Transmedia and Entertainment Technology

Xbox One, Transmedia Entertainment Hub

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 18:20:00 +0000

Following Microsoft’s abrupt about-face regarding an always-on connection and used game red tape for its new Xbox One, policy for the company’s machine has now fallen in line with their largest competitor, Sony’s PS4. E3 backlash from the would-be fans of the platform hit hard, but Microsoft listened…for now.

The details of the system had been murky until recently due to the market posturing that has been ongoing since the news on next generation game consoles started around the first of the year. This will likely continue until the actual release of both of the systems coming in the fourth quarter of 2013, but Microsoft’s mulligan may prove to be a lifesaver for what would have been a very grave error for an otherwise promising system.

The Xbox One is interesting on many accounts due to the further integration of Kinect voice and gesture interface control systems, use of the cloud for enhancing system performance, and finally, enhanced non-gaming entertainment which allows the user to operate their live TV through an Xbox interface rather than through the interfaces provided by the cable company’s boxes.

Transmedia entertainment could get a big boost in public awareness through this next generation console experience. It will be possible for Xbox owners to simultaneously watch TV and have an Internet browser window from a single location rather than across devices. While this is nothing new for PC gamers, it is a huge step forward for mainstream entertainment to use these machines in ways that have never been possible before. My last post touched on Syfy’s Defiance game and TV series; by having a console that you can play the game on, and console processes that make instant switching to live TV possible when the series airs, the franchise’s aim to have an integrated experience, could become much more seamless of an experience.

Microsoft has been sending fans of the platform on a rollercoaster ride since details emerged from the first event. That lackluster launch event in May upset many fans and led them to believe that the manufacturer had possibly lost its focus on the gamers that made the predecessor so successful. Then, the June E3 bomb regarding a required always-on connection to the network and used games debacle, which they quickly rescinded, has taken those that care about new Xbox One from heightened levels of excitement and anticipation, to the pits of despair and disappointment. With a Sony price-point set at $100 less and none of the used game headaches, Sony could have developed a substantial lead in the console war of this generation. By reneging on the policy changes while remaining firm on price, Microsoft has positioned itself more securely due to most of their exclusive titles being highly sought after by the console gaming public, but Sony is certainly coming across as more reliable to target end-users.

There are still many things about next-gen console gaming that we don’t know yet, but in a sense, that’s nothing new. What we do know is that as this cycle matures, there will be many incredible options for players and lovers of interactive entertainment. With capabilities that these new systems provide, game developers who never seem short on creative application will give us as users many things to enjoy and talk about for the next 7-10 years.

Mainstream Transmedia: SyFy and Trion’s Defiance

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 00:24:00 +0000

In the last year, I have explored many of the different facets surrounding transmedia and how technology is spearheading convergent media efforts to make for some very exciting entertainment options for fans. Multi-platform entertainment is here to stay, and embryonic efforts like the SyFy channel’s “Defiance” television series and concurrent game release “Defiance” MMORPG third-person shooter from Trion Worlds are helping to establish this form of storytelling in ways that are interesting, but also imperfect in the delivery.

After setting series debut records for a SyFy original series with 2.7 million viewers in the initial episode, television viewership for the “Defiance” effort has dwindled due to mixed reviews. Amazingly, the game portion has received mostly (there are exceptions) banal reviews and suffers from similar creativity and inspiration failures as the TV series, but has over one million registered users as of May.

Could this effort, widely described as “vanilla” and rote, all be due to a need to “play it safe” for the SyFy channel, as they have invested over $100 million into this transmedia effort? Historically, going the play it safe route doesn’t bode very well for getting fans back into the action once you have lost them, and these problems are now two-fold due to having a mediocre video game as well. Personally, I applaud the dual platform concept, while simultaneously finding the execution a bit off-putting.

An article from Rob Bricken of io9 breaks down the component parts of “Defiance” and makes plenty of comparisons to other science fiction franchises as well as Shakespearian themes that are present in the franchise. It seems that SyFy may be attempting to test the themes that are “sticky” with the audience, in order to mitigate the risk…hoping that something will attract fans to the series. This is the essence of what I find so disappointing, the total lack of innovation and edginess.

Part of the problem with “Defiance”, besides the lackluster storyline, revolves around the fact that the relationship between SyFy executives and the creators of the game, Trion Worlds, has been strained from the onset. Disagreements regarding launch dates and pilot episode scripting plots seemingly could have been ironed out in a far more adult fashion. For instance, an article found on Bloomberg Businessweek mentions both the release schedule and script writing as the two major problems* that the collaboration faced.

(*NOTE-- In my experience, when issues begin to bubble up from various contributing members associated with a project, there is a whole lot more than just two instances that have caused problems, these just made it to public awareness.)

It is widely recognized that a December release for a video game is ideal, yet a TV series release at that time of year could spell disaster. Trion wanted December, and SyFy wanted July, they ended up “compromising” on April. Another article mentions how season 1 of the TV series will not be able to incorporate much of the player action from the game due to not having enough in-game plots having been played. It seems like the perfect opportunity instead to allow both companies to release their individual products at the most opportune time. This strategy would have allowed considerable in-game plot to be developed and hence injected into the first season of the show. Maybe SyFy wasn’t confident about the product that was developed? Maybe they were afraid of giving away spoilers? There ARE a number of potential reasons why they would not go for this, but as trite as everything has been thus far, I don’t see a really good reason.

Secondly, it is common practice for game developers to write what is known as a “Bible”, a document that lists absolutely every detail of story history, character type, and every piece of information about the universe that is being created. The problem was, when Trion handed over the Story Bible, the SyFy writers were overwhelmed and stated that it was too “convoluted” to write their two-hour pilot script! Baffling to me, having parameters should make things easier first and foremost, but why wouldn’t there be more of an effort to have the writers themselves collaborate more effectively? Whether you are a game writer or a scriptwriter the fact remains that you have a skill for telling a story, only technical differences in the technique of delivery. With a mindset of collaboration and joint-effort, this should have been a non-issue. Both SyFy and Trion Worlds, I assume, wanted a successful launch for both of these products. That’s what transmedia represents, narrative storytelling opportunities; yet these professionals seem to have been stuck in their siloes, unable to unstick themselves from the processes of the past.

Make no mistake, as an Entertainment Business Master’s student I understand how pressure builds when substantial sums of money are on the line. This project had over $100 million dollars on the line and over two years of development leading up to the April 2013 release, but the innovation is in the concept itself, while being found minimally in the individual products.

While I am in love with the idea of a game and TV series intertwined, “Defiance” hasn’t done it for me yet. Also, although the series has recently been given the green light for a season two, I don’t know if it is for the right reasons. Maybe SyFy feels that too much has been invested to not give this further effort, or maybe they feel that they can pull more people in as the story develops further, only they know.

Perhaps the problem with the “Defiance” situation rests in the fact that the two companies had divergent goals for a convergent type of experience. Hopefully moving forward into season two of the show they are able to expand the integration with the game through synergistic effort in accordance with the native underlying roots of a transmedia experience. I have been pulling for this franchise due to the transmedia delivery and hope that they can pull it together and start delivering innovative content that is in accordance with the concept.

From Business Plans to Businesses of Tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 30 May 2013 07:06:00 +0000

Art by: pictographik.wordpress.com/

Business plans are fairly intense pieces of work; I know this because I have been fully immersed in the creation of one over the last month. From this invaluable experience I have learned so much about what is required and not required in order to navigate through the hurdles that arise when you are trying to take a nebulous concept from your mind and have it make sense when you put it on paper in order to start a business that has any chance of getting funded.

Throughout this process, many things that I thought would be the easiest to implement have turned out to perhaps be the most difficult challenges to overcome. I have battled boredom and frustration on a number of occasions, not because I’m bored with my concept, but because certain things can be downright difficult in the process towards achieving fruition of one’s desires.

