2 Halifax companies create Sons of Anarchy video game

After seven wild seasons, the hit TV show about outlaw bikers, Sons of Anarchy, came to an end Tuesday night — or did it?

"The ride continues, is what we could say. It's not the final ride," said Alastair Jarvis, an executive producer at Orpheus Interactive.

Along with Silverback Games, the two Halifax-based companies have teamed up to produce a mobile video game called Sons of Anarchy: The Prospect.

"There's a kind of period of mourning that follows the end of a series like this. The opportunity for us is to allow people to continue to spend time in that universe," said Jarvis.

Jarvis says the game echoes the popular show's themes and includes some familiar characters. However, the game is based on a new club charter and is not set in the TV show's fictional town of Charming, California.

In the game, the player makes choices to become a biker gang prospect.

Creating a game for the show's fans

"We want to build an experience that fans of the show are going to love and feel as passionately about hopefully as they do the show," said Jarvis.

About 30 developers and artists have spent a year creating The Prospect.

Willie Stevenson, the game director, wrote the story. His company, Silverback, worked with Orpheus to build a system that incorporates facial recognition and motion-capture technology to create the game's avatars.

"The technology has been accessible now so that we can have real human emotions and movement in avatars," Stevenson said.

Jarvis says there's no escaping the scenes of violence in the game, as it mirrors the show. It's intended to be played by adults on their smartphones or tablets. The game's first episode is expected to roll out early next year.