SHARP slides-final (adaptation in children's media - BBC cartoon and game)

BOOKS, CARTOONS AND COMPUTER GAMES IN THE CONTEMPORARY CHILDREN’S TRANSMEDIA CONTEXT

CLAUDIO PIRES FRANCO

THE DIGITAL BOOK AND DIGITAL FUTURES

Transmedia & Cross-Media Era

Today’s games are deeply enmeshed in the ‘convergence’ that characterises modern media: books

are made into films which are made into games (and vice versa), which in turn generate a myriad of other

texts and commodities. (Buckingham, 2006: 4)

!

Transmedia or perhaps Panmedia?

Total sales in 2011: £1.2m and coun5ng...

Source: Nielsen BookScan TCM—28 weeks to 16th July 2011

The Cross-Media Journey of MUDDLE EARTH

A case study�

!   The game was essentially an extension of an existing IP, a ‘complement to the series […] where players can interact with the world and characters’

According to the BBC:

Staying on brand was an essential prerequisite – it had to be very faithful, we had to be sure the characters and everything was on brand.

Brand consistency - essential for the BBC and game producers

Brand Consistency

CONSISTENCY… What is it? How is it defined? Where is it visible? How does it affect the adaptation?

!   Consistency is different from ‘fidelity’ – new medium, new language, resources, techniques and conventions – it assumes, and requires, transformation

!   Fluid concept with floating meanings – emergent and defined in operation, flexible, negotiated.

We’ll get the basic copy to you so you can muddle it.

!   This new phrase captured the spirit of the revision, feedback and approval operations taking place.

Brand Consistency

The Cross-Media Journey of MUDDLE EARTH

THE STORY

The failed wizard Randalf summons schoolboy Joe from real world to become warrior hero that will save Muddle Earth

Dr Cuddles, an evil blue teddy bear, has seized the magic book of spells, and is causing mayhem

Joe has to use his wits as Randalf gets unmasked as a coward and a farce – by Veronica, his sarcastic budgie

•  Heros’ Journey elements: a reluctant hero, a mentor, allies, heralds, journeys, quests, an evil enemy, back home

•  Humour: A spoof wizard and a sarcastic budgie, sarcastic humour, a king who’s bossed around by his wife

•  The parallel plot of a little silver spoon – The Lord of the Teaspoons

!Keeping books in the game�

THE QUEST SYSTEM – main storytelling device

•  Game-specific

•  Combines events from TV / book and new events

•  Completing quests and sub-quests (kernel and satellite events) – include dialogue, mini-game playing, exploring, progress to next quest – chained quests, mostly linear

The narrative was matched to the conventions and story-telling devices of the casual MMORPG genre (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game).

The story is partly read, partly watched, mostly played

From story-telling (or story-reading or story-watching as some may prefer) we move into the more recent practice of…

STORY-PLAYING

•  Back to long story arc (game can be saved)

•  Action centred on player – minimum parallel plot (never actually seen, only told about developments)

•  Can’t have 1,000 heroes – the hero is the player, a new customisable character (avatar)

•  The ‘muddled’ wacky tone is kept, but humour becomes even less sarcastic than in TV series

•  No slapstick humour as in TV series (technical constraints. Budget)

Narrative Changes

Game Adaptation

Model

SOURCE TEXTS

GAME ENGINES

GAME IDEAS

BUDGETS TIMINGS EDITORIAL

Hypertextuality Games Intertextuality NARRATIVE

RESOURCES GAME GENRES CONVENTIONS TECHNICAL CONSTRAINTS

PRODUCTION CONTEXTS AND CONSTRAINTS EXTRA-textuality

OTHER MEDIA SOURCE TEXTS SERIES OF OTHER: INTERTEXTS THEMES REFERENCES

GAME MEDIUM DEVICES

OTHER GAMES GENRES

ENGINES

NON-TEXTUAL INFLUENCES ON THE TEXT

SO WHAT? WHY WOULD PUBLISHERS

AND AUTHORS CARE?

WANTED! INTREPID AUTHORS OR PUBLISHERS WHO WANT

TO EXPLORE STORYTELLING THROUGH GAMES

REWARD PERHAPS MANY SLEEPLESS NIGHTS, PROBABLY SOME WEIRD NIGHTMARES, AND FOR SURE AN

AMAZING JOURNEY OF EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY!

Ongoing Research

UNESCO – sponsored project Crossing Media Boundaries: New Media Forms of the Book

!   Development of, and use, of adaptation / transmedia

game analytical model and production framework – test and evolve with stakeholders, game producers, and the different game / book audiences

!   Operational tools and research approaches to involve audiences in processes of co-creation and feedback

That’s all Folks!!

[email protected] ADAPTATION360MEDIA.WORDPRESS.COM

SHARP slides-final (adaptation in children's media - BBC cartoon and game)

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