<i>Battlestar Galactica</i> game under consideration

Ronald D. Moore likes games--that has been known for months. Why else would the creator of Battlestar Galactica, the popular and now Peabody Award-winning Sci Fi Network series, deliver a keynote speech at the 2006 Game Developers Conference last month?

That said, Moore's session at the event only tangentially touched on games. Instead, its focus was on how to turn an existing franchise in a new direction. For Moore, that meant turning a semi-campy 1970s TV show into arguably the most critically acclaimed science fiction series since Star Trek: The Next Generation.

This week, nerds' heads exploded when reports began to surface that Moore is considering a game based on Battlestar Galactica. The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that he "is looking to delve deeper into video games as a further extension of the franchise."

Specifically, Moore told the Reporter he had toyed with the idea of a Galactica role-playing game "with Internet participation." And though he did not mention any concrete plans, Moore did underscore than any such game would not be a mere tie-in, like the PlayStation 2 and Xbox game that debuted alongside the 2003 Battlestar Galactica miniseries. That VU Games-published, Warthog-developed title was based more on the 1970s series than the remake, and scored only lukewarm reviews.

"You're forced to make a choice with a Galactica game in defining what's fun," he said. "Is it about experiencing the first season, navigating from the miniseries up to [the episode] 'Kobol's Last Gleaming'? Or is it doing something that's going off into uncharted territory but taking it further away from the reason you watch the show in the first place?"

Moore also credited games for conditioning audiences for more complex narratives in television shows. "It's been a bit of a surprise to people involved in studios and networks...[that] the audience is willing to immerse themselves in these environments," he said.