Therein lies the biggest challenge for many people, how to carry on through the pain of boredom and into the breakthrough stage which Robert Greene calls “the cycle of accelerated returns”. This stage, which Greene describes in his book “Mastery”, is the point where through vast amounts of trial and error, hard work, and focused effort, a person is able to complete a given task, making it appear to be automatic and easy. For me right now, I’m not at that point yet with my business plan writing skills. I’m not worried about the fact that I find the process of business plan writing challenging and more than a little bit tedious because, from past experience, I know that I’m close to having a breakthrough in the process of learning how to do it well.

In my last post, I described the methods of two experts concerning business plan writing, William Sahlman and Tim Berry. Both offered advice that I have used in conjunction with the advice of my two fantastic course instructors who have guided me throughout the process of writing my own plan. Most significantly, for me, is to keep things as simple and focused as possible.

Any 25+ page document that is detailing the complexities and inner workings of a business startup will be a notably exigent process, but if the overall concept is something that can be boiled down into a succinct phrase that provides a distinct solution to a public point of pain, the entrepreneur has an opportunity within his grasp to receive the funding that they may need. I have found that combining the advice from Sahlman and Berry to be incredibly useful.

Take Sahlman’s four-element structure and overlay Berry’s four-step process. Sahlman’s “nouns” provide the skeletal structure to Berry’s “adjective and verb” system which provides the movement when you correlate the two…that HAS to be business plan gold. These two minds together have provided what the body (business plan) takes to move forward (in the funding process) successfully.

Sahlman and Berry aren’t the only ones in the business plan world that seem to have an affinity for the number four either. Akira Hirai of Cayenne Consulting talks about “The Four Cornerstones of Every Business Plan" on the company’s “Hot Sauce! Blog”. According to Hirai’s theory, the opportunity describes the point of pain, the solution is the way your business eases the pain, the execution tells how you plan to do it, and outcomes tells of your vision of the business in the future. Pretty concise method if you ask me I feel like I’m seeing a pattern here. All of these experts use very simplistic ways to describe what can be an overwhelming process, but when viewed through a simple four-step plan of action, the pressure is relieved a bit and a starting point is far more obvious.

My advice is to breathe, go through the plan in steps, write down ideas, and try to be as organized as possible. Even though these are fantastic four-step methods towards accomplishing a successful business plan write-up, the details can sink the ship before you even leave the harbor. Throughout the entire process make sure you go back and look to make sure you’re keeping on task and within both the structure and process of a well-written business plan as prescribed by Sahlman, Berry, and Hirai…these guys definitely know what they’re talking about.

Mission_Start: Business Plan Gravity Clarified

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:29:00 +0000

There comes a point in any potential entrepreneur’s life where they have to buckle down and take active steps towards the realization of bringing their ideas to the world of form. As one of these individuals myself, there have been years of accelerated business education that has now led me to the point where I must mix all of the various skills and knowledge that I have gained and channel it all into the writing (and execution) of a business plan that can be used externally to attract potential investors to my cause.

But what is a business plan exactly? You can ask 10 different people and get 10 different answers as to what the function of a business plan is, how detailed it should be, even what format the business plan should take. Sure, details can be very important, but according to two very high level minds active in educating individuals on the process of writing business plans, it’s not so much the details that separate the good plans from the bad…it’s the people and ideas behind the plan that can make all the difference.

William A. Sahlman, Dimitri V. d’Arbeloff Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and Senior Associate Dean for External Relations, in his classic Harvard Business Review article “How to Write a Great Business Plan” states in the very first line “Few areas of business attract as much attention as new ventures, and few aspects of new-venture creation attract as much attention as the business plan.” This should automatically alert anyone concerned with beginning a new business to the value of writing a business plan, but by no means is it an indicator of future venture success.

Sahlman states that one of the big issues of business plans, in general, are that they are often based in some utopia world with overly detailed financial projections (including poor capital projection requirements) that literally are just plucked out of the sky to look good on paper; beyond year-one projections the numbers quickly become meaningless. This is common knowledge to experienced investors, and that’s why they look at other factors when critiquing plans for new ventures. The most important point to keep in mind regarding BP financials is to detail the financials that matter, as Salman says, “detail the numbers related to the business model that show the business' key drivers towards success or failure, be they distribution channels, production yield, or anticipated renewal rates.” Show within the business plan when the business hits the break-even point, and when cash flow turns positive, beyond these drivers and projections the rest is fluff that can really turn a potential investor off regarding your proposal.

Sahlman recommends a business plan structure that follows four key concepts to build the plan around:

1. The People

2. The Opportunity

3. The Context

4. Risk and Reward

In order to get another perspective on writing valuable business plans and to understand what the key objectives should be, I turned to Tim Berry. Tim is a Stanford MBA, and founder of bplans.com, Borland International, and Palo Alto Software, a company he “grew to 70% market share with no outside investment” developing Business Plan Pro and LivePlan business planning software. Tim has authored and co-authored books on business plan writing, and recently launched Eugene Social, a site that works to run business’ social media marketing efforts. In 2010, Tim was included in Business Week’s “top 20 entrepreneurs to follow on twitter”, “number 6 of the top 11 companies to follow on twitter” by the New York Times, and finally, one of Business Insider’s “top 20 entrepreneurs to follow”.

Tim says that the to-be business plan should follow a process that seems, to me, remarkably like a S.M.A.R.T. Goal model (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely). He says the plan should be Simple, Specific, Realistic, and Complete. The process Tim prescribes looks like this:

To enhance further understanding of Tim's business plan theory, be sure to watch this 5 part video series Webinar delivered by Tim for Global Entrepreneur Week. In it he covers the fundamentals of business plans.

While the plans are certainly one the best exercises for discovery regarding how your business will operate and an exhibit for attaining capital for development and growth, perhaps their most important function is in how they guide the company throughout the lifetime of the business. Business plans MUST be considered as a living document, dynamic in nature, anything that tends to be unbending in this world tends to break. This is a concept that stems from my long history of martial arts, and it is one that makes sense in many instances. The business plan must be bending to the existing market conditions like water in a river conforms to its banks or obstacles in its path, but like the water in a gushing river…stay true to your course, a business plan should operate in the same manner.

Digital Marketing's Transmedia Future

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 03:08:00 +0000

The Experiential Company- Journées #49

It really should be no surprise to anyone who has been following this blog for the last 10 months, but I’ll spell it out for those that may be new here. I LOVE progressive people, the types of individuals on the front edge of the technology adoption curve, the innovative visionaries of the world. The types of people willing to take risks in order to push the envelope further into the unknown are the types of people I want to surround myself with. When I look into the mirror, I see myself playing that progressive role in society, so, if the shoe fits, wear it.

As I near the end of my road at Full Sail University, having earned my Bachelor of Science degree a little over a year ago and now wrapping up my Masters of Science in the next couple of months, I have had the opportunity to reflect a little about my experience. During my time at this institution (2009-present) I have come into contact with more of these progressive people than I have during all my other years combined. It has changed my thinking and it has opened the doors in my mind about what is possible, but perhaps more importantly, it has shown me that making an impact in this world is not only necessary, but also doable.

My most recent observation of cutting edge design and implementation came from an article on the school page about a graduate of Full Sail’s Digital Arts & Design program, Dylan Roscover. Last year Dylan and his business partner Roynel Flores launched a fascinating business, The Experiential Company (TEC).

Based in Hollywood, CA, the founding duo at TEC “specialize in outstanding visuals across all media”. This is an important specialty to keep in mind if you remember my last post that featured Principal Engineer and Futurist at Intel Corporation Brian David Johnson. In it, he talks about how screens and sensors will be everywhere and that media content will have to adapt across devices and beyond.

Providing a glimpse into the future is TEC, which is laying the groundwork for this NOW with projects like Journées, an experimental animation project that showcases a trip to Europe. Journées is optimized for viewing on a 15-foot wall, but is still thrilling on my 15” MacBook Pro.

