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跨媒体将引领未来的故事传播潮流

发布时间:2011-07-19 09:10:14 Tags:,,

作者:Bruno Patatas

我曾经做过真正的跨媒体产品。这个产品的计划中包含电视剧、漫画书和游戏等方面。在负责产品游戏方面的制作中,我学到了如何在跨媒体环境中开发和设计电子游戏概念。对我来说最重要的经验是,游戏(游戏邦注:包括漫画书)不能与电视剧内容混搭发售。所有成分的概念都需同时开发,其中每个产品都是该IP的成果。这使得游戏和漫画书的故事有可能与电视剧完全不同,反之亦然。

transmedia(from gamasutra)

transmedia(from gamasutra)

现如今,跨媒体是个时髦的词汇,然而许多人仍在努力弄清楚它究竟指的是什么。Fast Company上有篇很棒的文章指出关于跨媒体故事情节的七大误解:

误解1:跨媒体故事情节所涉战略比单媒体平台要多。

娱乐行业的产品认证由来已久,同样的故事可以通过不同渠道(游戏邦注:如小说等)重现。许多电影改编自书籍(游戏邦注:包括某些漫画书)。但是,这些都不能构成跨媒体故事情节。在跨媒体中,故事元素系统性地分散到多种媒体平台中,每个平台都对整体故事情节有着自己独特的贡献。每个媒介都发挥自己的长处,漫画提供背景故事,游戏或许允许用户探索整个世界,电视剧提供故事发展的过程。

误解2:跨媒体本质上是种新推广战略。

早期的许多跨媒体实验确实需要营销预算来支持。跨媒体与行业新近关注的“用户参与度”和有时使用的“病毒性”媒体战略有着紧密的联系。但是,最佳的跨媒体是由创意性念头来推动的。跨媒体允许故事叙述者与他们最专注的粉丝分享想法和愿景。

误解3:跨媒体等同于游戏。

随着侵入式虚拟现实互动游戏的崛起,再加上大众媒体产业,这就是跨媒体业让人兴奋的所在。跨媒体产业结合了文化吸引力(游戏邦注:吸引大量能够投入的用户)和文化催化力(游戏邦注:让用户有些事情可以做)。游戏是个让粉丝有事情可以做的优良方法,但这也绝不是唯一的方法。

误解4:跨媒体的对象是极客。

到目前为止,多数跨媒体的目标用户是那些对数字应用感兴趣的人,尤其是18至27岁的男性。而且到现在为止,多数跨媒体内容都是通过科幻小说之类的产品来吸引极客或通过卡通来吸引孩童。但是,现在已有众多迹象表明,跨媒体体验正满足更多人的诉求。比如,有些人认为跨媒体战略或许将成为肥皂剧生存下来的关键。

误解5:跨媒体需要大笔预算。

现在的粉丝都期盼通过跨媒体内容了解电影巨作和电视剧相关情况,但成功利用跨媒体来为低成本和独立媒体产品构建公众注意力的例子也不少,比如《The Blair Witch Project》、《District 9》或《Paranormal Activity》。这一切其实主要取决于推广特定作品所需的媒体整合类型、目标受众,以及该产品的预算。

District 9(from drnorth.wordpress.com)

District 9(from drnorth.wordpress.com)

误解6:每种东西都需要跨媒体。

有些故事通过单一媒介就可以完美地呈现出来,而且用户对此感到十分满意,期待下一阶段的内容。跨媒体呈现的故事中,角色分化严重,整个世界也比较清晰丰富,有着很强大的背景故事。跨媒体确实是个充满创意性的机会,但不应该用于所有娱乐产品之上。

误解7:跨媒体只是一时兴起之物。

第一代系列产品(游戏邦注:包括《Lost》、《Heroes》、《Ghost Whisperer》等)对跨媒体有推动作用,这些作品的上一季内容已经结束,某些作品尝试转变模式。但包括《Glee》、《True Blood》、《The Walking Dead》在内的许多巨作想探索新的跨媒体战略,以期吸引并维持用户参与度。跨媒体故事剧情所讲述的仍然是故事,如果故事无法满足玩家的想象力,那么没有跨媒体扩展可以修复由此带来的严重后果。但是,我们仍然能看到新型方法,因为跨媒体是种对当前媒体环境的战略回应,让你的粉丝有机会更深入地了解其中的故事。

