Silverstring Media » Vancouver Meetup Overview; Transmedia as World by Lucas J.W. Johnson

On Wednesday, I held the first Transmedia Vancouver Meetup to discuss transmedia and what we wanted from the group. There were about a dozen attendees, which I thought a fantastic turnout for a first meeting. There’s a lot of interest in this city, as has been clear from the previous Merging Media conferences and seminars.

For those in the meetup group new to the concepts, we talked a bit about what transmedia is (with the usual divergence of precise definition or favourite types of examples). (I would point towards the following resources for a general overview of the basics: my overview from a few months ago, which I think still holds up; one of many great talks from Jeff Gomez; Simon Pulman’s blog and especially his look at organizational structures; Andrea Phillip’s WTF is transmedia article from last year; also this week’s great post from Andrea further exploring the issue of definition, a post which I wholeheartedly agree with; Henry Jenkins debunking seven myths of transmedia; and Anita Ondine’s presentations from last month’s seminar and lab.)

As I found with the Merging Media seminar a few weeks ago, I loved that the attendees came from such diverse backgrounds — writers, producers, digital creatives, computer programmers, etc. All have a valid viewpoint to share in any transmedia discussion, and taking each into account helps for a more diverse conversation and new insights. Every area of production in every media industry has a lot to learn from each other, and part of the challenge of transmedia will be to find a common language to share that knowledge — a challenge whose rewards are great.

My goal for the group is to help facilitate that very sharing of knowledge, and like some of the other major transmedia meetup groups, we decided that it would be of benefit for each meetup to feature a guest speaker who can share a project they are working on, share insight into the transmedia creation process, pitfalls they may have experienced, and other avenues of shared understanding. This kind of openness seems to me the best way to work together to improve the industry as a whole, and specifically here in Vancouver.

Transmedia as World vs. Story

As a writer and lover of mythology and the power of stories, I’ve always had a large bias towards the story elements of transmedia. It’s also something you hear in the community a lot — that a transmedia project is made or broken on the strength of its story, that no amount of transmedia extension to a property can help it if the story isn’t good to begin with. And I certainly still think that holds.

But one idea that was brought up at the meetup this week was that in looking at what makes transmedia as a whole, at what transmedia is and does and why it works and how it must work, is to focus less on “story” and more on “world”.  It’s the idea that beyond whatever medium you’re engaging with, there’s a wider world to this story, told in other forms, that it goes beyond the singular and into a plurality. And of course, each piece of that world serves to enhance all the others (but perhaps also stands alone), and makes the audience want to find the other pieces and continue to explore that world.

The focus on world is important, because it covers a lot more ground that “story” necessarily evokes. A unifying “world” immediately suggests an overarching theme, and a tone or style. There isn’t necessarily a deep story in a piece of art, or a piece of music, but both can contribute to a larger transmedia project by enhancing the world as a whole, by exploring theme and tone in different ways than stories do.

It’s also this idea of a world that may help distinguish the “what is transmedia” from “what isn’t” (to tentatively step into the definition pool for a moment). Is there a broader world? And this follows for both ends of the transmedia spectrum that Andrea Phillips identified this week — in a “franchise”-like property, of course, each new piece takes place in the same storyworld and explores different parts of it; in an “ARG” model, you can clearly see how each immersive piece, from the corporate website to the phone call you just received, is part of a greater whole. Opposed to this might be something like the Old Spice Guy campaign, which is perhaps “immersive”, certainly “interactive”, and spans media platforms–but can you really say there’s a world beyond that guy in his bathroom/boat/horse/hot tub? It’s a cross-media interactive brand marketing campaign — it’s not transmedia.

Thanks

I wanted to end by thanking those who came out on Wednesday, and I would invite all the TransmediaVan members to comment and leave their own thoughts, perhaps extending the conversation we started this week (as well as of course anyone else who wants to comment!). Thank you especially to Catherine Winckler of Switch United and Gigi Boyd of the CMPA for offering to help finance the group (and for your wonderful insights as well!). I’m looking forward to some great things in the coming months!

Seen the game? Read the book - LA Noire's Transmedia 'Interpollination' - Telegraph

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By Tim Martin 11:23AM BST 20 May 2011

"Set in 1947 and placing participants in the role of a beat cop climbing the ranks of the LAPD, this week’s console sensation LA Noire is as much a statement of intent as it is a video game. The creators cite Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and the films of Fritz Lang and Billy Wilder as inspirations, and have included 20-odd hours of studio-quality dialogue voiced by so many members of the Mad Men cast that the game sometimes resembles nothing so much as a Sterling Cooper corporate away-day.
It emphasises deduction, clue-hunting and, courtesy of some astonishing developments in graphics technology, reading human expressions as the means of navigating its complex plot. And it arrives in tandem with a collection of short stories from writers such as Joyce Carol Oates, Joe Lansdale and Lawrence Block, each one set in its murky and morally equivocal universe. In some respects, it seems less a game than a sort of full-scale cultural land grab. Its creator, Brendan McNamara, has said he envisages audiences “sitting on the sofa playing LA Noire with their girlfriends and friends and passing the controller around, almost playing it like a TV show”.
But LA Noire is just one example of a growing interpollination between the worlds of traditional narrative and the fast-growing sphere of computer entertainment. One recent and surprising phenomenon in novelism has been the success of printed works based in gaming universes: one of the novels based on the space-opera Halo video games has shifted more than a million copies, and graphic novels linked to both Halo and the Gears of War series have sold extremely well. But as the prospects for in-game narrative deepen, more and more screenwriters, novelists and comics creators appear to be going straight to the source and branching out into games themselves...."

