James Cameron plans MMO/movie tie-in

Academy award-winning film director James Cameron has announced plans to produce a massively multiplayer online game based on his forthcoming feature film, currently going under the name of Project 880.

Cameron, who has achieved global recognition for his direction of blockbuster films such as The Terminator, Aliens and Titanic, is said to be busy working on the screenplay for Project 880, but hopes to begin work on the associated game soon. It is his intention to introduce audiences to the Project 880 universe through the game before fleshing out the narrative when the film is released some weeks later.

Speaking to BusinessWeek, Cameron stated: "So much of literary sci-fi is about creating worlds that are rich and detailed and make sense at a social level. We'll create a world for people and then later present a narrative in that world."

"You're seeing what hundreds of thousands of people in this game environment can create," Cameron went on. "You are exploring the interaction of technology and the human imagination, and you play it out in a highly competitive, fast-paced interaction."

Little more is known about the project at present but it has been revealed that Cameron, who is currently a board member of MMO developer assistance firm Multiverse, intends to release the game and film in 2008.