6
Definition-narrative:
“How do you communicate pattern-type information to a pattern-recognizing mental module using a sequential medium such as language? In computer terms, the data is in the wrong format for the communications link!
What’s needed is a reformatter, something that converts one thinking format to the other. Narrative is that reformatter. It’s an ad-hoc solution to an ugly interfacing problem that arose early in the development of language.”

64-82
Describes approaches to how a story can evolve:

1. 64-67, Knowledge-based Approach: don’t really understand
2. 67-70, Simple-Link Approach: basically the way hypertext/links work; user clicks his way through a story
3. 70-74, Multiple Character Approach: user interacts with characters (see 72: story engine) and learns the story from them
4. 74f, Puzzle Approach: user moves from puzzles to puzzle and learns the story on the way; ARGs do this -> downside: Sean Stewart: TNAG
5. 75-78, Traffic Circle Approach: user starts at a central place from where he goes down story lanes and always returns to the central place
6. 78fSingle-Stream Cinematic Sequence Approach: moving pictures tell something in their order, even if the user is able to choose in what order to watch them
7. 80-82, Folded Approach: not sure this is a real category (perhaps he just wanted to present his past creative work); a main character tells sth (as a moving picture?) -> user can click on screen anytime -> detail about that scene is then told by 12 characters discussing it -> user can click on on of the 12 to hear his perspective (second fold) -> user can make main character talk to that character (third fold)

72
Definition-story engine:
“the term story engine is used to describe a set of software algorithms designed to make decisions regarding how a computer-based story should proceed.” The user does something and the story engine responds in a certain way.

93
“the metalinear form extends the writer’s narrative voice so the writer can say more things in more ways.”

95
“A writer is not so much someone who has something to say as he is someone who has found a process that will bring about new things he would not have thought of if he had not started to say them.” William Stafford, from WRITING THE AUSTRALIAN CRAWL, February 1982

201
“Metalinear narrative is the name proposed by this research for this new narrative form. The metalinear narrative is a collection of small related story pieces designed to be arranged in many different ways, to tell many different linear stories from different points of view, with the aid of a story engine which sequences the story pieces.”

202
“Metalinear narrative has three primary components:

• An abstract story structure composed of narrative primitives which a writer can manipulate and rearrange according to her creativity. The story structure provides the narrative framework, or spine, for the many linear narratives to be produced from the metalinear narrative
• A representation of story granules to be resequenced in various ways. This repre­sentation includes annotations of how each granule fits into the story structure and the narrative relationships between the story granules
• Methods of resequencing story granules based on their representation and the pro­vided abstract story structure. The story engine chooses granules which fit the sto­ry structure according to predetermined narrative styles

My thesis is that a writing tool which offers the author these three key elements, as well as knowledgeable feedback about narrative construction and context during the creative process, is essential to the task of creating metalinear narratives of significant dimension.”

205
“Met­alinear narrative may make it easier for all of us, not just a few of us, to tell our stories.” -> empowerment

“Any way that humankind has invented to lie to each other should be part of your storytelling toolkit.”

Storytelling generations

Bard 1.0 – old dead Greek blind guys
Bard 2.0 – Greek theatre – parallel bards
Bard 3.0 – book – scalable bards
Bard 4.0 – cinema – parallel scalable bards
Bard 5.0 – digital storytelling (not the Hartley type)

Mentions “storyworld” on page 521.
References offer some texts I can quote for:

• Dawson’s Creek
• Babylon 5
• Twin Peak

519
Definition-transmedia:
Definition-transmedia storytelling:
“Taken by itself, the term “transmedia” simply describes the process of content moving or expanding from one medium into another. As such, transmediation can describe practices ranging from adaptation (e.g., turning a novel into a film) to merchandising (e.g., creating action figures in the likeness of film characters). However, the notion of transmedia storytelling is more specific, and is used to describe the process of further developing a coherent narrative (or elaborating a narrative universe) by distributing related story components across multiple media platforms.”

520
“While most major media franchises of the 1980s expanded to include both licensed merchandise (toys, clothing, breakfast cereal) and transmedia components (films, television series, video games, comic books), many of the most popular franchises were actually financed and launched by merchandisers to help sell their products.”

521
“are these transmedia extensions being developed primarily to tell better stories, or to generate higher profits?”
“Meanwhile, each “platform” serves as an advertisement for the others, and hence for the whole, thereby allowing media corporations to make money from their advertisements.”

