Can Telltale Games make transmedia work?
Transmedia is one of those terms that we use selectively. It’s overused. It’s become a phrase to describe what amount to marketing efforts that span different media. But true transmedia promises more that that. If done right, a transmedia tale can touch you in ways that a single story in a single form cannot.
Lionsgate and Telltale Games are teaming up to try their hand at it. Telltale Games is a great game dev. They do excellent work on famous IPs (like The Walking Dead)
From the post:
“The two are to collaborate on what the companies are calling a “super show” – a drama series that features both television and game elements.”
Uh-oh. That sounds like the same hype we hear for other transmedia efforts. But wait! What’s this?
“For instance, if you play the interactive episode first, certain elements of the scripted episode portion will be tailored to reflect some choices made in your interactive play-through. If you watch the show before playing, some elements in the interactive portions may be presented differently than if you played first.”
The fact that there’s an impact from one media to the other AND the fact that Telltale Games is the partner, well, this could work.
What do you think? Can a game company show us how it’s done right? Or is the goal of transmedia just beyond what current storytellers can pull off? Let us know in the comments.