TEC’s expert use of light and motion captivated me from the moment I started perusing their projects and website, which by the way, is highly intuitive to navigate. Stick another feather in their cap for their obvious possession of a skillset that requires the delicate balance of creativity and logic. These guys are on point, and strategically positioned to become leaders in customized user experiences for businesses in any industry category.

So how does this all relate to transmedia?

Transmedia experiences are only beginning to gain some momentum, and marketing’s inherent nature requires vast amounts of data analysis and proof of concept, especially for blue-chip risk averse companies. The digital landscape is changing traditional models for advertising and marketing very quickly; to sit on the sidelines refusing to dip your toes in the water to test novel concepts now, certainly could lead to your more innovative competition to pass you by.

Transmedia experiences require fluency across devices to tell a story that specifically uses the various touch-points to their native strengths. In his excellent article about how transmedia storytelling is affecting digital marketing, Jason Thibeault quotes Forrester Research:

“Transmedia storytelling…is the technique of telling a single story or story experience across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies…From a production standpoint, it involves creating content that engages an audience using various techniques to permeate their daily lives. In order to achieve this engagement, a transmedia production will develop stories across multiple forms of media in order to deliver unique pieces of content in each channel.”

People, as consumers, expect these types of experiences from industry leaders, but what is the impact for the small or medium business that is able to capitalize on these concepts now rather than later? Could it be possible to create an engaging cross device storytelling experience for your brand or product that goes viral across social media channels, causing a nearly instant and exponential rise in revenue or at the very least substantial buzz? If done right, and remaining true to your brand, an outcome such as that has never been more possible. Moreover, experiences such as TEC’s Journées can and will be implemented in transmedia storytelling experiences for truly groundbreaking marketing campaigns for businesses.

Media Experiences of the Near Future, featuring Expert Opinion From Intel's In-house Futurist, Brian David Johnson

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 02:08:00 +0000

Today’s digital landscape is a whirlwind of instantaneous change and metamorphosis. It seems as though we are on the precipice of truly releasing the old ways in which consumers are delivered content, to the dismay of many, as they struggle clinging to the old models of marketing, advertising, and revenue generation. While there are many who struggle to come to terms with the fact that the Internet has changed and will continue to change they way business is run, there are many forward thinking people and companies that are laying the groundwork for their organizations to become the leaders of tomorrow.

To glimpse what we’re in for, I turned to the Internet to gather some information from a gentleman that could be considered an expert on the future (if that’s possible, he’s one of the guys), Brian David Johnson. Brian is a Principal Engineer at Intel Corp. and Director of Future Casting for the leading chip making company in the world. He runs “The Tomorrow Project” sponsored by Intel, a website that features various writing competitions where people from around the world submit essays that investigate their visions for the future regarding technology that’s coming viewed through a filter of what they would most like to see happen.

In an interview with Allvoices at ad:tech, the largest and longest-running digital marketing and technology event, Brian talks about the five to ten year lead time it takes for Intel to develop their industry leading chips (more on that in a second). His message on the ad:tech stage was about how marketers need to convey messages with meaning to the consumers they are trying to reach by focusing on the experience that they intend the consumer to have with the brand. Brian goes on to say that marketers in general need to embrace their skill at crafting experiences for the consumer, that’s what a marketer really does at the root anyway.

It is Brian's expert opinion that within the chip design and implementation lead time required for commercial manufacturing (5-10 years), nearly everything will be a computer; the Internet of Things will be so all encompassing that basically all of our "things", will, in essence, have a “brain” and communicate. Brian David Johnson, in a feature from iMedia Connection, talks about these same likely potentials. In the series of Vimeo videos located within the link above (which I HIGHLY recommend for any budding media aficionado), Brian mentions just how ubiquitous screens will be, which is FAR more pervasive than they are today, and that every "thing" will have the ability to be a computer. With chip sizes continually shrinking, the 5-10 year window into the future projects microchips that near zero in size…14 nanometers, even down to 7 nm; that’s the equivalent to 21 atoms across. All that is required to be considered a computer according to Brian (and rightfully so) is five things: some memory, computational power, a data connection, a way to interact (user interface), and a power source. He goes even further stating that at this point, anything can become a “meaningful platform to interact and entertain.”

To put the last statement in context, think about waking up in the morning and having your bed sheets tell your coffee pot to begin brewing, then after you put on your favorite workout shirt, a display shows a data screen in the sleeve telling you that the embedded smartfabric senses that your meals over the last few days have caused one pound of weight gain. Then this data is transferred to an app that automatically plots a course for you to do some additional running over the next few days in order to balance out your caloric intake and get you back into prime condition. Since you prefer running outside, your version 4.0 Google Glass instantly shows your workout course on an augmented reality heads-up display (HUD), as well as overlaying a visible asynchronous ghost of yourself running the same course the last time you over ate and needed additional exercise. To take the exercise analogy one step further, what if the HUD was also capable of manipulating your immediate environment during your run? For instance, continuing that previous example, your over eating has caused you to drag a little bit and your pace has slowed to a near crawl. Now, the HUD displays zombies, hungry wolves, a H U G E Indiana Jones style boulder, or whatever, coming at you and in order to “survive” you must sprint or increase your speed considerably in order to get away. If the zombies, wolves, or whatever, get you, the data is automatically transferred to your social profile on Nike+ showing your efforts for the day. You better pick up the pace, or all your virtual running buddies will laugh at you. Dig deep!

It doesn’t require much imagination to conceive of a zillion other examples as to how this technology will be implemented and will aid in the quality of life for everybody who embraces it. I see all of this applying to what we call transmedia today-- we will lose the trans- prefix, and instead it will only be referred to as “media” once again; media is media. Cross-platform entertainment will very soon become the norm; it will be expected from the vast majority of content producers, and there will be genuinely helpful and novel approaches to getting your produced content in front of the exact people you are trying to reach through your digital marketing campaigns.

Neurogaming: Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 18:22:00 +0000

In my previous post regarding the burgeoning field of neurogaming, I touched on some of the different aspects being affected by these new interfaces which bridge the gap between man and machine. While not really having much to do with neurogaming, the device from foc.us has the potential to become a common performance-enhancing device, with useful applications in competitive video game environments and classrooms.

With EEG monitoring headsets from Neurosky, InteraXon, and Emotiv available to the public in the form of a device, as well as the software development kits (SDK), the technology to create some truly groundbreaking applications and experiences have seeped into the hands of those who are both aware of the technology’s potential and capable of blowing minds through programming panache.

As exciting as these neurogaming EEG headsets are, there are many other ways that interfaces are changing. Disney Research has a surround haptic feedback chair that “generates high-resolution, continuous, moving tactile strokes on human skin” and Tesla Touch technology, which provides tactile feedback on a touch interface device through electrical charges. Both of these developments from Disney can substantially impact user experiences in gaming and entertainment.

It’s paramount to realize that while these devices and SDKs are making their way to consumers and developers offering real benefits, there will certainly be hiccups on the path. As it stands, consumers can get their hands on this technology, but it will be some time still before the potential of this is explored fully. The more consumers actually enjoy the products, the more traction neurogames will get in the market. This will lead even more companies to support development through funding and risk taking in the market.

It is easy to imagine further development of these interfaces and integration into the entertainment that we consume. Looking out approximately ten years, these technologies will be widespread, mainstream, smaller, more fashionable, and expected. There will be many novel approaches to how they are used and they will be far more reliable due to advances in the technology itself, as well as in our improved ability to use them, similar to how we have perfected touchscreen texting.

I hope you have enjoyed this two-part look into the near future of computer interface technology as much as I have. I believe that the developments that we are seeing now will have every bit as drastic an effect on the entertainment industry as the moving picture has had. I am excited to see what the future brings to movies, gaming, music, our devices, and the transmedia content that will become even more prevalent and systematically streamlined through technology capable of reading our minds and seemingly understanding our emotions and through algorithm-magic, adjusting difficulty levels, A.I., even storylines on-the-fly…bringing each user a customized experience with a product.

