Does the phrase "platform-agnostic IP" mean anything to you? Well, what it is is when a fictional concept -- a universe, a story, and the characters within it -- are conceived not for any one particular medium, but for several of them. In other words, it's an idea that can work simultaneously as a video game, a movie or television show, and a set of books or comic books, for example. You get it.
The idea's loosely called transmedia, and it's what the Syfy channel is hoping to do by working with video game companies: Trion, with an upcoming MMO, and THQ. As for the latter, Syfy wants to start by creating more traditional extensions (film and television series) of de Blob and Red Faction, and then they hope to co-create projects together.
It's interesting stuff. On one hand, it's traditional media finally seeing the value in persistence and interactivity in creating additional engagement for users. It has unbelievable potential to make gaming more mainstream, and to help it become a core component of the way people conceive of and experience entertainment. It's also not without its challenges -- generally, TV people don't know a lot about games, and vice versa.
So to build a property that can bridge two media worlds that historically have had only the most cursory relationship with one another is no small feat, but I interviewed the president of Syfy and he explained to me that that's exactly what they're hoping to do:
"What's fantastic about this strategy is, if we get it right, we'll figure out ways for people to consume those characters and stories across multiple platforms whenever and however they choose to," says Howe. "It's an always-on world we're living in, and that's exciting to us. Dynamic, immersive experience is critical to future storytelling."
Check out the interview!
"What's fantastic about this strategy is, if we get it right, we'll figure out ways for people to consume those characters and stories across multiple platforms whenever and however they choose to," says Howe. "It's an always-on world we're living in, and that's exciting to us. Dynamic, immersive experience is critical to future storytelling."
Check out the interview!
[By the way, I think I'm going to start linking to my fave music blogs to share current tracks I like on a regular basis. Nothing to do with video games, I know, but it's nice to share my interests in more than one medium, ya dig? And I'll make it tiny so you can ignore it if you don't care. Here's The Love Language's 'Heart to Tell', via Pasta Primavera.]
16 comments:
sounds synergistic!!!!!!
as an aside, am i the only one who is utterly turned off by devs who focus on 'storytelling'? i'm not a child, i'm not looking to be read to or put to bed... it just feels infantile.
I like this. SyFy (blech) throws a lot of jargon around, but I've believed in this approach for a long time. George Lucas may have screwed up in other areas, but he knew the value in a multifaceted universe. The quality of a story will always hinge upon the writing and the characters anyway, and if that's done well, parts of that story can be adapted to whatever is appropriate. In a fictional setting, you might have a group of characters whose journey lends itself to a miniseries with an ensemble cast, and perhaps another who must make choices that a game would better communicate. If the writing is good, they will all work, and they will all reinforce each other.
Gotta say though, was unaware of De Blob's narrative aspirations...
This kind of experimentation has been going on to greater or lesser extents for a while, under the auspices of franchising and marketing. Most attempts that I can remember have been crippled by release deadlines (Enter the Matrix) or not strictly recognized by the gaming community (the Year Zero ARG by Nine Inch Nails). It's very tricky to pull this off with a uniform standard of quality between mediums and not make it look like an elaborate marketing ploy, which it will always be viewed as anyway, at some level.
I do often enjoy these efforts when they are at least partially successful, though, and when I have an interest in the franchise. I think a major factor in a successful transmedia project is allowing development in each medium to be autonomous, with all inter-medium efforts being limited to maintaining consistency in presentation and in-world canon. Major cross-media "events" have great potential, but they can only be pulled off with careful planning and coordination, and only if none of the individual parties are rushed for completion.
I tend to think that these kind of things work better when they happen naturally, i.e. when something comes out in one medium that is so good that it attracts a fanbase that is constantly hungry for more.
When a property is conceived from the start as "transmedia synergistic" whatever, if just comes across as forced marketing blitz.
Just speaking in generalities here, of course
I like the word "storytelling". I might even say that we need to rediscover something that's traditionally relegated to childhood; it only seems infantile because of our own prejudices.
However, you can also use the word "narrative". A lot of people use that word, as in "transmedia narratives".
Already-existing examples of this are Pokemon and the .//hack franchise.
Brings to mind all the talk Henry Jenkins has on the topic of transmedia storytelling, really worth checking out his blog if that topic is of interest to you...
I guess it's worth noting that when the Sci-Fi Channel renamed themselves to SyFy, they dropped the "Channel" part. That lets them do exactly what they're doing now, which is focus on more than just TV. Will we see in-house video game development, or at least development partnerships, from them in the next few years?
I think the point is that, at least at this stage, they're recognizing that it's better NOT to be in-house, and instead ideal to work closely with the people who already know what they're doing as far as developing games.
Not totally unprecedented, and could lead to some interesting results, though when I initially began reading this post I thought the idea of a "platform-agnostic IP" would be a little more exciting than the rather conservative approaches Syfy seems to be taking. I'd like to see something that incorporates experiences outside of the standard TV, movie, videogame, book (sometimes music) paradigm, which just sound a lot like "synergy" to me.
I don't have the answer to this, but I wish "transmedia" meant more than looking and interacting with different kinds of screens. How about something non-digital, something physical? How about a restaurant that is opened alongside a new game? Even better if everything is just in a modern day setting so the restaurant doesn't feel derivative of the "game culture." I'd be way more excited about something like that.
They're probably being conservative because they practically admit they don't really know what they're doing yet.
So bridging the gap between different media for a single property (say, a cast of characters) is becoming an area of specialization. I like... I think.
The optimistic view is that, In the right hands, this could become a legitimate craft and art form. but on my 'half-empty' days I'd hear, "there are SO many ways to cash in..."
I'd say Wakfu is another example of a cross-media IP, except that everything (the mmorpg, the cartoons, the card game, the magazine, the toys,etc...) is done by Ankama in-house. Since they keep everything under control, they can provide links between the different format such as cards that give bonuses in the mmorpg, tips for the game at in the cartoon, etc...
Good to see a TV network picking up on stuff like this and getting it out there. We've already seen animated movie shorts like Halo and Dead Space that tie in with their respective universes, this is just taking things a step further and getting things like this out to a wider audience other than the dedicated fans of the series.
I'd just like to point out that this has been going on for awhile in the world of trading card games, especially in Japan. Pokemon was the front-runner of course (although Magic did get into the act with books eventually) and there's your Yu-Gi-Oh and Duel Masters and even WoW (with a board game and a card game).
A little known one was Magi-Nation which from the start wanted to branch out into a tv show etc. and failed horribly.
Interesting idea, but of all the properties they could have picked, why in the WORLD would they go with de Blob and Red Faction?
Of all the nutter ideas...
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