Just Tripping Along The Freakazoid

this looks really interesting, but alas $60 is not something right now I can part with. I wonder how well this will do. The idea of having the puzzles delivered is cool and I wonder if there will be connections between players or if all players are essentially going through the same puzzle? I wish, to, there was a transmedia/puzzle site kinda like trip advisor that could be used to rate people and organizations that run these events, especially as more and more are popping up - kinda part catalog for what is out there and part user comments about whether the person/group is valid, delivers good product, etc. Hmm - is there a transmedia/ARG/stuff like this ratings site out there? I started to rate things with my transmedia maps - maybe I should go back to that. Anyhoos, here is the game - let me know peoples if you play and if you know of a ratings site. http://www.blacklettergame.com/faq.html

Ohhhhh as I think about this more - a map could be a cool thing and could tie in the Transmedia Necessity Rating. I work with maps through my job and studies (science, tech and GIS) as such, the idea of a map is a cool concept. It visually represents spatial relationships. And spatial thinking is more than geography - it is a new way of thinking and relating things. It is about patterns and links and connections and organizing and managing and ooo I am getting shivers ;) Map can tell you location, direction, but they also tell stories. That is why merging transmedia and the concept of a map fits. But what is cool - you could have a concept map setup, but with the different sources... their spatial relationships would tell the user how NECESSARY they are to the overall narrative as well as each other (a spatial representation of my transmedia necessity rating) - OMG this could be so cool - if a user could start with the general map and then use it to find the different pieces - can...

Ok - someone commented and emailed me about some thoughts on transmedia and thinking long into the future about making the story accessible.... Some big productions weather time (the Matrix) and some have vanished.... (a nice blog on The Matrix - geektheory.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/the-matrix-10-years-later/ has a vague mention of the author - "mapping" the transmedia experience) there is so much to think about on this subject - lots of wheeeee fun I am working on organizing my thoughts - but - one possible way to archive, at least, the story basics and experience, is to use the concept of a wiki and other guidebook sources that have existed for MYST and many ARG games, this is basically to create a guide to the "game" (story) - since games are a major transmedia source, it follows to use an idea from that world (as the first to venture into full transmedia expereiences are thoe who are gamers or more open to that type of story narrative. Story Maps and guides in...

Ok - As I create my More Info pages and use the transmedia necessity rating I am developing, I am starting to ask some questions that have me a little worried about certain aspects of transmedia story-telling. I am finishing up my page on the Series/story - "Valemont" (check my page here for more info). It is a great example of a transmedia (they call it multi-platform) story. Here is a little excerpt from an article - http://news.tubefilter.tv/2009/09/28/mtvs-valemont-a-transmedia-experience-murder-mystery-style/ "It (the ARG website) began as a simple ‘missing student’ story at Valemont with various characters starting a discussion on Twitter, along with a police investigator conducting interviews on the series characters,” Friedman added. “Then, when the student’s body was found, the case was called a homicide and the victim’s next of kin was sought. Intrepid fans dug up clues buried online and presented them to the investigator… which is where the series actually b...

OK - this is the latest definition I am using - ideas and comments?? TRANSMEDIA NECESSITY RATING I have devised this system to use, for now, until I find something that works along the same way. Basically I am looking at a web series that is part of a transmedia narrative/story and trying to determine how it ties into the overall universe. Now this rating looks ONLY from the perspective of the web series. I am NOT rating the entire transmedia experience and trying to judge that.... that is a whole other complex Gordian Knot. This rating simply (haha, right, simple) looks at a web series and examines how its own story is affected by the other transmedia sources. Essentially, when someone views the web series, how much of the other transmedia sources do they need to have experienced to understand the web series. A rating of 1 means the web series can be viewed completely independently of any other transmedia source and none of the story or universe is lost. This means whether you view th...

Ok - as I redirect my focus on my Web series website - I am focusing on a few categories - and Transmedia/Derivative web series is one category. As I set up the structure for my More Info pages , I am working on an idea I want to include - the TRANSMEDIA NECESSITY RATING Ok - so not sure the name is the best :P and I am trying to find out if anyone has already done this in a very structured manner so I can use. I am very willing to use other terminology and systems - but I think this concept is important - and again, not seeing it around. Ok so what is it I am trying to do? Basically a transmedia/derivative web series is one that is part of a bigger storytelling universe. Meaning the full story is not told in the web series, but using multiple mediums (see my blog on trying to define this as well as some other resources here). Well when you delve into this topic, you find everyone has a slightly different view of what transmedia really is... I am still working on that... but... ba...