Storyworlds - What are They?

The term “fictional world” is sometimes used to describe the "universe" within which a transmedia narrative is set (Dena, 2009, p. 21). The term "storyworld" has also been used to describe that "universe". Dena specifically rejects the use of the term “storyworld” because some transmedia products incorporate game elements that are not narratives (Dena, 2009, p. 23).

Because transmedia narratives can be fiction, non-fiction, or a combination of both, the use of the term “fictional world” could be misleading. Narrative/story is an integral element of a transmedia narrative. Therefore, I will use the term “storyworld” rather than “fictional world”. It also helps that "storyworld" is increasingly being used as the term of choice by professionals in the field (and the recent Storyworld conference further supports the use of the term).

As the term “storyworld” becomes increasingly common in the discussion of transmedia narratives and is an integral part of their definition, I'll use a definition in which a “storyworld” refers to the shared universe within which the settings, characters, objects, events, and actions of one or more narratives exist.

As we dig more deeply into the structure of transmedia narratives, you will see why a solid definition is needed and (hopefully) why I've gone with this one.


(Christy Dena's excellent thesis on transmedia practice can be downloaded from Scribd.com.)

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Works Cited

Dena, C. (2009). Transmedia Practice: Theorizing the Practice of Expressing a Fictional World Across Distinct Media and Environments. PhD disseration . Sydney, Australia: University of Sydney.

What is a Transmedia Narrative? (Part 4 - Defining Fiction vs. Non-Fiction)

The term “fiction” has been used in a number of definitions of transmedia narratives (Dena, Transmedia Practice: Theorizing the Practice of Expressing a Fictional World Across Distinct Media and Environments, 2009; Fahle, 2011; Kinke, 2011).

Transmedia narratives, however, are not restricted to fiction; non-fictional narratives can also use transmedia techniques (Miller, 2008, p. 161). The issue of what constitutes fiction and non-fiction becomes even more blurred when a transmedia narrative integrates fictional settings, characters, and events with real-life locations, people, objects, and events. The term “panfictionality” has been proposed as a way to describe the merging of fiction and non-fiction (Ryan, 1997).

Because of these issues with the term “fiction”, I don't restrict the definition of transmedia narratives to fictional narratives.
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Books Mentioned

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References

Dena, C. (2009). Transmedia Practice: Theorizing the Practice of Expressing a Fictional World Across Distinct Media and Environments. PhD disseration . Sydney, Australia: University of Sydney.
Fahle, R. (2011, July 11). Are You Ready for the Transmedia Revolution? Retrieved July 12, 2011, from Video-Commerce.org: http://video-commerce.org/2011/07/are-you-ready-for-the-transmedia-revolution/
Miller, C. H. (2008). Digital Storytelling: A Creator's Guide to Interactive Entertainment (2nd Edition). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Ryan, M.-L. (1997). Postmodernism and the Doctrine of Panfictionality. Narrative , 5 (2), pp. 165-187.

What is a Transmedia Narrative? (Part 3 - Defining "Transmedia Narrative"

The definition of “transmedia narrative” is still being hotly debated, with some defining it as a single story told across multiple media platforms, while others see it as many stories based in a single “story world” being told on multiple media platforms (Clarke, 2011).

Adding to the confusions is a proliferation of terms that describe many of the same elements that characterize a transmedia narrative. These terms include multi-platform storytelling, interactive storytelling, cross-platform, deep media, cross-media, multi-platform, genre-mash, new media storytelling, reading mashups, chaotic reading, format independent, immersive games, collaborative fiction, hybrid, media enhancements, participatory media... are all worlds associated with the multi-platform world (Lamb & Johnson, n.d.).

A broad definition of “transmedia narrative” is the “process of conveying messages, themes, or storylines to a mass audience through the artful and well-planned use of multimedia platforms” (Gomez, 2011). The term “transmedia storytelling” has been used synonymously with “transmedia narrative”. Henry Jenkins states that “transmedia storytelling represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes its own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story” (Fahle, 2011). Another definition of “transmedia storytelling” requires a story that can be told in a way that seamlessly blends technology and story (Krozser, 2010).

