My last TV to MMO article touched on the potential of a Farscape MMO which lead me to explore the potential of another science-fiction series, Andromeda. It originally aired on US television in October 2000 and ran for 5 years with the penultimate episode airing on May 13th 2005.
It was based on original writings from Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry. The entire series was based entirely on unused material that Gene originally wrote in the 1960s and 1970s. Airing in 2000 the series was still way ahead of its time which really pays tribute to the work created 30 years previously.
The series followed Dylan Hunt and his crew as they attempt to rebuild The Systems Commonwealth; previously a political group that spanned 3 galaxies.
As with most science fiction franchise Andromeda had enough background story to satisfy even the most passionate of fans. One of my personal favorite aspects was the in-depth approach to the races within the show. There are literally dozens of different races but there was a high level of attention to detail to each and every one. There really wasn’t any races that came across as lackluster when compared to the others, creating a feeling of a living, breathing universe.
I don’t feel there’s any debate with whether or not a science fiction MMO would work. Some of the most popular online games are based around science fiction stories and some of them don’t even really offer any depth to the world. Andromeda would bring a much needed depth of story to a stale genre but they would need to bring some innovation in regards to mechanics.
The genre as a whole is stagnating at the moment with very few science fiction titles bringing anything new to the table. A decent background story, a devoted legion of fans and enough futuristic technology to fuel a revolution; all the ingredients you’d need to create a decent MMO game.