Neurogaming: Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:05:00 +0000

We all know the scene, when Mr. Anderson gets a cable jack in the back of his head, learns kung fu, and becomes Neo. This classic scene, showing a true link between user and computer, epitomizes the synthesis of man and machine, albeit under duress and in a virtual world due to the nature of the Matrix films.

Mass Effect 3’s synthesis ending was an even more eye-opening example of man and machine becoming one, simply due to the level at which the integration took place. This ending to the trilogy was lasting and very real for the inhabitants of Bioware's game universe.

I am well aware of the morality issues that get called into question when speaking about basically anything new. Many people get scared, change is NOT easy for most, and a continuously uncertain future has the tendency to make “Doomsday Preppers” stars when they are getting their own show on the National Geographic Channel. There always have been, and likely always will be the people who want to put the brakes on progress. This is a good thing. Without the “laggards” raising questions about the validity, safety, or morality of a given situation or technology, more mistakes would be bound to happen in our age of seemingly compressed time and technological advancement.

We are now at the precipice of a new era in gaming and entertainment experiences with the advent neurogaming. 2013, while obviously still early, could very well be the year where the baby steps towards these Matrix technologies become mainstream realities.

There are a few promising developments making their way towards public awareness right now. Next generation video gaming consoles are promising to deliver integrated second-screen experiences (WiiU and PS4), previous military tested apparatuses like foc.us are proving to enhance mental learning capacity with transcranial direct current stimulation, and many other exciting developments that I mentioned in my February 8^th post are soon to make their way to the stage.

Growing up, it always seemed like the future was just around the corner and soon we would all have hoverboards, flying cars, be traveling the galaxy, and using a Minority Report style interaction with technology. All of this has proven to be a bit slower than I expected for sure, but I feel like some of what I mentioned above is indeed on its way to us. While we probably won’t be able to learn complex skills that are immediately uploaded directly from the computer to our bodies like Neo quite yet, we can look forward to what is becoming available and figure out new and exciting ways to put these devices to use…. especially in terms of the entertainment value. Soon, devices like foc.us, Google Glass, and augmented reality will be commonplace, and this only paves the way for even more exciting opportunities to learn, play, and interact.

To see how Neurogaming will change the entertainment industry, make plans to be at the NeuroGaming Conference & Expo May 1-2. Also, stay tuned for news about Microsoft’s Durango (New Xbox), which is widely believed to have an announcement coming sometime in April 2013.

Part II of the Neurogaming revolution coming soon!

*Chris out

Somnium Magnus

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 23:20:00 +0000

Lately I have found myself quite literally buried in the law; more directly, I have been immersed in Copyright law, Trademark law, and the legal ramifications that technology has wrought upon the United States and the rest of the world. These various technologies, such as the Internet via networked computers and mobile broadband, increasingly “smart” phones, tablet computers stocked full of software applications and many other modern conveniences, have unleashed a storm of court litigation in order to establish just what is legally viable in the commercial marketplace.

To help sort through all the red tape that is intrinsic with our modern world, I enlisted the assistance of one of my favorite modern conveniences, iTunesU. iTunesU is a fantastic platform to gather information from some of the brightest minds in higher education across specialties for free.

The first of three podcasts that I listened to was a presentation given by New York University Law School titled “Evolving Technology, Democracy and the Law”. Richard Sherwin, one of the speakers and Professor of Law at NYU, delivers an excellent presentation that really hits home with the transmedia theme of this blog. Sherwin teaches a “Visual Persuasion” course that explores the importance and power of properly using visual images to deeply impact the way people see the world around them through digital mediums and how the knowledge and use of semiotics dramatically can affect a content consumer’s perception of reality. Sherwin uses an exhibit of the acquitted L.A. police officers involved in the high profile police brutality case of Rodney King to persuasively make his point as to the power of visual technology to change minds. In this case, it was the defenses use of a digital version of the originally analog tape to successfully prove their point that Rodney King was actually controlling the situation by choosing to repeatedly stand up against the will of the arresting officers, which in turn caused them to continue to bludgeon him into submission. In this case, the digital footage told a drastically different story than what was immediately visible in the prior version. According to Sherwin, and many others who agree, society now has the ability to follow multiple and fragmented storylines with ease across devices, yet many of us continue to struggle with the blurring between reality and fiction.

Second, also from New York Law and in the IP/Technology aspect of law, a podcast featuring John Squires and Thomas Biemer: "The Shape Shifting Subject Matter of U.S. Patent Law" podcast gives an excellent discourse on the matter of junk patents v. novel patents, video games, virtual worlds, and the evolving United States patent system. Thomas Biemer, originally a commercial litigator turned hybrid general commercial litigator/ IP Patent attorney speaks for the most part during this podcast and covers the barely controllable confusion over computer related software patents and the different camps that have argued the ways in which the issues regarding patents should be seen in the eyes of the law. Mr. Biemer sits in an interesting liaison translator position, where he is the go-between between engineer scientific inventor types of individuals and the deciding judge and jury. Biemer speaks specifically about the State Street v. Signature Financial case in which he was involved on the defendant side of the fence. His client signature financial had developed what was understood to be a “hub and spoke” business method for conducting trades with mutual funds, and sought to decide whether or not business methods themselves were actually patentable items.

The last podcast, from Stanford University, is “LegalFrontiers in Digital Media: Emerging Issues in Mobile Content Distribution”. This podcast is surprisingly current in their hypotheses of the mobile world circa 2008 looking forward towards the current convergence of entertainment, mobile, wireless, and digital that is now nearly ubiquitous in 2013. One of the biggest factors, both now and then, revolves around the shaping of consumer behaviors in the advertising models for the mobile space and the innovation companies and entrepreneurs will eventually be guided towards creating in order to monetize content.

All three of these podcasts go hand in hand with transmedia on multiple levels, and we are in an age of increasingly confusing rules and regulations that we must adhere to if we intend on operating a successful media company. The biggest benefit to these rules and regulations, overlooked by some however, is the fact that once they are intimately understood, it becomes far easier to know what you legally can and can not do. That said, it is well worth any content creator’s time to explore exactly how to make your project fall in line with your legal obligations, both for your potential consumer’s protection, as well as your own.

Consequences of Reality Distortion

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 05:40:00 +0000

Last year, in my September 12^th blog post titled “Transmedia Convergence: What, When, and How” I talked about the current state of media technology convergence that we are witnessing, and how transmedia narratives are using the various technology platform’s strongest attributes to tell highly engaging asynchronous stories across devices. Alternate Reality Gaming (ARG) takes this a step further; rather than being a passive viewer of the entertainment, the “viewser” (viewer + user = viewser) instead is able to actively seek out clues online and in their physical environment. These types of experiences have led to a multitude of ethical liability issues being raised about what is appropriate and what could possibly be considered inappropriate material, especially if someone unintentionally consumes the content unaware that it is an entertainment production.

Case in point, Toyota’s “Your Other You” campaign promoting the Toyota Matrix; this transmedia marketing bomb ended up costing the car manufacturer $10 million, and was disastrous PR for a company that would soon have even bigger problems with accelerator issues in its Prius line of vehicles. The lawsuit, filed by Plaintiff and Respondent Amber Duick against Defendants and Appellants Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., ET AL., shows just how important “knowing consent” can be in online terms and conditions contract clause. The case revolves around the deceptive delivery of the experience, voiding the contract on account of fraud in the inception. This negligence in properly informing Amber of what was really happening caused her to believe that a criminal named “Sebastian Bowler” was targeting her via email and had intentions of hiding out at her residence with his Pitbull “Trigger” in California. The court agreed with Ms. Duick’s claim of “eight causes of action including intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and false advertising” and awarded Ms. Duick the $10 million in damages from emotional distress.