521f
“The most significant shift toward horizontal integration and media franchising came in the 1930s, when Walt Disney introduced a new business model that he described as total merchandising. Under this model, all Disney products served dual purposes: branded merchandise, television shows, animated movies, and amusement park rides all simultaneously functioned as entertainment and as advertisements for every other Disney product. Disney’s characters were not the first to be featured on merchandise or appear in multiple media, but they were almost certainly the first characters designed to serve as entertainment “brands.””

522
Description of The Lost Experience.

523
“The 1980s, in particular, brought an explosion of youth- focused media franchises. Countless film, television, and comic book characters were introduced (or reintroduced) as transmedia franchises, complete with comic books, multiple cinematic releases, animated television series, and a wide range of toys and branded merchandise. In fact, during the 1980s, many of the most popular entertainment franchises were launched not by media companies, but by merchandisers and toy manufacturers looking to build audiences (and markets) for their properties (see “1980s Media Franchises” sidebar).”
“But while branded bed linens, breakfast cereals, and soft drinks encourage children to consume products, it is important to recognize that toys, games, and many other franchise products can enable children to interact with, and take control of, a franchise’s stories, themes, and characters.”

524
“These [The Matrix'] problems indicate the degree to which transmedia stories must now carefully balance some viewer’s desires to dig deeper into the story world with other viewers’ desire not to feel left out.” -> You could simply ignore the casuals, but then you won’t get their money!

525
“From this framework, we might then understand today’s expansion of storytelling across media as providing greater opportunities for involvement, and as representing development in narrative form and technique, not just an explosion in cross-media promotion.”

526
“One of the clear signs that transmedia storytelling might be developing new ways to tell stories, and not just new platforms from which to reap profits, is that many writers and directors are becoming intimately involved in the transmedia proliferation of their products.” mentions Simpsons, Matrix, Lost as examples.
“as many transmedia tales have also been synergistic goldmines for their corporate parents, often the economics of the media industries have encouraged media corporations to vigorously pursue and solicit projects that can cross various media. Concerns regarding the hidden persuasions of product placement and the monopolistic tendencies of synergy continue to exist, but they are now being accompanied by some writers’ and consumers’ excitement at the prospect of yet more developed story worlds.”

Explains how Brian Grazer (huge Hollywood producer) signed a first-look deal with perhaps the first true Hollywood transmedia producers: Blacklight Transmedia.

Imagine’s “Transmedia Storytelling” Deal (11.06.2010)

Definition-transmedia producer:
“A Transmedia Narrative project or franchise must consist of three (or more) narrative storylines existing within the same fictional universe on any of the following platforms: Film, Television, Short Film, Broadband, Publishing, Comics, Animation, Mobile, Special Venues, DVD/Blu-ray/CD-ROM, Narrative Commercial and Marketing rollouts, and other technologies that may or may not currently exist. These narrative extensions are NOT the same as repurposing material from one platform to be cut or repurposed to different platforms.
A Transmedia Producer credit is given to the person(s) responsible for a significant portion of a project’s long-term planning, development, production, and/or maintenance of narrative continuity across multiple platforms, and creation of original storylines for new platforms. Transmedia producers also create and implement interactive endeavors to unite the audience of the property with the canonical narrative and this element should be considered as valid qualification for credit as long as they are related directly to the narrative presentation of a project.
Transmedia Producers may originate with a project or be brought in at any time during the long-term rollout of a project in order to analyze, create or facilitate the life of that project and may be responsible for all or only part of the content of the project. Transmedia Producers may also be hired by or partner with companies or entities, which develop software and other technologies and who wish to showcase these inventions with compelling, immersive, multi-platform content.
To qualify for this credit, a Transmedia Producer may or may not be publicly credited as part of a larger institution or company, but a titled employee of said institution must be able to confirm that the individual was an integral part of the production team for the project.”

PGA ~ Credit Guidelines for NEW MEDIA (06.06.2010)

“How do I motivate audiences to cross platforms?”

Definition “story”, “storyworld”, “experience”
“Think of the story has having two components:

• “the story” – the whole world that’s created with all the characters stretching out in chronological order
• “the experience” – how the storyworld is revealed to the audience (timing and platforms).

Note that the story might be much larger than the project you’re working on now.
Our objective throughout this process is to have the story and the experience of the story integrated with the business model.”

