ONE WORLD - TWO MEDIUMS

Bridging the Game and Show

Game and show, one shared universe. Aligning tone across both wasn’t about matching visuals - it was about matching intent. I worked closely with the TV team to define a style that served broadcast storytelling while still feeling playable, performant, and compelling in-game. From costume materials to architectural grit, it was a creative handshake—offering ideas that fit their production needs while pulling influence back into the game to keep the world cohesive and alive from both sides of the screen

Vision

01: UNITY

This marks the shared starting point for both the game and the show. The logo anchors the identity, but more importantly, it signals alignment. From here, we’ll walk through the core pillars that define how Defiance is experienced across mediums- guiding decisions in tone, world-building, and gameplay. It’s about clarity, not complexity.

03: SCI-FI ADVENTURE

Defiance has to sell science fiction as both immersive and grounded - across two mediums. The game needed to deliver a sense of exploration, combat, discovery, and big adventure. The show has to echo that same energy visually and emotionally. Together, we shape a sci-fi world that feels dangerous, and believable - where strange technology and familiar struggles collide in a way that invites the audience to jump in and stay awhile.

04: SCI-FI ADVENTURE

This is science fiction with weight - grounded, yet bold. The world of Defiance balances the epic and the intimate: alien tech meets frontier grit. It’s an open, dynamic landscape designed to pull players in, not just with lore, but with action. Every location, encounter, and discovery reinforces a universe that feels vast, dangerous, and just close enough to real to get under your skin. Our crossovers need to sell this synergy often.

05: ARK HUNTERS

These are the boots-on-the-ground legends of Defiance. Ark Hunters are resourceful, iconic, and unapologetically rogue. In the game, they’re the players - solo or squad-based badasses chasing tech, scrip, and glory. In the show, they’re the ones stirring up trouble, solving problems, and occasionally saving the day. When possible, we create crossover characters who exist in both mediums - deepening the lore and rewarding the audience for tuning into both. They’re not here to follow orders. They’re here to leave a mark.

06: SKILLS & STYLE

Ark Hunters don’t just survive - they style it. Every tool they carry, every coat they wear, says something. They’re skilled scavengers and tacticians with a flair for the dramatic. Whether tracking tech through hostile zones or jury-rigging the gear mid-mission, they always find a way. Vanity and utility go hand in hand - because looking good while saving your own ass is half the thrill. In the show, we amplify that same tension between survival and swagger, building characters that feel game-born but camera-ready.

07: FRONTIER RULES

This world isn’t clean lines and clear teams - it’s a raw, terraformed frontier where survival breeds strange alliances. Humans and aliens don’t just coexist; they merge cultures, compete for resources, and sometimes trade fire before they trade favors. That friction is the fuel: part cooperation, part competition, always unpredictable. The game thrives on this tension, and the show leans into it too. Blurring the lines between rival and ally with every new conflict and uneasy truce.

08: RIVALRY WITH A PURPOSE

This isn’t just PvP for bragging rights. It’s opportunistic rivalry -where tension between players creates meaningful shifts in the world. You size up your rivals, learn from them, outsmart them… or partner up when the odds demand it. Every encounter can tip the balance. In the show, this same dynamic drives the drama - alliances forged in desperation, betrayals with real cost. Together, the game and show use rivalry not just for conflict, but for character, growth, and consequence.

09: BUILT TO MEAN SOMETHING

Every space tells a story. From repurposed tech to hand-welded barricades, nothing is set dressing for its own sake. Environments reflect lived-in purpose, cultural layering, and practical survival. There’s history in the scratches, intention in the layout. Even the lighting and palette choices reinforce identity - futuristic, yet worn. Props aren’t just objects; they’re evidence. This approach grounds both the show and the game in the same believable, narratively rich world.

10: ACTION HAS ECHOES

This world isn’t static; it remembers. Every outpost, crater, and ruin can bear witness to what happened there. Whether it’s a scorched camp after a raid or a makeshift shrine at a crashed ark, environments evolve with player actions and narrative beats. That same logic fuels the show: cause-and-effect storytelling that deepens context. When the game and series align, the world feels alive - shaped by consequences, full of tension, and always in motion.

11: DESIGNED IMPACT

Visual effects aren't just flair—they're feedback. Each muzzle flash, detonation, or alien pulse is crafted for clarity, speed, and storytelling. Hard, bright cores signal danger. Smoke and debris follow with weight and realism. For alien tech, we lean on science - optics, physics, and strange chemistry - never magic. Everything is fast, deliberate, and grounded. And if we build it together - from shared concepts to final pixels—these effects won’t just look right, they’ll match across game and show, creating one seamless, believable universe.