There is a fine ethical line to walk when immersive ARG and transmedia techniques are used in marketing and entertainment. By being an experience outside of the norm for most people there can be legitimate fears when someone is unknowingly immersed in a created world that bleeds into the real, but there have also been times where the person is completely aware of the ARG game they are playing and still meet with tragedy. Such was case in the Chew v. Lord Lord April 7, 2008 lawsuit; an ethical line of disclosure regarding potential dangers was not met by the creators of “The Game” and Bob Lord fell headfirst 30 feet in a pitch-black mineshaft in Nevada, leaving him nearly blind and quadriplegic.

This particular case, while not close to the level of intricacy, is similar to the 1997 Michael Douglas movie, The Game. This movie foreshadows ARG experiences and is a prime example of something taken too far down the rabbit hole and ending in a tragedy.

Violence in video games is another industry hot-button topic that could become even more contested in the very near future as technology continues to evolve. With the next generation of video game consoles from Sony and Microsoft due to be announced in the next few weeks, one can only imagine what is to come from a hardware capability standpoint. Now, we can only imagine, but we also have some telling clues that have very recently surfaced via confirmed leaked documents from Microsoft and confirmations also coming in from the Sony camp (February 20, 2013). The leaked Microsoft documents show the potential new Xbox console utilizing a peripheral similar to the Google’s Project Glass AR project. With assuredly more realistic graphics and gunfights coming out of the screen and into a player’s living room, violence in games will continue to be an issue contested between the various factions.

The 2010 Supreme Court case Brown, Governor of California, ET AL. v. Entertainment Merchants Association ET AL. lawsuit repealed a California Act that was passed and granted video games First Amendment protections similar to other forms of media. This victory for the freedom of speech may be short lived, but there always needs to be checks and balances to ensure industry is moving parallel to public opinion and is congruent with current culture.

I have what could be considered mixed feelings and a bit of a hypocritical attitude when it comes to violence in games, as I am one who has never missed a Call of Duty Modern Warfare or Halo installment, have had a blast playing Far Cry 3, and have shot at my fair share of aliens in Mass Effect; simultaneously I want to see more games that uplift people beyond the violence that is seemingly everywhere we look, from music, to movies, TV (simulated and actual), and a vast number of video game releases. It is the marketing feedback loop that moves like a snake eating its own tail that makes me stop and truly consider what things could be like if the concept of violence didn’t exist. Wishful thinking maybe, but the only way to move forward is to at least accept responsibility for what we put into our own heads and become aware of all the things that we have become so desensitized to.

As technology evolves and becomes even more pervasive, the lines between what is real and what is not will likely be blurred even further.

Bad Cells

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 00:53:00 +0000

I normally keep my personal life private, but this post is going to give you a glimpse into some circumstances that have recently come into my sphere of experience, as well as show you a way that technology is being used in order to change the game of medical diagnoses and treatment scheduling with typical new media and transmedia flair.

>PLAY

While visiting my typical Florida spot this past December over Holiday break, I received a phone call from my Grandmother that I definitely never wanted to receive. Her husband of 62 years, my Grandfather/Adopted Father was diagnosed with stage 3b small cell lung cancer. A mass was discovered and was rapidly spreading towards his lymph nodes (highways for the disease to spread towards his brain and various other bodily locations).

<<<REWIND

In June of 2012, having graduated with my Bachelor of Science degree in early spring, I thought I should stop in and visit my Grandparents in the Cleveland, OH area for a month or so before making my way back to Denver, CO in order to be near my son who was about to turn 8.

GoTo: REAL-TIME

That stay, which was to be one month, has turned into eight months due to various health issues that my elderly Grandparents/adopted parents have exhibited…they needed me, and I have always been the type of person to help whenever and wherever I can.

Being a Masters student, research is something that has been programmed into my DNA over the course of my education, so upon receiving that phone call from my Grandmother research was first on my to-do list.

As an Internet adept, this is of course the first place I turned. In fact, when the time came for the first round of chemotherapy for my Grandfather, the RN giving the “class” asked me how I was so knowledgeable on the topic of cancer. My answer? Digital resources that are at everyone’s fingertips, over a week to study up, and a sponge-like brain that tends to remember facts and information very easily.

I found so much information online, from YouTube videos posted by actual cancer survivors as well as family members that lost their loved ones, lung cancer medical conference presentations from the University of Pennsylvania, Mayo Clinic resources and support groups, and much…MUCH more.

Open Source Cure art

Interestingly enough, I also found the story of a man named Salvatore Iaconesi a 39-year-old Italian robotics engineer recently diagnosed with brain cancer. The story was doubly interesting to me due to being a speech delivered at TEDx Transmedia 2012 in Rome, Italy. Salvatore’s presentation, titled “My Open Source Cure”, shows how he decided to take matters into his own hands and make his medical records public information in order to leverage his chances for a cure to his disease while simultaneously moving away from the impersonal systematic approach to treatment provided by the western medical community. His unique and transparent approach to facing his disease has had staggering results thus far that can be seen at the end of the 10-minute presentation (I STRONGLY encourage you to take the time to listen).

While Salvatore’s path is still littered with mountains, molehills, trials, and tribulations, the poignant fact that the disease of cancer affects millions of people around the world every year, Salvatore’s innovative approach offers the light of hope that a far more personal and tailored treatment plan to face this disease can be developed through the use of our networks, technology, and collective intelligence. Please take ten minutes to enjoy the video presentation below. If you have any questions or even a story of your own to share regarding your own or a loved ones battle with cancer of any type, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Until next time,
~Chris, out

Novel Engagement

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 22:16:00 +0000

Every content producer wants as many people as possible to be aware of their content. In order to hold people’s attention in this age of information overload and gnat-like attention spans, content producers have needed to create novel ways to keep bringing people back. Sometimes that’s smaller bites of content delivered on YouTube, such as the case with the SyFyNetworks opting to deliver a new Battlestar Galactica (BSG) spinoff series “Blood and Chrome” strictly online once per week in 12-18 minute episodes, prior to a full run on the cable network and DVD sales set to begin in February 2013.

This serves a great purpose for fans of the BSG franchise and allows the network to test the potential impact and audience reception of the newly expanded franchise universe.

--Machinima Prime---Battlestar Galactica Blood & Chrome +7 million total views

Episode 1- 2.8 million

Episode 2- 946k

Episode 3 & 4- 974k

Episode 5 & 6- 975k

Episode 7 & 8- 625k

Episode Finale- 663k

Syfy programming president Mark Stern touted the multi-platform concept as a great way to grow the fan-favorite franchise:

"With its top-notch storytelling, pulse-pounding action, and cutting-edge visual effects, Blood & Chrome is the perfect extension of the Battlestar Galactica universe. We are thrilled to see this hotly-anticipated event premiere on Machinima, an online network that is unparalleled in its delivery of high-class digital content to millions of viewers."

….uhh, yeah; over 7 million to date actually. That’s a pretty amazing amount of consumer impressions prior to the official start of the series on cable. Perhaps a bit more risky due to production costs, but the webseries was very well done and really the producers of BSG: B&C at Syfy couldn’t lose because they historically have launched the Battlestar Galactica franchise spinoffs with a 2-hour special to kick things off. This grouping of webisodes equal a 2-hour special, and it’s the one that they’ll be releasing in early February. So all they have really done is begin to stoke the flames of attention that surrounds the BSG franchise a few months earlier, thus building audience attention for an all-in run for as many seasons as possible.

The act of building consumer engagement and controlling audience attention is changing, and has had to continually evolve at pace with the growth of the Internet platform as the functionality is becoming more capable everyday at handling various functions that were once reserved strictly for TV or Print.

Dimension Busters

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 23:50:00 +0000

Are we witnessing transmedia storytelling experiences evolving into popular mainstream entertainment franchises like many of the thought and innovation leaders know it can become?

