Red Faction: Origins to Debut on Syfy in March 2011

Dinocroc vs. Supergator. Mega Snake. Sharktopus. Syfy has always brought us the very best in science fiction, and now they’re lending their expertise to THQ in order to bring Red Faction to the small screen. That’s right, THQ formally announced today their “transmedia strategic alliance” with Syfy to debut a two-hour live-action pilot for Red Faction: Origins in March 2011.

According to the press release, Red Faction: Origins takes place twenty-five years after the events of Red Faction: Guerilla and centers around Alec Mason’s son, Jake, a ranger in the Red Faction Militia. Origins will serve as a prequel to Red Faction: Armageddon, the videogame follow-up to Guerilla that’s also scheduled for release in March 2011.

The screenplay for the Red Faction: Origins pilot was written by Andrew Kreisberg and is based on a story by Paul DeMeo, director of Fiction Development at THQ. Kreisberg has worked on such shows as Warehouse 13, Fringe, and Vampire Diaries, so he clearly knows a thing or two about sci-fi storytelling.

As pioneering as this partnership is, it marks the latest an increasing trend of transmedia endeavors. Comic book tie-ins to videogames, television shows, and films have become all the rage, often released before, during, or after the source material’s run. Take for example Chris Nolan’s Inception and its comic book prequel, The Cobol Job. Similarly, Halo novels, comic books, and animated vignettes continue to be produced, and Assassin’s Creed 2 was accompanied by a series of online shorts.

“Well, just from a general media perspective, this will continue to grow,” said Mike Suszek, Editor-in-Chief of The Wiire, when asked for his thoughts. “As the world gets more connected (especially mobility connected) television shows aren’t just televisions shows any more. They become a media experience. Look at LOST, for some time they had a lengthy and deep ARG associated with it, taking you through phone hotlines, easter eggs in websites, and even a console game.”

So what does Red Faction: Origins mean for videogames? For starters, it seems other mediums are starting to acknowledge videogames more and more – and not just to cash-in on their popularity. While Red Faction certainly has a following, it doesn’t have as much clout as, say, Halo does.

Exposure on Syfy also means cross-pollination with similar demographics. Sure, the Syfy viewership undoubtedly overlaps with the videogame player base, but surely there are new fans to be found. And if more people who play videogames or would play videogames watch Syfy, well, then bridging two games with a Syfy television series seems like a logical approach to expanding your audience in a unique way while at the same time delivering a product existing fans will appreciate.

Put simply, while Red Faction: Origins might not be a Lunar Landing-sized step towards videogame “legitimacy” (if that’s even still necessary), it is still a noteworthy one. If nothing else, it’s sure to be less embarrassing than 1993’s Super Mario Bros. film.