The number of stories told in a project involving multiple media has been used as the basis for some definitions of what constitutes a transmedia narrative. For example, the terms “multimedia”, “crossmedia”, and “transmedia” have been defined as (Holme, 2011):

• Multimedia – a single story is told using different media, with the core narrative being supported by story elements spread across several types of media.
• Crossmedia – a single story interpreted independently in different media.
• Transmedia – multiple stories set in a single universe (or storyworld), with different stories being told via different media.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) defines a transmedia narrative based on the number of narrative storylines the project involves:

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. (Kinke, 2011)

Transmedia narratives have been categorized as two fundamental types -- intracompositional, which are works that use multiple media to create a single story, and intercompositional, which are works that create interrelationships between multiple narratives across multiple media (Dena, Transmedia Practice: Theorizing the Practice of Expressing a Fictional World Across Distinct Media and Environments, 2009, pp. 97-98).

I define a “transmedia narrative” relatively broadly as any intracompositional or intercompositional works that have one or more stories set in a single “storyworld” and told via at least two different media. In other words, when I'm talking about transmedia narratives, they consist of:

• One or more stories
• One storyworld
• Two or more different media

This definition was deliberately developed so it is the broadest possible interpretation of what makes up this emerging artform. From this point forward, I'll be talking about how to design transmedia narratives rather than arguing over what they are.

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References

Clarke, R. (2011, March 22). What’s Transmedia? Retrieved July 10, 2011, from Storify: http://storify.com/rachelclarkef1/whats-transmedia

Dena, C. (2009). Transmedia Practice: Theorizing the Practice of Expressing a Fictional World Across Distinct Media and Environments. PhD disseration . Sydney, Australia: University of Sydney.

Fahle, R. (2011, July 11). Are You Ready for the Transmedia Revolution? Retrieved July 12, 2011, from Video-Commerce.org: http://video-commerce.org/2011/07/are-you-ready-for-the-transmedia-revolution/

Gomez, J. (2011, February 22). Storyworlds: The New Transmedia Business Paradigm. Retrieved July 10, 2011, from Tools of Change for Publishing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81Ol6Tbjt5k&feature=player_embedded

Holme, P. (2011, April 17). The Differences Between Multimedia, Crossmedia, and Transmedia, Somewhat Explained. Retrieved July 10, 2011, from Tools of Change for Publishing: http://reasonpartners.com/2011/04/17/the-differences-between-multimedia-crossmedia-and-transmedia-somewhat-explained/

Kinke, N. (2011, April 5). Producers Guild Of America Agrees On New Credit: "Transmedia Producer". Retrieved June 18, 2011, from Deadline|Hollywood: http://www.deadline.com/2010/04/producers-guild-of-america-vote-on-creation-of-new-credit-transmedia-producer/

Krozser, K. (2010, March 30). Thoughts on Transmedia Storytelling, or, Is It Right for Every Story? Retrieved July 7, 2011, from BookSquare: http://booksquare.com/thoughts-on-transmedia-storytelling-or-is-it-right-for-every-story/

Lamb, A., & Johnson, L. (n.d.). Fluid Environments for Life-Long Learning. Retrieved September 3, 2011, from Lamb Learning Group: http://eduscapes.com/fluid/index.html

What is a Transmedia Narrative? (Part 2 - Defining "Narrative")

The term “story” has been defined as a sequence of events involving characters and settings;(Szulborski, 2005, p. 37), an account of an event or series of events that are fictional or non-fictional;(Simmons, 2006, p. 31), and a portrayal of characters caught in a dramatic situation, with a series of events being depicted from a beginning to a conclusion;(Miller, 2008, p. 5).

“Narrative” has been defined as an “account of events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious” (Dictionary.com, n.d.). Miller defines as narrative as an account of events that are interesting or exciting in some way (Miller, 2008, pp. 4-5). Marie-Laure Ryan provides a more comprehensive view of what qualifies as a narrative:

“A narrative text must create a world and populate it with characters and objects…The world referred to by the text must undergo changes of state that are caused by nonhabitual events: either accidents (“happenings”) or deliberate human actions. These changes create a temporal dimension and place the narrative world in the flux of history. The text must allow the reconstruction of an interpretive network of goals, plans, causal relationships, and psychological motivations around the narrated events. This implicit network gives coherence and intelligibility to the physical events and turns them into plot.” (Ryan, Introduction, 2004, pp. 8-9)

The terms “narrative” and “story” are often used interchangeably (Miller, 2008, p. 5) and the Collins English Dictionary uses the term story within the definition of “narrative” (Dictionary.com, n.d.).

Some researchers make a distinction between the two terms, with a “story” being a collection of facts (events, actions, character, etc.) whereas a “narrative” is a particular way in which those facts have been arranged and presented to the audience (Wolff, Mulholland, Zdrahal, & Joiner, 2007). By their definition, the same story (i.e. set of facts) can be presented as one or more narratives based on different viewpoints, different selection of facts, or different media.

