The Long And Strange Tale Of Stargate Worlds Comes To A Close, Maybe

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Scott Jennings| 24 Comments

MGM finally pulls the Stargate license from Cheyenne Mountain after a protracted court battle

“They took everything I owned and they took … besides my personal property they took my good name,” he said. “When I watched Iron Man, that was my life right there on the screen because of what these guys did to me.”

Whiting says that an attempt to fire him in February by Cheyenne Mountain’s then-board of directors provided cover for the takeover of assets. He was later reinstated by the court, but by then Dark Comet had possession of the games.

“All I wanted was a fair shake,” he said. “I founded this company. I’m the brains behind this company. I’m the creative guy behind this company.”

He said Stargate Resistance was being run by “promotional idiots” and that he had a plan to get the backing needed to bring the Stargate Worlds to market.

Meanwhile, as noted on Stargate’s Wikipedia entry:

The writers and producers of Stargate view Stargate Worlds as running side by side with the show in complete canon.

Given that Stargate SG-1 went off the air in 2007 that may be a problem.

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  • http://driftlogic.net/ Scott

    I’d love to see a stargate game based off xcom. Worlds always felt like an attempt to shoehorn the franchise into an mmo.

    It’s okay to make a really good, offline game, people.

    Fun Fact: The game Eli plays at the opening of Stargate Universe is actually Stargate Worlds.

  • http://Website pharniel

    I’d missed that Scott, but that’s halarious.

    And yes, Stargate as a Tactical Strategy game like XComm or FFTactics or 40k: Chaos Gate would be, well, rocking.

    ok; a GOOD game in that genre would be rocking.

  • http://uk.europe1400.com Siegerich

    Given the name, which kind of Star Gate would you want to play in a Star Gate MMO? Just kidding.

    Either you choose the earth military, or one of a few well known and published Star Gate Planet races.

    Or we drive wild, and you can pick any of thousands of fictional races on their planets. Ehm, which would make the game fictional in a way far independent from Star Gate, beside the one possibility to travel through space (from planet to planet) via Star Gates (instead of space ships, worm holes, dark lollipop magic etc.).

    *scratches* Somehow I don’t like trying to put any successful film IP into an MMO like many others. I wonder why.

  • http://Website Aufero

    When you’re the “creative guy behind” several lawsuits and a bankrupt company making games based on a license from another bankrupt company, you might do well to reflect on the idea that creativity isn’t the only thing you need to run a business.

  • http://Website dartwick

    Its a shame.

    The Stargate lore and back story are as good as any other. But the stargate mechanism would have been the best ever for a FPS style MMO.

  • http://uk.europe1400.com Siegerich


    Aufero:

    When you’re the “creative guy behind” several lawsuits and a bankrupt company making games based on a license from another bankrupt company, you might do well to reflect on the idea that creativity isn’t the only thing you need to run a business.

    Indeed, and I like to add that creativity isn’t the only thing you need to even develop a game.

  • http://geldonsgaming.blogspot.com/ geldonyetich

    What a mess. Let me see if I got this straight:

    Sounds like they attempted to evade the debt of the bankrupt Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment by firing Whiting and then buying out the assets for about 1% their worth under a second company (Dark Comet Games). Whiting was left holding the bag and didn’t particularly like that, and managed to reverse the action in court. Unfortunately, by this point, MGM was tired of the internal disputes of their hired talent and decided to take their IP and go home.

    Sounds like a major IP was given to a small time studio who became a bit too ambitious, mistakes were made, and this was the result. Here’s hoping everyone involved will be able to land on their feet.

  • http://www.pixelpark.se/blog Andreas

    The stargate functionality would be great for any kind of MMO, tying together vastly different environments in a simple way.

    A dream mechanic for many designers, I’d say. ;)

  • http://Website dsmart

    Just been through this same crap over at QOL. So none of this surprises me in the least. Thank God we came out relavitely unscathed (aside for the legal bills) in that action.

