Nerd Appropriate

The story of Firefly is one of swashbuckling space heroes, evil oppressive governments, and above all else, friendship.  Ten years after its premature cancellation, Firefly is more popular than ever with “Jane hat” wearing fans all over the ‘verse. We were incredibly honored to be asked to cover the 10th anniversary panel and subsequent press conference that included the likes of Joss Whedon (you know), Nathan Fillion (Mal), Adam Baldwin (Jayne), Summer Glau (River), Alan Tudyk (Wash), Sean Maher (Simon), and Tim Minear (executive producer).  We also got to ask Joss a quick question about something we love…  video games!

We can probably all agree that the Firefly universe is one that would lend itself perfectly to a robust RPG.  With amazing ships to fly, reavers to blast, and psychic super assassins, it’s a world that’s begging to be explored. Some of the writers of both Mass Effect and Dragon Age recently teased on Twitter that the two groups would willingly battle to the death for the opportunity to work on a Firefly based RPG.  This is clearly something both gamers and developers want quite badly.  At the Firefly press conference I was lucky enough to ask the panel a question regarding the possibility of a Firefly RPG (something of which Kotaku  talked to Epic’s Cliff Bleszinski about while I was on a cross country flight home).

Here is what Joss had to say.

NerdAppropriate.com:  Hey guys, Ash from NerdAppropriate.com, I think we can all agree that video games have come a really long way in the past decade and if you guys were approached by a company like Bioware or some other developer, what would you say about making a firefly-based RPG, or something to that effect? I think we’d all love it.

Adam Baldwin: “Like a Grenade?” (Rocket Propelled Grenade)

Sean Maher: “What’s an RPG?”

Joss Whedon:  “There was a lot of talk about a multi-player thing and a couple of different companies vying for it, and it just sort of disappeared into the ether and I’m not sure why.  I always felt this universe absolutely lends itself to gaming, and the kind of really immersive multiplayer gaming where there are so many planets, so many agendas, and so many things to do besides shoot at things. I think it’s absolutely a perfect fit.  I also think it (the show) should be on the air.” (the crowd laughs) “However, many of my opinions are not shared by powerful people.”

Check out the press conference in its entirety below courtesy of Dandeevy2.  

What is it about Joss Whedon that everyone loves?  Sure, the guy tells amazing stories with stellar characters and more gravitas than we deserve, but I’d venture to say that our love for the guy stems from something else entirely, heart.  I first met Joss about five years ago (long before we started this site) on the Comic-Con floor, and he was cool enough to hang out for a few minutes and chat about all sorts of nonsense.  My brief encounter with the man reaffirmed what I already assumed, he’s really one of us.

For those looking to watch Firefly on broadcast T.V. again (in the order it was meant to air), the series will re-air on the Science Network debuting November 11.  For those looking for some “new” Firefly, Science is also going to air an hour long special that highlights some of the Firefly events held at this year’s Comic-Con!