1. Gaming: The Genre of Transmedia used within STAR WARS 1977
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. TM
& 1977 Lucasfilm Ltd. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK TM & 1980
Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) All rights reserved. RETURN OF THE JEDI TM
& 1983 Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) All rights reserved. "Twentieth
Century Fox", "Fox" and their associated logos are property of
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.
2. Since the release of the first Star Wars movie in 1977,
Lucasfilm has official licensed the production of over 170 games,
all of which are set within the fictitious universe established
across the 6 films within the series. Each game traverses through
the Star Wars Expanded Universe by unlocking access to a variety of
locations, and establishing character context, by providing content
of continuity that helps build a more content rich world across an
assortment of entertainment mediums. In this instance, the Star
Wars games are conveying further messages within the fictitious
universe in order to build to the existent larger conversation. The
difference between Star Wars games in relation to the franchise is
that the term transmedia storytelling facilitates multiple avenues
of input that flow both ways, over a linear course of produced
content.
4. For that reason, the Star Wars games emerged as a pillar of
transmedia technique utilisation within the franchise, as
transmedia is a subset of cross- media in the sense that the story
itself is distributed across a variety of media. Each piece of the
story feels at least somewhat complete and adds to the audience's
concept of the characters and story world. According to transmedia
consultant, Jeff Gomez, when done well, audience members engagement
deepens with the narrative, accessing it whenever they want, where
ever they want.
5. PRATTENSTAKE Copyright 2011 Robert Pratten
http://videoturundus.ee/transmedia.pdf
6. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO GOMEZ The problem faced by
corporations and big media is that many are communicating through
old broadcast models, where the narrative is linear, the medium is
isolated and the narrative is only running one way. New techniques
are necessary to engage mass audiences, who have become users and
participants. Your story needs to be accessible through an array of
media, and the narrative must be designed to play to the strengths
of the platform at hand. Instead of broadcast, there is a pressing
necessity for dialog.
7. THE GAMES All six movies possess a number of standalone
games deriving from the original feature films, all of which offer
deeper character context and further universe exploration to
players. For example, according to the Star Wars Encyclopaedia,
Wookiepedia, the movie Episode II: Attack of the Clones facilitated
the development of three independent games, across four consoles.
One of these games, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2002), is described
as a vehicular combat game and involves character play with some of
the franchises most recognisable characters, however the nature of
the game involves engaging exploration of recognisable planets and
unseen areas within the movies. This particular game was released
across the three most popular digital gaming platforms; PlayStation
2, Nintendo GameCube, and Xbox, subsequently ensuring that player
engagement was maximised and not hindered by console preference.
Copyright & TM Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
8. This intertwined narrative approach has been replicated
across the remaining five feature films, along with a gaming series
deriving from Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) animated television
series. Furthermore, the Star Wars gaming franchise encompasses a
whole host of other independent series across genres, including
first-person shooters (FPSs), flight simulators and racing games,
real-time strategy (RTSs) games, role- playing games (RPGs), and
massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) just to
name a few. STAR WARS 1977 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.
All rights reserved. TM & 1977 Lucasfilm Ltd. THE EMPIRE
STRIKES BACK TM & 1980 Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) All rights
reserved. RETURN OF THE JEDI TM & 1983 Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) All
rights reserved. "Twentieth Century Fox", "Fox" and their
associated logos are property of Twentieth Century Fox Film
Corporation. All rights reserved.
9. Each of those series possesses several full-length digital
games that explore the rich history of Jedi Knights, the knights of
the Old Republic, and interplanetary and intergalactic exploration,
all of which bring their own puzzle piece to the Star Wars Expanded
Universe Jigsaw. Transmedia practitioner, Robert Pratten,
references a theory describing the role types adopted by digital
game players, all of which are catered towards across one out of
170 Star Wars Games, which, again, maximises engagement. Copyright
2011 Robert Pratten http://videoturundus.ee/transmedia.pdf
10. PRATTENS PIN UPS Copyright 2011 Robert Pratten
http://videoturundus.ee/transmedia.pdf
11. The success of the Star Wars Expanded Universes overall
transmedia engagement approach is made evident by statistics posted
by Wired in 2014 estimated that the fictional universe franchise
has generated revenue of $37 billion across 40 years, dating back
to the first film Star Wars: Episode IV - A new hope, the budget
for which sat at a modest $11 million. The success of the franchise
is as a result of the variety of content and mediums, however their
production would equally have not been feasible if it werent for
the shift in cultural fandom upon which transmedia is built. HOW
EXACTLY HAS STAR WARS MADE $37 BILLION?
12. ENGAGEMENT The official mediums established by LucasArts
include movies, books, comics, graphic novels, video games, toys,
Lego characters, collectable action figurines, and animated shows.
Unofficially, texts established by actively participating producers
and consumers (prosumers) include Wookiepedia, Star Wars Kid,
prosumer production of Alternate Reality Games (ARGs), and Family
Guy Star Wars episodes. These unofficial mediums do not necessarily
build upon the produced fictitious universe, but they do aid the
establishment and maintenance of a sense of community and fandom
amongst prosumers that choose to immerse themselves within the
content. This form of participatory self- expression provides the
necessary drive for universe expansion, whether this is done
through direct participatory production, or indirectly securing the
drive for demand and supply, if you create a large enough universe,
people will fill it with their imagination. That philosophy is the
foundation upon which the genre of transmedia games is built.
13. Robert Pratten states that the term engagement over
immersion is crucial within transmedia terminology, as it requires
each text to be compelling and rewarding through the processes of
discovery, experience and exploration. This cultural shift of
consumption proves to be a force that evoked the birth of
transmedia as a technique, a philosophy of communications, and
brand extension that enriches and broadens the life cycle of
creative content, in this case through the medium of digital
games.
14. A Relevant & Lengthy Ending? In her book An
Introduction to New Media, Larissa Hjorth states that as gaming
becomes increasingly mainstream as it consecutively fosters
innovative forms of new media practices that merge media art and
game art for the purpose of engagement. This is displayed through a
shift in the term new media gaming to encompass both interactive
and non- interactive genres. These parameters can be extended to
overshadow transmedia storytelling as a new media technique for
gaming genres. However, the notion of transmedia games can be
extended as a form of genre, whereby interconnectivity to a larger
media entity is what assimilates one game from the next, and not
traditionally the style of design of gameplay, as Star Wars proves
that merging of alternating genre styles does not deter from
engagement. The nature of interwoven transmedia highlights the
state of entertainment media as it currently stands, and
facilitates feasible predictions surrounding the future of digital
gaming production. Transmedia as a philosophy and a creative style
can heavily influence production and consumption style, by binding
all genres and styles of games together through narrative and
storytelling.
15. MORE INFORMATION? Wookiepedias Game List:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Video_game Wireds Financial
Statistics: http://www.wired.com/2014/11/geeks-guide-star-wars-
empire/ Jeff Gomez Interview:
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-
intelligence/2014/03/18/jeff-gomez-discusses-legos-star-
wars-and-transmedia-campaigns Robert Prattens Getting Started in
Transmedia Storytelling: http://videoturundus.ee/transmedia.pdf
Larissa Hjorths An Introduction to New Media:
http://site.ebrary.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/lib/curtinuniv/re
ader.action?docID=10439515