Fourth Wall Studios, creator of the Rides.tv platform have come a long way since debuting in May 2012. Now having seven properties of various genres that range from horror, drama, dark comedy, to animation, Fourth Wall has truly taken the needed steps to advance transmedia deeply into the minds of the mainstream public. It seems as though much needed traction for transmedia entertainment is (depending on your opinion) being delivered in fresh ways by the “founding fathers” of multi-platform storytelling.

Having taken a look at a few of the intellectual properties available for free at Rides.tv, including Flare and Airship Dracula, I can say that they have definitely got my attention. (*Note- if you’re into the horror genre, you’ll likely be very interested in some of the other properties, such as the Dark Wall episodes)

The animated feature “Airship Dracula”, a combination of Bram Stoker meets steampunk, is an interactive web comic that I found most interesting. I signed up on the Rides.tv site, happily giving away my contact information (name, email, and phone number) in order to get the absolute maximum experience that Fourth Wall is providing. While there is only one 7:54 minute episode at the moment, I was taken into a nearly 20 minute adventure exploring all of the additional content that was being supplied, learning the history and background of the characters, trying to get up to speed on what exactly was going on. Watching the episode itself was also an interesting experience, as I sat watching the story unfold while getting text messages and an unobtrusive phone call or two from characters in the story. All of this served as a mechanism that enabled me to have a better idea about what was going on than the characters themselves...and likely a chance to develop feelings of attachment that is sought after in any entertainment product.

This is all a fairly new way to go about telling a story, which heightens audience engagement, but make no mistake, it’s FAR from perfect. The bottom-line however is that it was interesting and worth the price of admission, my coveted contact information. Something like this could take franchises like Mass Effect or Halo to a whole new level geekdom.

With Microsoft recently releasing their Smartglass iOS app, just imagine being mid-campaign aboard the Normandy SR-2 and having to keep your phone or tablet handy so you can get secret intel regarding Reaper tactics, Citadel Council decisions, and/or Liara’s moves across the galaxy as the Shadow Broker? There is a TON of potential with these multi-platform methods, I have no doubt that we can look forward to increasingly interesting ways to consume entertainment content, now...and into the future.

Industry Professional Highlight

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 02:32:00 +0000

Sought after speaker on the future of media (new & social), business marketing and strategy, branding, content creation, analytics, and the utilization of transmedia platforms for major Fortune listed businesses; Gunther Sonnenfeld is a self-described social technologist, serial entrepreneur, advisor, and international speaker.

Gunther situates himself on the leading edge of actually THINKING and implementing ideas that matter to people based on inherent human behavior. In a speaking engagement with the Miami Ad School, he proposes a theory that, as a society, we are still shaking off the thought forms of the industrial age of manufacturing, and coming into a stage of creating efficient processes for the age of creativity, customization and collective intelligence utilization. Using the forward thinking Henry Ford as a prime example of industrial process efficiency, as the creator of the assembly line system, Gunther speaks about how business "used to be" and has evolved from a "think tank" idea room of businessmen into a silo system of divisions that were disconnected, but built for high-volume low-margin production.

http://vimeo.com/39992007

BUILDING SOCIAL VALUE IS THE FUTURE

You build value by giving people what they want (even when they may not know it yet), this method to build businesses and make money is now being done through the art of storytelling and building relationships with the consumers of the products and services that are being produced. There are so many ways that transmedia storytelling can be done that it is bound to get confusing, even for the potential producer of the content…there are a lot of ducks to keep in a row.

OR…

Sometimes there really aren't that many ducks. In the case of #ALGREN, a core documentary with transmedia storytelling extensions, the picture maps out for visual purposes what this complex storyworld actually includes. But, far simpler examples of transmedia experiences exist, and are also ways in which current brands and franchises can further relate with fans. For instance, Skyfall, the new James Bond film due for release in November obviously has a broad fan-base of fervent followers, what if someone who travels to Europe on a consistent basis for work purposes were also a fan of the franchise? Not really a big stretch to imagine, but what if this fan also signed up on the website and downloaded a 007 app with locational features that trigger certain storyline extensions when the person spent time in areas near where in-story events have happened in Skyfall were activated? Potential games, story features, information, etc. could then be distributed to that person instantly, and would make sense on a fully customized basis. There are many ways to do something such as this even though we don't all travel to Europe for business. Therein lies a perfect opportunity for engagement of an already loyal base of fans, while also having the opportunity to attract people who may not be familiar with Bond (*Note: is there such a person??).

The point is, we live in times of vast amounts of change; but human behavior and the things that excite us remain fundamentally the same. If a potential content creator has an ability to tell a story that people are interested in, OR has the ability to attract a group of people who have various skills and talents to create an interesting story, as well as encourage them to come together as a group to accomplish a goal or project…there are untold possibilities to explore and horizons to cross.

The fun for me is getting together with like-minded people, brainstorming a potential project, bouncing ideas back and forth, seeing what the original idea morphs into, and then taking the steps to bring the idea into reality. This is what the cr8f_conclave stands for, and is what our first foray into transmedia storytelling intends to show.

iXmedia-- Associations

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 05:07:00 +0000

As if the sub-industry of Transmedia Entertainment wasn't tricky enough already, what's an aspiring transmedia professional to do when looking for professional associations to join when definition alone can't really be agreed upon by established organizations within entertainment. There's barely a

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) defines transmedia narratives as:

"a project or franchise consisting 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. It is NOT these extensions being repurposed material from one platform to be cut or repurposed to a different platform."

cameron_grey_the neverending dreamer

Leaders of transmedia, such as Dr. Dena Christie, tend to have a bit of a struggle with this strict definition, mainly due to the three-count platform limitation. She rightfully says, that there have been and assuredly will continue to be projects that are created that certainly feel like a transmedia experience, but won't be classified as such due to this three platform requirement.

Why is this the case?

Organizations positively NEED to be able to define the genre somehow in order for the producers of the content to qualify for recognition in the field or even in order to be able to receive grant money from an organization like the "The Tribeca Film Festival". Andrea Phillips, author of "A Creator's Guide to Transmedia Storytelling", says that the while the "definition has proven to be a moving target, making everything just a little more complicated…" in the present, it could "be decades before the dust actually settles." Ms. Phillips addresses the importance of flexibility in the definition, but also underscores the importance of having definitions simply due to the ramifications they can have to a producers career when they are finally able to put "PGA Transmedia Producer" on their résumé.

Even with the difficulties, we are on the cusp of a large shift in awareness towards interactive storytelling and interactive narratives know widely as "transmedia". The Tribeca Film Institute Interactive, SXSWi, TEDx, and transmedia Meetup groups, there have never been more ways to get noticed and get funded for your transmedia vision. Active groups on Facebook such as "ARGNet""Universe Creation 101" and "Storycode" enable interaction with other likeminded individuals, as well as allowing you to keep your fingers on the pulse of the industry.

In order to be able to qualify for membership in the PGA, there are a few things you need to have under your belt. Namely, a sponsor…someone who has firsthand experience with you and the content that you produce and a minimum of two broad domestic project releases.

cameron_grey_hope for the sound awakening

The best thing to do is to CREATE CONTENT..point blank. Start making things, and market yourself unabashedly until finally somebody listens. Join active social media based communities filled with individuals who you can brainstorm, shoot ideas off of, and collaborate on projects with…then make something. Then keep making things until you're able to get some traction in the industry.

While it may be that transmedia is emerging and nebulous right now, it's also a blessing. You really can't mess up, you can only gain from the experience and eventually, maybe you get that idea that turns out to be sticky and gathers a following. Andrea Phillips started out the exact same way, and after some very lean years freelance producing content she is now VERY established as an expert in the field, it took time and the willingness to fail, but her trials are beginning to pay off.

Gamers FTW!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 22:01:00 +0000

While I am currently deeply immersed in "Real World Education" at renown top new media institution, Full Sail University, I am also engaged in a "Gamification" course at The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and "Networked Life" a course also at UPenn.

