The third season of the show Defiance starts up on June 12th, which is likely of particular interest to fans of Defiance the game. Sure, the two don’t always directly correspond, but there’s a connection between them – that was one of the big selling points of the game when it first launched, after all.

Now that the show is running to its third season, we sent a few questions off for producer Carble Cheung to see how the game is adapting to the changes on the series, how the integration has worked, and what adjustments are planned for players in the future. Jump on past the break for the answers.

Massively Overpowered: With the show entering its third season how has the synergy between the show and the game worked out? Or has that angle largely been dropped for the time being?

Producer Carble Cheung: It’s worked out well through two seasons, with the overarching plot of Defiance developing in-sync across the game and the show. We had a player’s actual character move from the game to the show last season, and of course Nolan, Stahma, and many more characters have come to the game chasing more (and less!) noble pursuits on the New Frontier.

The shared universe has brought fans together, and it’s great to work on content that combines the story and character work that Syfy is doing with the gameplay, progression, and so, so many guns we use to make things go boom. When the Tarr family smuggles weapons our way, you might not notice that they’re packaging up rare-drops in the show, but ark hunters do! Obviously, we can’t wait to keep experimenting in the seasons to come.

What’s the next big target for the game after Alcatraz?

CC: We’ll be expanding the Expeditions that released with Alcatraz. A Dark Matter Expedition into uncharted environs is scheduled for July, and we might have leaked info about roaming bosses and PvP improvements on a recent Defiance Twitch stream. Oops!

Adding in Alcatraz as a central hub is nice; are there plans for more social features added into the game?

CC: The community has been asking for new activities including Expeditions for Clan progression and improved chat visuals, so those might be first on the list to add. Beyond that we’re looking at doing private co-op instances for some of the larger battles in the game.

How have players responded to the game’s most recent update?

CC: Positively! Expeditions are rolling out well-received group content as well as Cyber Rigs & Cyber Chip rewards – items that you link up to your neural network and kit out to provide a range of augmented abilities. We’re getting good feedback to address, too – ways to improve on Expeditions and loot progression, including more traditional (MMORPG-like) rare drops from specific bosses.

Which weapons does the team feel are in a good place? Are there any weapons that really seem to be lagging behind in popularity or utility?

CC: Jackpot weapons have been well received, and SMGs are sitting at a pretty good spot. At the same time, Blast Rifles might be a touch on the high side, and the community hasn’t been up on the BMG for a while, so we’ll be looking under the hood there soon. Of course, we’re paying attention to which weapons are more commonly used than the others and playing with all types ourselves on live servers to help get a feel for where we’re at. Let us know if you’d like to see one get some love!

Thanks for your time.