Beam Us Some Decent SciFi, Scotty

Anyone who's been involved with multiuser text games online knows there is a tragic lack of decent Science Fiction games. Even if we put quality aside for a moment, and look at sheer numbers--Fantasy games overwhelm the SciFi genre. Certainly, this isn't due to a lack of interest in Science Fiction itself. Look to Hollywood and you'll see its immense popularity. Then why is it that so few developers are willing to tackle the task of creating a Science Fiction game, and even fewer succeed?

Since I've never coded a Science Fiction game myself, my viewpoint is probably limited. But I have a few ideas, as a writer and long-time player and developer of text games.

First of all, many existing games are stuck in the rut of precedence set by popular Science Fiction television shows. As much as we may enjoy watching Star Trek and the likes, a game that focuses solely upon themes from the show won't make it in the long run. This is, quite simply, not because the subject isn't successful, but how far can you go with a game that's plot has already been written and broadcast? How many twists and turns can you introduce without making hardcore fans feel as though they've been "betrayed"? And, perhaps most vitally, how much can you do without infringing upon copywritten material?

The answer to all those questions is: Not Very. The most successful text games have traditionally had original concepts. Taking a brief look at the Fantasy genre, games like Avalon may not be 100% original (after all, wizards, warriors, dungeons and dragons are classic themes!), but the content is. For over a decade, people have been enjoying the game because it allows the imagination to soar. A Science Fiction game tightly fit within a motif defined by a popular show, book, or movie cannot offer the same freedom.

So that's mistake number one. But what about the games that are original, offering totally unique races, weapons, worlds, and concepts? Why have so few such games succeeded?

I believe the main problem is lack of publicity. If you examine the unbelievably popular First Person Shooter trend in video games, you will undoubtedly notice that a great many of the games are based in Science Fiction. So right away, we can deduce the majority of gamers with interests in Science Fiction are getting their fill with current video games. If a high quality text-based Science Fiction game had the funding to advertise thoroughly, and a word-of-mouth campaign that spread like wildfire, then perhaps we'd see more gamers turning to multiplayer text games for their Science Fiction fix. So far, I've yet to see a game come close.

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