现在我们已经破除了围绕跨媒体的最大的7个误解,让我们更细致地阐述跨媒体的好处以及如何将其用来开发稳固的IP。跨媒体故事剧情就是向用户提供协同性的娱乐体验。这是通过分散于各种传播渠道中的不同元素来实现,这些渠道包括电视、游戏、漫画书和社交网络等。跨媒体开发所面临的最主要的挑战在于创造一个可用于多种媒体且不会欺骗观众或玩家的可信故事。跨媒体叙事的黄金准则是,有着适用于多个不同平台的多个故事原型,所有故事都紧密连接且环环相扣。

假设某个跨媒体项目首先被开发成电影,其他跨媒体成分的开发也同时进行。当电影发布时,观众不仅可以看,还可以在电子游戏中亲身体验那个世界,在网站上与角色进行互动,在Twitter上关注发展动态,参与各种平台上的多种体验。

跨媒体不仅对开发商有益,也能给发行商带来好处。当发行商将某个IP以跨媒体项目的形式发布时,他们想的不再是“我的PS3能卖出去多少?”,而是“我能接触到多少用户?”。

跨媒体趋势已经改变了整个媒体行业,影响故事制作的方式。跨媒体的影响如此之大,以至于美国制作片人工会(Producers Guild of America)开始设立新职位——跨媒体制作人。推广此职位的是Jeff Gomez,这位前视频游戏制作人辞去自己在Acclaim处的工作,创办自己的跨媒体产品公司Starlight Runner。

现在我正负责某跨媒体项目的电子游戏部分的设计文件。随后,这份文件将成为项目——跨媒体宝典的关键组成部分。该宝典包含我们所构建的虚拟世界中的所有规则,还包括其中的角色和文化细节。它不仅仅是个文件,还确立了所有IP相关产品的研发规则,确保其与原IP保持一致。

掌握跨媒体的故事编制人员将会奠定未来的流行文化趋势,创造故事讲述新形式。他们会影响每个媒体平台,并研发出某些独特的东西。这确实是非常令人兴奋的事情。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

Transmedia – A New Approach to IP Development

Bruno Patatas

One of the projects I have been working on is a pure Transmedia product. It is planned as a TV series, comic books, games, etc. Being in charge of the games division, one of the things that I have been studying a lot is how to effectively develop and design videogame concepts in a transmedia environment. For me one of the most important things is that the games (or the comic books) will not be a tie-in of the TV series. The concepts for all the components are being developed at the same time and each one of them are ramifications of the IP. This allows that the games and the comic books can have totally different story arcs than the ones developed for the TV series and vice versa.

Transmedia is a hot word nowadays but a lot of people still struggle to find out exactly what it is. One very good article at Fast Company debunks seven myths about transmedia storytelling.

Myth 1: Transmedia Storytelling refers to any strategy involving more than one media platform.

The entertainment industry has long developed licensed products, reproducing the same stories across multiple channels (for example, novelizations). Increasingly, broadcast content is also available on line. And many films are adopted from books (or now, comic books). None of these necessarily constitute transmedia storytelling. In transmedia, elements of a story are dispersed systematically across multiple media platforms, each making their own unique contribution to the whole. Each medium does what it does best–comics might provide back-story, games might allow you to explore the world, and the television series offers unfolding episodes.

Myth 2: Transmedia is basically a new promotional strategy.

Yes, many early transmedia experiments were funded through marketing budgets. Transmedia has been closely linked to the industry’s new focus on “audience engagement” and sometimes uses “viral” (or “spreadable”) media strategies. But, the best transmedia is driven by a creative impulse. Transmedia allows gifted storytellers to expand their canvas and share more of their vision with their most dedicated fans.

