdated and stale for a modern audience. I just miss the Point & Click games, so sue me.
So onto the second idea for this game, which is a sort of first-person (maybe third-person, since that would be easier for some things) shooter/do-stuff-er system. The game would be based around several episodes of the show, which will be separated like chapters. You'd land in a place offering a job, pick up supplies for your crew and ship, figure out the gameplan with your crew (which would be in a cutscene), and play vital parts of the heist (or whatever needs doing) with whatever crew member(s) is(are) needed. This would include such fun FPS/TPS elements as stealth missions, vehicle missions and general shooty-up mayhem, with several mini-games involved also (such as one for hacking, one for loading up the ship using the magnetic crane, etc.). Best of all, when you're trying to concentrate with whatever, you could get someone giving you sarcastic comments over the headphones and put you off, instantly killing you and making you redo the mission! Wheee! The possibilities are truly endless. But yes, there should be plenty of opportunities for the show's trademark charming dialogue to come through without too much interference.
Firefly is one of those shows that probably won't get a game because it's still a bit too much of a niche market, even with the rather successful movie tie-in. But it's been such a long while since there was such a varied (both high- and low-tech) and interesting Sci-Fi universe fit for a video game that it seems a shame not to make one.