Networked Life insightfully details: how real networks work, the effect of human behavior on networks, game theory, games on networks, trading within networks, and how it all comes together to create the current technological state of the world we live in. The Gamification course, taught by Associate Professor Kevin Werbach, plunges deep into the history, design, and methods of gamification and how this concept is being used by businesses attempting to cut through the clutter of advertisements and engage individuals with a brand (think Nike + or Foursquare). The course obviously goes MUCH further than just how those two basic examples are successfully implementing the concept of gamification in business, but that's "a whole 'nother Oprah" that I will detail in a future post directly relating the seemingly intertwined futures of gamification in business and transmedia entertainment experiences.

Today, I'd like to talk about how transmedia storytelling relates with games, more specifically, how games utilizing transmedia methods can EVOKE social change in the real world. I recently had the opportunity to listen to TED Speaker, Jane McGonigal deliver an excellent speech about how we as a society can use games to create a better tomorrow, solving many of our current world problems.

McGonigal begins by showing a picture of a gamer on the verge of what she refers to as an "epic win", "…an outcome that is so extraordinarily positive that you had no idea it was even possible until you achieved it." Jane's PhD. research has lead her down some very interesting paths, and led her to come to some even more interesting conclusions, namely, needing to "game for at least 21 billion hours a week by the end of the next decade in order to solve the very real world problems of hunger, poverty, climate change, global conflict, and obesity."

The major point of the whole speech is that we live in a world in which a lot of people feel almost helpless to make real world impact, yet at the same time, work adamantly to problem solve, collaborate, and "win" within the virtual game environments. McGonigal's whole goal is to bridge that gap by using gaming as the platform to create social change through new behaviors derived from what we learn within games.

Dr. McGonigal goes through a historical reiteration of Herodotus (Greek Historian), and how the king of Lydia used dice games to successfully combat the internal fighting caused by far-reaching famine in the kingdom. The king of Lydia directed the people in the kingdom to alternate days between a day of fasting and a day where they would do nothing but play dice games for over 18 years. This particular use of games to create behavior change possibly saved the kingdom from imploding on itself at a time of wide-spread strife. In the end, further measures were needed to save the kingdom, but this is a great example at the power games have on the human psyche and capacity.

She further relates this directed escapism with the usage of modern games like World of Warcraft and the amount of time an average gamer spends on games by the age of 21.

10,000 hours

Interestingly enough, this 10,000 hour mark that the average gamer spends playing games by the age of 21, also correlates with research attributed to Malcolm Gladwell's theory of success. Gladwell's theory states that it takes approximately 10,000 hours of practice at any given task to master it. McGonigal makes this connection and claims that now, in theory, there should exist "an entire generation of young people who are virtuoso gamers."

So…what are the skills that "digital generation" have perfected?

McGonigal has just begun to try and unravel just what exactly these skill sets may include, but for now has come up with four main high-skill areas that have been developed by the current 500 million gamers worldwide; this figure is projected to balloon upwards to 1.5 billion gamers within the next decade.

She says that these virtuoso gamers skills are:

1. Urgent Optimism

2. A Tight Social Fabric

3. Blissful Productivity

4. Epic Meaning

As a member of this group of individuals, I believe she's on to something here. There is a good reason that colleges such as Full Sail, Wharton, and many others are seeing such great success in curriculum designed around the Entertainment Industry, and why businesses worldwide are implementing more and more game concepts into their business models. The answer is because it works to cut through the clutter and offers meaning to the individuals using the products or services. A school like Full Sail, specializing in the various facets of entertainment can succeed because people demand choices in entertainment. Even traditional, moderately "stuffy" schools like the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business have courses on Gamification because the times have changed so significantly, right before our eyes, that many of the traditional avenues of brand extension no longer have the same impact as they use to.

We live in a hyper-connected world, with stark generational contrast. Being on the older end of the younger generation, I consider my peers and myself more prone to lean towards optimism, doing more of what we love and are passionate about, creating and sharing with anybody willing to listen or watch, and having more of an interest in connecting with other people whom we share common interest, rather than our potential companionship being dependent on what country someone is from or what color their skin is. Those things simply don't matter to us. We want to share and derive meaning from bonds that we can now establish at the speed of our broadband network connections.

Bing Gordon, ten year Chief Creative Officer at Electronic arts and current partner at venture capital firm in Silicon Valley Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, in an interview with my Gamification instructor says this VERY well, he says:

"Kids who've grown up digital believe that the purpose of the world is to be the best version of yourself that you can be. That life is not hierarchical, so we're going to a peer-to-peer world, and if you can find ways to communicate more effectively, build relationships more effectively, and learn more effectively…why not? Because we probably only have 100 years on the planet, and if you could save years by getting clearer feedback or being more motivated…why not?"

It seems to me that even with an economy in dire straits and the real world problems that McGonigal outlines above, we also have come up with the necessary tools to reverse all of the dystopian potentials. We only need to learn the right techniques with which to apply the tools we have. I believe this will be a challenge met more and more often by socially conscientious businesses that realize that a long-tailed vision on their bottom-line revenues is the way of the future, and it will become a steadily more mainstream expectation from a businesses potential consumers.

Act of Cr3ation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 07:53:00 +0000

Let there be light….

If only the causation of the lightbulb in your head bursting forth in the form of your grand idea were enough to manifest a successful project at the end of the day.. we would all be awarded Emmy’s, VMA's, Webby’s, Grammy’s, Nobel’s, Medal’s of Honor, etc..

While it is a romantic thought, the causation is only a step on the path to realization. There are seemingly endless aspects to actually delivering a transmedia experience that attracts a dedicated following and makes them yearn for more of the world you are offering. It is the astute delivery of the story elements delivered in pieces across logically used devices and physical reality that the would-be success transmutes into a real world success.

First, a pop quiz...

What is the most important tool(s) at the disposal of the group or company producing the transmedia storytelling experience???

If your first thought was some particular computer program for the design, implementation, coordination, maintenance or countless other elements relating to a particular software package or action step….I'm sorry, there is no gold star for you today.

Those are all very important to creating something engaging that people flock towards and immerse themselves in, but seriously, it's PEOPLE. You absolutely positively MUST have a core team of talented individuals. Just ask Scott Walker of Transmedia 101. He was asked this very question at the FMX2012 conference in Stuttgart Germany during the Q&A session by a very astute lady by the name of Inga von Staden. His response? "It depends." Now, Scott is a highly respected professional and a transmedia storytelling genius, he wouldn't have been a presenter if he wasn't, but he got a bit stuck and took the question out of context, thinking it more technical or logistical. This is very important, and a lesson I'm sure that he has since become even more aware of as it directly applies to the industry itself, you must be flexible and mercurial of mind when working in transmedia.

It is coordinated chaos…at least that's what the production feels like. Andrea Phillips, author of "A Creator's Guide to Transmedia Storytelling" (*Note: digital edition is the same price on iTunes), creator of the ongoing Twitter horoscopes character Madame Zee, and with work on "The Maester's Path" for the HBO hit series Game of Thrones and much more says, "Producing a transmedia project can feel a lot like planning a wedding and shooting a feature film at the same time". That is Andrea's opening line in the above mentioned book in chapter 17, titled Project Management: The Unsung Necessity. This seems a particularly useful topic for me at this point in both my education and infant stages of my own collaboration project. This is precisely where the necessity of having a solid core-team of talent intersects with dynamic and unwavering leadership.

This chapter of Andrea's book (which I HIGHLY recommend) lays out a few project management subjects to be aware of for any transmedia project:

1. Budgeting

2. Organization

3. Quality Control

4. Metrics

It's pretty obvious that these factors are important to success in every business venture that I can think of, but perhaps more so due to the shear amount of details that are inherent to transmedia projects. It certainly isn't an easy feat to juggle with so many balls in the air, but the judicious project manager executing a plan with great foresight can make all the difference in the world towards making a successful transmedia project. First, however, they absolutely MUST surround themselves with talented and dedicated go-getters prior to the project commencement of pre-production.