I will use the terms “story” and “narrative” as synonyms, rather than the more restricting definition that makes a distinction between the two.

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Books Mentioned


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References

Dictionary.com. (n.d.). narrative. Retrieved September 2, 2011, from Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/narrative

Miller, C. H. (2008). Digital Storytelling: A Creator's Guide to Interactive Entertainment (2nd Edition). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Ryan, M.-L. (2004). Will New Media Produce New Narratives? In M.-L. Ryan, Narrative Across Media: The Languages of Storytelling (pp. 337-359). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.

Simmons, A. (2006). The Story Factor: Secrets of Influence from the Art of Storytelling. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Szulborski, D. (2005). This Is Not a Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming. New-Fiction Publishing.

Wolff, A., Mulholland, P., Zdrahal, Z., & Joiner, R. (2007). Re-Using Digital Narrative Content in Interactive Games. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies , 65 (3), pp. 244-272.

What Is a Transmedia Narrative? (Part 1 - Defining "Transmedia")

The emergence of a new field inevitably brings with it an argument about how to define it. The emegence of "transmedia narratives" has certainly provoked such an argument. In order to write about transmedia narratives, it is necessary to define what they are and are not. Let's start by looking at the "transmedia" part of the term.

The term “transmedia practice” encompasses a variety of theories, concepts, methodologies, techniques, and tools drawn from transmedia storytelling (Jenkins, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, 2006), distributed narratives (Walker, 2004), cross-sited narratives (Ruppel, 2005), pervasive games (Montola, 2009), ubiquitous gaming (McGonigal, 2006), networked narrative environments (Zapp, 2004), superfiction (Hill, 2001), very distributed storytelling (Davenport, 1998), and augmented reality games (Szulborski, 2005).

“Transmedia” as a term is used in a number of research areas but describes different phenomena (Dena, Transmedia Practice: Theorizing the Practice of Expressing a Fictional World Across Distinct Media and Environments, 2009, p. 16). For this thesis, the terms “transmedia” and “transmedial” use the definition provided by Werner Wolf:

Transmedia phenomena are phenomena that are non-specific to individual media. (Wolf, 2005)

Carol Handler Miller notes that because the field is so new, a number of different names, including “multiplatforming”, “cross-media producing”, and “integrated media” have been used to describe what she calls transmedia. Miller adds that no matter what the terminology, transmedia works adhere to the same principles (Miller, 2008, p. 151):

• The project exists over more than a single medium.
• It is at least partially interactive.
• The different components are used to expand the core material.
• The components are closely integrated.

Miller specifically states that transmedia productions “must combine at least two media (Miller, 2008, p. 151). This is the definition of “transmedia” that I will use.

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Books Mentioned


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References

Davenport, G. (1998). Very Distributed Media Stories: Presence, Time, Imagination. Proceedings 4th International Euro-Par Conference on Parallel Processing , pp. 47-54.

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York, NY: New York University Press.

Hill, P. (2001). Superfictions: The Creation of Fictional Situations in International Contemporary Art Practice. PhD dissertation . RMIT.

Miller, C. H. (2008). Digital Storytelling: A Creator's Guide to Interactive Entertainment (2nd Edition). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

McGonigal, J. (2006). This Might Be a Game: Ubiquitous Play and Performance at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century. PhD dissertation . University of California.

Montola, M. (2009). Games and Pervasive Games. In J. S. Markus Montola, Pervasive Games: Theory and Design (pp. 7-23). San Francisco, CA: Elsevier Science & Technology.

Ruppel, M. (2005, November 22). Learning to Speak Braille: Convergence, Divergence and Cross-Sited Narratives. Paper presented at PhD Qualifying Exam presentation . Maryland, USA.

Szulborski, D. (2005). This Is Not a Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming. New-Fiction Publishing.

Walker, J. (2004). Distributed Narrative: Telling Stories Across Networks. Internet Research Annual , pp. 91-103.

Wolf, W. (2005). Intermediality. In D. Herman, M. Jahn, & M.-L. Ryan, Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory (pp. 252-253). Oxfordshire: Routledge.

Zapp, A. (2004). 'A Fracture in Reality': Networked Narratives as Imaginary Fields of Action. Networked Narrative Environments: As Imaginary Spaces of Being , pp. 62-81.