MMO Week: TV production akin to game development

FireSky's senior VP of strategic operations Joe Ybarra, whose company is developing a forthcoming MMO based on the sci-fi TV series Stargate Worlds, sees a similarity between television production and game development.

"I think the best way to look at it is that the IP for Stargate Worlds was originally a television series, and what's really interesting about working on a TV-based property - especially with Stargate - is the fact that it's an ongoing production and the mentality that they take towards creating the show is very similar to that which we take when building a game," Ybarra told GamesIndustry.biz.

After the MMO launches, FireSky intends to produce incremental content on a regular basis very much like television programming. From a development standpoint, Ybarra says that the two models are almost exactly the same.

"I think what's also interesting is that the audiences that consume these products, both from TV with respect to science-fiction programming and gaming, is the same," he said.

"As we refine our processes, as we start to look into the future of how we can make that relationship between television and gaming even closer than we've accomplished already, that's a really exciting aspect of our business."

FireSky won't be content to rely upon licensed IP but fully intends to make original IP for themselves - along with a platform called Social Networks At Play, which the company believes will bring gaming and social networking together.

"...The one thing we have to produce is a great game - and it really doesn't matter what the property or subject matter is, we have to deliver to the customer a great game," Ibarra said.

The complete interview with Joe Ybarra and Rod Nakamoto is now online.