Podcast: Interview with Jim Babb, Transmedia Storyteller and Game Designer | J.C. Hutchins: New Fiction And Author Updates

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J.C. Hutchins: New Fiction And Author Updates

From May 18, 2011

"Today, J.C. speaks with Jim Babb, a New York-based creator who uses transmedia storytelling methods, game design and people’s curiosity to create fun stories that inspire audience participation. The latest project he and his company Awkward Hug are overseeing is the brilliant and charming Socks Inc.

In this chat, Jim shares how he was first exposed to unconventional storytelling, and how it influenced his life and career … and how it directly impacted the development of Socks Inc. Along the way, we’ll learn how Jim incorporated filmmaking, games, play and — most important — audience interaction into his projects. It’s a delightful conversation about a very fun (and funny!) online-meets-real-world narrative.

Visit and experience Socks Inc.
Check out Jim Babb’s website
Follow Jim on Twitter
Learn about Awkward Hug
Learn about Must Love Robots"

"America 2049": The Struggle for Human Rights Hits Facebook with #Transmedia Social Networking Game

Original article in The Atlantic:

by Jared Keller - Technology - The Atlantic

A human rights organization is tackling immigration, abortion, sex trafficking and other issues through the lens of an immersive social networking game.

Ken Asaba is running for his life.

In April, the Ugandan national fled from a quarantine facility in Portland, Oregon, where he was suspected of infection with Namibian Plague. While federal law enforcement officials are hard at work tracking down Asaba, Portland residents are terrified to admit contact with Asaba, fearing they will end up separated from their families in the very quarantine zone from which he escaped. The Council on American Heritage warns that Asaba, now a persona non grata in America, is extremely dangerous.

But Ken Asaba doesn't exist. He's a fictional character, voiced by LOST's Harold Perrineau, at the center of America 2049, a trans-media, online game in the middle of a 12-week run. Developed by global human rights organization Breakthrough, America 2049 challenges players on social justice issues from sex trafficking, immigraiton, abortion, and racial discriminiation, all through the lens of a dystopian vision of jingoistic, Orwellian United States. Fascinated by the concept of running human rights game based on a sprawling, mutli-platform gaming experience, America 2049's innovative blend of political drama and civic education attracted Hollywood types like Perrineau, Cherry Jones of 24, and Anthony Rapp of Rent to lend their visages to the project...."

Little sock game is up! on Socks Incorporated — Yay!

"May 12, 2011

WELCOME TO SOCKS, INC.

We are absolutely thrilled about our beta release! We can’t wait to hear what you think of our little sock game. If you like what you see please pass it along to anyone who may want to play too.

Also, in celebration of our launch, we have several contests going on where you have the chance to win a Super Awesome Sock Puppet Making Kit. The kit comes complete with everything you need to make a puppet and also includes a Full HD Video Camera! To try your hand at winning one of these cameras “Like” our Facebook page and visit ARGn.com

Best of luck… Now get back to work, and make Believe!"

Mo’ Money: Square Now Processing $3 Million A Day In Mobile Payments

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Erick Schonfeld
8 hours ago

"That was fast. Just like that Square passed $3 million in transactions processed, on a Saturday no less, according to a Tweet an hour ago by CEO Jack Dorsey.

The mobile payments startup is seeing an acceleration in transaction volume. It took about 10 months from its public launch for Square to reach $1 million a day in payments going through its mobile app. Getting to $2 million a day only took about two months. And now, less than a month later, it is passing $3 million.

Visa just invested, transaction volume is picking up—things are looking good for Square. COO Keith Rabois will be at Disrupt NYC. We’ll be sure to ask him what’s driving the surge in Square payments."

Holy Crap. This is Exciting!: Autodesk Releases Free App That Brings 3-D Printing To The Masses [Video] | Co.Design

3D-print anything on demand from toys to turbines.

123D lets you easily fabricate objects, not just visualize them.

Excerpt from original post:

"The high-end software maker unveils a design application for the rest of us, complete with pushbutton 3-D printing services.
If you hear "maker culture" and instantly think of grease-stained weirdos who drone on about steampunk and "screws not glue"... well, you wouldn't be wrong. But when a giant software company like Autodesk throws its weight behind "makers," you know it's much more than a subculture. "There was this huge digital content generation that emerged, but now that 'Generation C' is turning into 'M,' the Make generation," Tatjana Dzambazova, Senior Product Manager at Autodesk, tells Co.Design. "They want to start physically fabricating the things that they create digitally." And now Autodesk is providing that power, in a free application called 123D that will let any maker, professional or amateur, design and 3D-print anything on demand from toys to turbines.

123D lets you easily fabricate objects, not just visualize them..."