P15 Studios announces plans for RPTV ("Role Play TV"), described as "reality-based TV in which gamers use video game play to determine the show storyline." The first game planned for this is a first-person shooter that's now entering preproduction called Tears Of God, though shooters are not the first game genre that comes to mind when considering storytelling (a preliminary Tears Of God Website is online, but we can't see any way of telling if this is the same project). They have some backing on this, as the announcement is headlined: "New Video Game Genre Revolutionizes Reality TV While Capitalizing on Michigan Entertainment Tax Incentives." Here's a bit:

"This is a game industry first," says creator Doug Kinnison. "During an established window of time, we'll take the most popular game play results to drive the outcome of each live action video episode. The game will be updated every two weeks with a new map, weapons and features. A new video episode will be downloadable every two weeks to create a ten show season and will be available on the major consoles."

"We know how much gamers love technology so we're designing RPTV to incorporate their PC, game console platforms, TV and even their phone," added Director of Game Development Jon Gagnon. "Viewers can truly engage with the storyline by playing the game. This is going to be an unparalleled entertainment experience."

P15 is entering pre-production with the first RPTV series, "Tears of God," a sci-fi thriller, first-person shooter. "As a director you think, well every things been done, but then you find something like this," says the Video Director Nate Andersen. "Although the story behind Tears of God isn't totally new, the idea of convergent media through games and video is cutting edge."