iEntertainment Network, the award-winning developer of the World Famous WARBIRDS TOTALSIMS series, will develop the first Massively Multiplayer Online Game to tie in with the theatrical release of FLYBOYS, the true life World War I aerial adventure (with vfx by Double Negative and Framestore CFC), to be released on Sept. 22 through MGM.
IENT will publish a single player game combined with an MMOG that puts the player in the pilot seat of a Nieuport 17 biplane to participate in exciting World War I era missions inspired by the FLYBOYS movie. These missions provide the excitement of the close-in dogfighting action of Americas first fighter pilots as depicted in the movie.
The FLYBOYS Squadron MMOG demo will go live on Sept. 7 for players who register for this free download at www.flyboysgame.com. Additional airplanes, terrain, interface and other features will be available in the complete retail game.
The opportunity to produce an MMOG based on a flying movie that uses state of the art special effects is unprecedented. We are thrilled to be publishing a complete online flying game for all the fans of the movie and flying enthusiasts worldwide, said JW Wild Bill Stealey, a U.S. Air Force Retired Aviator and ceo of IENT.
The FLYBOYS Squadron game will include true simulations of 10 of the most famous aircraft of World War I, accurate World War I terrains, over 15 single player missions for players to hone their flying skills and obtain medals and rank from flying accomplishments, and easy free access to the MMOG where hundreds of other real aviators will be flying in historical and real simulation of World War I combat. (Retail customers get free access to the MMOG for one month.)
By 1917, the Allied powers of France, England, Italy and others were on the ropes against the German juggernaut. While millions of young men were dying overseas, people in the U.S. were arguing that the freedom of others was none of its business. So America choseat firstnot to fight. Some altruistic young Americans disagreed. They volunteered to fight alongside their counterparts in France, some in the infantry, some in the Ambulance Corps. A handful of others had a different idea: they decided to learn how to fly. The first of them a squadron of only 38 became known as the Lafayette Escadrille. In time, America joined their cause. The Escadrille pilots became legendary. FLYBOYS, directed by Tony Bill and produced by Dean Devlin, is inspired by their story.
iEntertainment Network (www.ient.com) is a leading publisher of online entertainment communities, core and co-branded gaming content and CD-ROM game titles. WARBIRDS, IENT's premiere massively multiplayer flight simulation software, has won numerous awards around the world for Best Online Simulation Game and attracts players from more than 70 countries.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