Transmedia and Convergence: What, When, and How

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 22:33:00 +0000

The transmedia market is as broad as the definition of transmedia itself...and is often confused for the multitude of non-integrated entertainment and narrative experiences that have been around since the Japan Media Mix of the 70’s according to the author of “The Art of Storytelling” Frank Rose, in an interview with Transmedia Storytelling expert Henry Jenkins.

Transmedia narratives aren’t simply rehashing stories for different devices or platforms. Instead they are about building an experience that uses each device or platform to its strongest function, and delivers a piece of content that when assembled, create a sum greater than its individual parts.

Alternate Reality Games (ARG) provide us with a great look at how this successfully works to drive user engagement through the roof, and hence create a marketing buzz that can generate millions of additional dollars for what could already be classified as a blockbuster entertainment release.

ARGs like 42 Entertainment’s campaigns “Why So Serious?”, which triggered buzz about a year before the film’s launch, or Halo 2’s “ilovebees”, both were responsible for gathering a tremendous following.

These campaigns immersed and engaged fans of the franchises into the respective worlds that had been created by the producers of the film “The Dark Knight” and core video game “Halo” in a way the not only made sense, but added to the depth of the storyworld that was created.

Elan Lee and a couple of key performers, Jim Stewartson and Sean Stewart, formerly of 42 Entertainment and leaders of the above mentioned ARG campaigns, left the company to start Fourth Wall Studios in 2007. Founded by these key individuals, Fourth Wall Studios realizes that as a society, we are really just beginning to crack the surface of what the future brings for what these deep and immersive ARG experiences can bring to the entertainment table. For a more clear illustration of what is in store for fans click play in the header video [here].

Henry Jenkins, a brilliant mind credited with the term “transmedia”, says in his book “Convergence Culture”:

“For the foreseeable future, convergence will be a kind of kludge- a jerry-rigged relationship among different media technologies- rather than a fully integrated system. Right now, the cultural shifts, the legal battles, and the economic consolidations that are fueling media convergence are preceding shifts in the technological infrastructure. How those various transitions unfold will determine the balance of power in the next media era.”

Convergence plays a vital role in transmedia storytelling and ARG experiences both. Without the ability to seamlessly transition across devices, deep media just doesn’t hold the same appeal. It is my view that this could be part of the business decisions of many of the biggest names in technological platforms who are seeking to copy what Apple began with the launch of the iPod. An integrated ecology that allows the individual this smooth experience between devices.

The battle for the time, attention, and wallet has been forged for many years now, but the advances in technology have also led to information overload. The new leaders will have found the ways to break through and impact the lives they seek attention and market share from...I believe that transmedia storytelling and ARG experiences are a developing mechanism to do just this.

Gamification of what 42 Entertainment calls “The World as the Platform”.

Digital Leash

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 06:30:00 +0000

Digital Leash

As this is my very first blog post, of many more to come…I wanted to take a step back for a minute prior to moving forward, in order to properly frame where we may be headed. I want to go back to a time that seems like an eternity ago, yet at the same time, like just yesterday.

I want to take a look at the breakneck speed at which all of these things that we as a society have so quickly embraced and have integrated into our lives that we start to feel naked when not attached.

Our technology.

There are many ways which technology has been adopted in our society- high-speed mobile Internet; smartphones with hundreds of thousands of applications- geared towards entertainment, productivity, collaboration, and all the other categories in between; streaming video content online or wirelessly connecting a phone or tablet to your TV (high definition); social media networks connecting us with people we knew long ago, or perhaps with new people we share a particular interest with; music from signed and unsigned artists as well as distributed via legal or illegal means; video games, for both core or social platforms which can be instantly updated with new features, and many other technological breakthroughs that we spend increasing amounts of time with per day.

Anyone could continue that endless list, but I'm sure you catch my drift. We have moved passed the days where measuring trends in terms of decades or centuries were of greatest import and, while valuable in its own right, it is far less relevant now than before the boon of networked technology. It is almost as if time itself has been put on >> x4 . Now trends are measured more accurately by the year…if not month or minute. Not even 20 years ago technology was not only far more fragmented, but also much less accessible or pervasive, for better or worse, this was a reflection of our society and the way businesses operated…a silo mentality.

The BAD News First

We have new addictions forming, potentially every bit as destructive as alcoholism or drug abuse, such as an addiction to gaming so severe that people have died from it in Korea. Technology, possibly inhibiting our face-to-face communication skills and arguably causing a rise in social anxiety, seems to be making people inept interpersonally. Privacy is continually chipped away, we have cameras recording us at every turn, and digital Jesse James' armed with viruses and malicious code to be constantly aware of…wolves in sheep's clothing abound.

Now the GOOD

From anywhere we choose, we have access to a plethora of options to pass our time. We can write a book on the bus during a twice daily public transportation commute and instantly self-publish, we have open source tools allowing us to code an application that we and others could use to increase productivity or a game that people find fun and engaging. We have phones that enable us to talk and web surf simultaneously, or play our favorite jam during an intense run. A device in our shoe wirelessly connects to the phone's application and tracks our distance, speed, and more, and then we post our statistics at the push of a button to update a group of "running partners" who live on opposite sides of the globe. We can group video chat with business partners while we share desktops to complete a presentation for a client contract proposal. An idea for a TV show can be produced with studio-in-the-box tools available on most any computer now. Any would-be director/producer can post their content to YouTube and develop a fan base, read Brian Solis' interview with Miles Fisher for a blueprint on how to make that happen. Make your music and post it to SoundCloud, or another self-publishing platform, while you, an associate, or even a fan that discovered your talent makes your video because you were so inspirational.

So. Which is it, the good or the bad? Is technology inhibiting us or is it liberating?

Are we destined to ends like those portrayed in the multitude of Hollywood films like The Terminator or Mad Max…some version of an apocalyptic tragedy where we meet our collective doom? Perhaps maybe we succumb to the mundane frailty of our human nature and most base desires for survival during a worldwide zombie outbreak?

Is the future to be all butterflies, buttercups, and flying rainbow farting unicorns? A utopian society where technology becomes so incredibly advanced that it becomes organic with boundaries unnoticeably integrated with us and overlayed into direct signals that our Human Senses process and make decisions as to what we choose to experience? Do we become a direct and even more literal version of Chris Brogan’s "Human Digital Channel"? Can it become mainstream to modify our bodies with abilities that are currently impossible? Technology upgrading human senses, allowing people to explore the world in new ways, such as seeing through an ultraviolet eye filter or feeling electromagnetism wherever they go.

Everything is energy…and our brains tell us what we are experiencing based upon electrical signals, so it's not too far fetched to think that a reality such as that could potentially exist, if we can keep from blowing ourselves up. I think it far more likely that the answer is "C"…simultaneously neither and both. Technology is inert; we can do things now with technology that was simply impossible 20 years ago, but it is not the tool that holds the power, it is the operator of the tool. To me, that is the beauty and wonder of people, the varied skill sets, interests and dreams.

The key factor is us, and our ability to apply a balance to all things in life.

Balance

Martial arts taught me from a young age that balance is a key to performance in this world, and the same is true with technology. We have the ability to chat with someone 24/7 on the other side of the globe, but we can also wave to our neighbor or connect with a retail service member. As we move forward we can't forget our roots and inherent connection with everything else around us: our friends, our family, our pets, nature…when we balance all these things, things we haven't even thought of surprise us and give us happiness and contentment. Technology provides us the ability to make the Stone Soup of our choice, with the world as our global village. Each can contribute to the stew we make as a society; it can be either delicious or disgusting. As always, it is our choice.

Brian Solis' answer when interviewed on balance sums this thought up very distinctly, he says- "Balance is less like spinning plates and more like running your finger around the rim of partially filled crystal bowls with varying depths of liquids. Each singing bowl makes a unique sound and as a result, music to “one’s” ears."

♪♫♬
I say…Let us make great music together…and forge a future worth living in.