Although you started with the story in mind, platform selection has rightly focused on the experience. Now is the time to sanity check the experience and see if there’s any missing story, story that now needs adapting or story + experience that can be improved.
For example, now you have a roll-out strategy for your platforms (the experience), iterate back through the story and looking for these types of opportunities (in no particular order and please add more of your own):

• Twists
• Surprises
• Cliff hangers
• Inciting incidents
• Reunions
• Breakups
• Conflict
• Discovery
• Exposition
• Reversals
• Suspense
• Threats
• Complications
• Conclusions”

He says “roll-out strategy” = “experience”.
Jeff Gomez (I think in the interview with Lance Weiler) said “bible” = “roll-out strategy”.
Is the bible the experience? No. Is it the blueprint of the experience? I think so.

“When I think about these [story/media] outlets, I think about them in terms of like OK if they have the individual arc and then I have the overall arc in the full story, and it becomes about how I pace it, how I get it to an audience, and how I have them interact with it.”

Definition “story architecture”:
“Story architecture to me is kind of the idea of what effectively is a kind of fluidness of creative, technology in terms of how you actually deliver these things, how do you scale them, how do you get them to these various outlets. How do you make it an experience that somebody is going to be engaged by and want to continue to you know hopefully tell somebody else about. And then, you know, business. The last part is kind of entrepreneurial, you know, how do you actually derive your revenue streams from this. How do you actually look at it in a meaningful way, so it is ?impactful? [5:26 min] for yourself.”

“Once you have the data, and it is the future of everything, you know, if we look and we say search was the future, you know, a number of years back, it really is about discovery, it really is about filtering. And a lot of this discussion throughout the day, throughout this whole thing, you know, this conference, is going to be about how do people discover and find you in a world that is swelling with content.”

“What is interesting is, like, normally we started with like a three act structure in a screenplay. In the case of some of the work we have been developing it starts with the build of a universe, bible, game bible, show bible, where we kind of go through and define the world, define the interactions, define the characters, define the rules, and then from there it becomes this amazing kind of depth of information where you know more about the subject than you ever did before.”

“By adding varied pathways to the same destination, you allow your audience to create their own journey.”

“Even within a group of visitors, each member may have an experience unique to them. An experience they can share, but that is still distinctively theirs.” An EA can do the same.

“Tell them where they’re going,
Tell them where they are, and
Tell them where they’ve been.”
“This little bit of nudging does not have to take up very much of the game players’ time, but strategically placed reminders throughout your game will keep them on the right track and make them less apt to lose interest in where they are going.”

Definition “environmental storytelling”: “One of the trade secrets behind the design of entertaining themed environments is that the story element is infused into the physical space a guest walks or rides through. In many respects, it is the physical space that does much of the work of conveying the story the designers are trying to tell. Color, lighting and even the texture of a place can fill an audience with excitement or dread.
Much of this is done by manipulating an audience’s expectations, which they have based on their own experiences of the physical world. Armed only with their own knowledge of the world, and those visions collected from movies and books, the audience is ripe to be dropped into your adventure. The trick is to play on those memories and expectations to heighten the thrill of venturing into your created universe.” Quoted in Jenkins, H ~ Game Design as Narrative Architecture

“When I say story I am not talking about a linear “once upon a time” type story. I am talking about an all encompassing notion, a “big picture” idea of the world that is being creating. A set of rules that will guide, the design and the project team to a common goal. It is this first step that will insure the created world will be seamless.”

“Self discovery can be even more enjoyable than having the story spelled out for you in the opening credits.”

He calls story chunks “story elements.” Jenkins calls them “micronarratives.”

“One of the most successful methods for pulling your audience into your story environment is through the use of “cause and effect” vignettes. These are staged areas that lead the game player to come to their own conclusions about a previous event or to suggest a potential danger just up ahead. [...] Whether you create notes scattered throughout your environments, or have the game player follow the destructive path of some dangerous creature, “cause and effect” elements will only heighten the drama of the story you are trying to tell!”

“The design mantra “Less Is More” applies. [...] One trick is to save your most decorative elements for areas you wish to draw your audience to. Rather than cluttering an unimportant corridor with gorgeous ornamentation, simply save one detailed element for the end of the hallway and let it draw your audience, like a dangling carrot, into the next space.”

“Though it is you who has orchestrated the environment, when it is done right, the game player has the illusion that they are in complete control of their character’s destiny.”

“If you must create a long expanse of repeating pillars, or some such element, make one unique among the rest. Nudge it out slightly, or knock the thing right over, it will only add life to an otherwise mathematically perfect, but boring, environment.”

“Above all, make the game playable, but use your knowledge and Story to support the enjoyment of your game rather than confusing it.”