  • http://Website ToeJob


    dsmart:

    Just been through this same crap over at QOL. So none of this surprises me in the least. Thank God we came out relavitely unscathed (aside for the legal bills) in that action.

    Who let this fucking guy in here?

  • http://Website A Man In Black


    dsmart:

    Just been through this same crap over at QOL. So none of this surprises me in the least. Thank God we came out relavitely unscathed (aside for the legal bills) in that action.

    It’s not quite as bad when you’re the one doing the stealing, eh, dsmart?

  • http://Website Joe


    dsmart:

    Just been through this same crap over at QOL. So none of this surprises me in the least. Thank God we came out relavitely unscathed (aside for the legal bills) in that action.

    It sounds like you lead an interesting life. Tell me a bit about yourself.

  • http://ferdinandblog.wordpress.com/ Ferdinand

    The stargate functionality would be great for any kind of MMO, tying together vastly different environments in a simple way.

    A dream mechanic for many designers, I’d say. ;)

    Gosh, and we had just been using boats, portals, zeppelins, gryphons, rockets, mariner’s bells, gates, and zone lines to travel to different environments before now. Think of what stargate technology could bring to a game!

  • http://Website John Smith

    ANIMATED LOADING SCREENS LIKE THE VORTREX FROM THE TELEVISION SERIES.

  • http://www.pixelpark.se/blog Andreas

    Well, when it’s part of the IP, all that crap seemingly makes sense. =)

  • http://Website Otis

    @Ferdinand:

    Short version: I think Andreas was commenting on the *where* you can go, rather than *how* you can go.

    TL;DR version: Most MMOs I’ve seen have been locked into a single genre, generally Dungeons & Dragons fantasy. I think what Andreas was alluding to is that a world linked to by a Stargate could be any conceivable genre of its own; the players could either be stepping into a lower tech world where they’re bringing in “magic devices”, a higher tech world where their gear is scoffed at as anachronistic, or a similar but different level of tech.

  • http://geldonsgaming.blogspot.com/ geldonyetich

    I can’t help but think that maybe the main appeal behind the Stargate IP has more to do with the specifics of the characters and, consequently, something that the average screw-roleplay-MMORPGs-are-a-place-I-can-release-my-pent-up-douchebaggery individual would instantaneously ruin for everyone.

  • http://Website Foamy

    I can imagine that the chevron locking sequence would be thrilling the first time you went to step through a stargate… and an incredibly annoying delay by about the 200th.

    “BRB – getting drinks while teh stargate openz”

  • http://Website dsmart

    @Foamy

    lol!!!

  • http://beafraid.com hellfire

    The promise of a Stargate based mythos is that they could have limitless options as destinations and avoid being constrained by the base premise. Up-tech, down-tech, Greek, Egyptian, Norse, completely alien, whatevs.

    No matter how many expansions they release WoW is still Orcs vs. Humans. If you’re tired of sword-n-sorcery there are precious few options available. It’s too bad, really. A Planetside-inspired MMOFPS with PvE content to drive the “worlds” story and planetary conquest PvP and you could have had something nifty.

  • http://Website lechiffre6666

    peep

  • http://Website Xaldin


    Foamy:

    I can imagine that the chevron locking sequence would be thrilling the first time you went to step through a stargate… and an incredibly annoying delay by about the 200th.
    “BRB – getting drinks while teh stargate openz”

    Yeah I’d be looking for a speed dialer myself in a hurry. With my luck it would be an epic unique server drop.

  • http://mrtact.com/blog Tim Keating

    I will restrain my impulse to snark, and merely point out that they are talking about Stargate: Universe, which is currently on the air: http://stargate.mgm.com/

  • http://Website Viz


    Siegerich:

    Aufero:
    When you’re the “creative guy behind” several lawsuits and a bankrupt company making games based on a license from another bankrupt company, you might do well to reflect on the idea that creativity isn’t the only thing you need to run a business.

    Indeed, and I like to add that creativity isn’t the only thing you need to even develop a game.

    It’s not even a particularly important thing, if the recent success records of gaming companies are any indication.