Coherent worlds via transmedia

In my blog I will try to reaseach and discuss how a cohesive world can be augmented by successful transmedia.

I will try to illustrate my findings with examples of successful and unsuccessful transmedia.

Bilson [online] (2010) writes "The beauty of transmedia storytelling is that they can all live together and complement each other in a consistent universe. And if you are a fan who loves that universe, you have the opportunity to experience as much of it as you like." This is a perfect way of looking at transmedia, a jumping-on point for a fan of a franchise from any media. Each one adding to the whole.

In the games industry, worlds are created everyday which are as different from the next as night and day. Each world if the game is designed well has it's own style, feel and setting. Digital games which are successful at this have a definitive universe which is instantly recognisable such as the 'Tron' digital games. Everything in the game is designed around a core concept and all of the games aspects such as it's objects, attributes, internal relationships and the environment itself coalesce to produce a unique world.

If the world works well in each of these ways and is unique enough in its concept the transmedia can become a natural expansion of the core concept.

If we take the Tron example for instance, this is a franchise that has spanned over two films, digital games, comic books, novels and soon an animated TV show. Each medium works on it's own merits and adds to the universe without  necessarily using the central characters from the original concept. Because the concept and universe Tron created is entirely cohesive in it's own style and mythos, stories can be set in the same universe using entirely different characters and still successfully contribute to the overall world.