Transmedial Interactions and Digital Games

Introduction

As virtual worlds and games grow in both personal and cultural importance, present limitations in access to them is increasingly limiting their ability to achieve their potential. Transmedial access, in which a given player’s access to a game is made possible across different devices and interfaces, offers a promising solution to this problem. It also inaugurates a new category of interaction design: transmedial interaction.

This workshop, held in conjunction with the 4th International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology (http://www.ace2007.org), explores the state of the art of transmedial interaction in games, which today unfortunately is often at most mere afterthought. It provides a participatory environment in which attendees can chart new paths forward, from developing viable business models and understanding the technical infrastructure to developing critical vocabularies and evaluative frameworks.

Background and Example Works

Although any game with elements of persistence or community-driven content will benefit from transmedial interactions, persistent online worlds especially stand to benefit. Time investment for players must be reduced to achieve the market’s growth potential, recapturing those who quit because of demanding commitments in real life, and attracting those who never even made the effort to begin. Both diehard and moderate gamers have much to gain from interactions afforded by transmedial access. Without the commitment of booting up the computer, free moments on a commute to work can now be used to continue a character’s virtual progress and to advance a story.

Transmedial interactions offer an infinite variety of possibilities for game design and storytelling, as the following examples illustrate:

• A collectible-card game, such as Perplex City, which introduce players in an alternate reality game.
• A team-based alternate-reality simulation spread across diverse “stations,” designed by Lindt et al (2006)
• Both Nintendo’s and Sony’s dabblings with GameBoy-GameCube and PS3-PSP connectivity
• A guild management tool, where increased connectivity leads to increased social networks and a richer, more realistic experience.
• The Matrix’s cross-media storytelling, which spanned across the film trilogy, a collection of anime films, video games, and a massively multiplayer online game (Jenkins, 2006)

Transmedial interactions can also be designed to immerse players in persistent narratives, add variety to game challenges, collectibles, and quest formation, or provide in-game reward mechanisms that are then accessible through mobile devices.

Beyond the games themselves are meta-game content, such as blogs, guild pages, and social network sites, strategy guides, mod sites, and so on. Most of this content is player-created and accessed through different mechanisms. Devices or interfaces that aggregate meta-game content in ways that help create coherent, if not seamless, game experiences represent another potential area for transmedial interactions to improve gaming.

Theoretical frameworks are beginning to emerge. For example, Lindt et al (2005) provide a high level framework outlining some of the technical, ethical, and commercial challenges. Other research has examined how to ensure “graceful degradation” to facilitate interface continuity across platforms (Florins & Vanderdonckt, 2004). This workshop will enable participants to consolidate this work and chart new directions forward.