Myth 3: Transmedia means games.

The rise of alternate reality games coupled with mass media properties is part of what’s generating excitement here. Transmedia properties combine cultural attractors (which draw together a highly invested audience) and cultural activators (which gives that audience something to do). Games are a good way to give your fans something to do, but they are by no means the only model out there.

Myth 4: Transmedia is for geeks.

So far, most of transmedia has been designed for early adapters–folks at home with digital applications, with disposable time and income, and especially the 18-27 year old males who have disappeared from the Nielsen Ratings. So far, much transmedia content has targeted children through cartoons or geeks through science fiction, horror, and fantasy franchises. But, there are plenty of signs that transmedia experiences may appeal more broadly. For example, some believe transmedia strategies may be key to the survival of soap operas.

Myth 5: Transmedia requires a large budget.

Fans now expect transmedia content around blockbuster films and cult television series, but there are also many successes with using transmedia to build audience awareness around low budget and independent media productions–from The Blair Witch Project to District 9 to Paranormal Activity. It’s about developing the appropriate mix of media for the genre, the audience, and the budget of a particular production.

Myth 6: Everything should go transmedia.

Many stories are told perfectly well within a single medium, and the audience leaves satisfied, ready for something else. Transmedia represents a strategy for telling stories where there is a particularly diverse set of characters, where the world is richly realized, and where there is a strong back-story or mythology that can extend beyond the specific episodes being depicted in the film or television series. Transmedia represents a creative opportunity, but it should never be a mandate for all entertainment.

Myth 7: Transmedia is “so ten minutes ago.”

The first generation series to push transmedia, (Lost, Heroes, Ghost Whisperer, and 24) ended last season, and some of attempts to replace them–from Flash Forward to The Event–failed. But many of the big hits–including Glee, True Blood, and The Walking Dead–model new transmedia strategies to attract and sustain audience engagement. Transmedia storytelling is still about the stories and if the stories do not capture the imagination, no amount of transmedia extension can repair the damage. But, we will see innovative new approaches because transmedia as a strategy responds to a media environment that rewards being everywhere your audience might be and giving your fans a chance to drill deeper into the stories they love.

Now that we break down the biggest myths surrounding transmedia, let’s go more into detail regarding what transmedia in fact is and how it can be used for solid IP development. Transmedia storytelling is nothing more than providing a coordinated entertainment experience. This is achieved by having several elements from the IP dispersed across multiple delivery channels like TV, games, comic books, social networks, etc. One of the main challenges in transmedia development is crafting a believable story universe that persists across multiple media without tricking or endangering the viewers/players. One golden rule is that a transmedia narrative has several original storylines for several different platforms, all connected and interlocked.

Let’s say one hypothetical transmedia project started being developed as a feature film, with all the other transmedia components being developed in parallel. When the movie is released, rather than simply watch it, viewers can experience the world in videogames, interact with the characters on websites, follow leads and development insights on Twitter, and participate in several experiences in various platforms.

Transmedia is a paradigm shift not only for developers but also for publishers. When publishers have an IP released as a transmedia project they stop thinking about “what are my PlayStation 3 sales?” and start to think about “how big is my worldwide audience?”.

The transmedia trend is already reconfiguring the media industry affecting how stories are made. The impact is being so big that the Producers Guild of America ratified a new credit: transmedia producer. Instrumental in pushing the credit was Jeff Gomez, a former videogame producer that left his job at Acclaim to start his own transmedia production company, Starlight Runner.

Right now I’m working in the design document for a videogame part of a transmedia project. Later that document will be incorporated in one key component of a project of this kind: The transmedia bible. The transmedia bible includes all the rules of the fictional world we are creating, as also character and cultural details. More than only a written document, the transmedia bible sets the rules so that every product developed for the IP stays true to the original IP and plays well together.

Storytellers who embrace transmedia possibilities will define pop culture, and create new ways of telling a story. They will leverage each media platform and develop something unique.

This are indeed exciting times… (Source: Gamasutra)


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