Transmedial Play
A thesis essay by Stephen Erin Dinehart
May 2006
USC CNTV IMD
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
“These elements, thus knit together, enclose the performer
as with an atmospheric ring of Art and Nature, in which, like to
the heavenly bodies, he moves secure in fullest orbit, and
whence, withal, he is free to radiate on every side his feelings
and his views of life- broadened to infinity, and showered as it
were on distances as measureless as those on which the stars of
heaven cast their rays of light…”
Richard Wagner
1
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
I came to the USC School of Cinema and Television’s
Interactive Media Division with a dream in my pocket, a
dream that has driven me to ponder, what is narrative, what
is immersive, what is interactive? These questions have led
me on a path that artists began exploring long before the
immersive stories of ancient Greek theater.
From the time mankind first began to dwell in shelter,
and ponder questions of existence, such as the caves of
Lasso, the drive to escapist expression and immersion has
bred storytelling in many forms. Architecture, music,
painting, sculpture, song, games, ritual, all created by
artists driven to make a ‘better’ reality through the craft
of story. Today artists are driven by the same questions
made anew by the post-modern era, reborn again in the heart
of every modern artist. Each of us taken from Plato’s cave
into the light of our subjective ethos, and brought back
2
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
again, struggling to communicate truth in the world of
shadows.
Today we have many tools for artistic expression,
fused together by the equivalent of Alan Kay’s “Dyna-book”,
the multimedia computer; which manifests itself in more
ways than even Kay imagined. This mission of artistic
fusion, begun by the artisans and playwrights of Greek
theatre, was a torch carried by Richard Wagner when in 1849
he wrote his essay “The Artwork of the Future”. His aim was
to create a future artwork that would unite every branch of
art into a common artwork. It was in this Gesamtkunstwerk,
or Total Artwork, that the true artist would create a space
that would allow the audience member(s) to forget the
confines of the theatre and be with all senses absorbed
into the Artwork.
Wagner believed then that “The true
endeavor of Art is therefore all-embracing.” (Packer 4)
This message has rung out over time, carried through
the media explosion of the last two hundred years, from
photography, to radio, cinema, and video games. It has even
been adapted by Hitler inspired propagandist politicians,
so that now our wars are great media events, uniting all
the sister arts into a crafted picture, used to sway public
3
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
opinion.
The same techniques are used to sell everything
from burgers to action figures. Story worlds and characters
traverse across great media divides from print, to screen,
to sound with little effort.
Transmedia experiences are
now commonplace, as it would be of no surprise to see the
same character in 4 media forms in any given day.
As a child I was exposed to works that were crafted to
cross over media formats, transmedia worlds such as “The
Incredible Hulk”, “He-man”, “Dungeons and Dragons”,
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”. These franchises to me were
play worlds, immersive imaginative spaces in which I could
transform myself, and my world, into a multitude of forms.
To USC professor and new media theorist, Marsha Kinder I
was a pawn in the biggest battle of post-modern American
popular culture. She sees the morphing of modern day comic
heroes, as Protean in nature; a relation to the Superman of
Nietzsche’s “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” should also be drawn.
In the poem, Zarathustra calls for a super-human intended
to bring humanity to the next level of evolution; this is
at the core of our modern mythos (see illustration 1).
During the late 19th century, western thinkers began to
look east for a new direction. Disenfranchised by the post-
4
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
humus transformations of Western religions, they sought
transformation in this life. In the eastern traditions of
Hinduism, Taoism, and more specifically Mahayana Buddhism,
they found tales of great teachers, Bodhisattvas capable of
transformations of being, in this life, through pious
practice. Once enlightenment was achieved rather then
escape from the cycle of samsara, life and death, pain and
suffering, they return to help all humanity achieve a
higher state of being. This transformation occurs at no
other hand, but the Bodhisattva’s own, an active process
that must be pursued if one is to achieve a higher,
transformative, state.
Armed with this eastern trope of transformation one
could now empower oneself to pursue the subjectivity of
individualistic truths, taking on a power once only
preserved for the gods. “All the gods are dead: now we want
the Superman to live…” (Nietzsche 23). From the academics
and philosophers, to artists on down to children, this
concept was culturally disseminated over the course of a
century in various media forms.
5
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
illustration 1: the modern transformative trope
In his Action Comics #1 debut, in 1938, Superman,
a.k.a. Clark Kent chose to use his alien born powers to
bring forth good, to save humanity from itself, acting as a
Greek god in power, but Buddha like in nature. A seemingly
average, albeit handsome, man transforms into a superhuman
fallen from heaven, and rescues mankind from all it’s
horrors (pain and suffering).
He was born in a century
during which new media, and individualistic subjectivity,
was spawning in all shapes and forms. Since his inception
Superman has seen comic books, radio serials, TV shows of
various forms, films, board games, video games, the list
goes on. Superman no longer exists as a mere comic book
superhero; he is now a myth, held by so many in the
recesses of mind.
His stories stand as proof to the self
that one can overcome the limits of humanity, and transform
the world into a better place in the process.
6
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
As Kinder draws for Ishmael Reeds novel Mumbo Jumbo
(1972), the pursuit of existentialist individualistic
truths has carried over from our souls to media, in some
evangelical fashion. “What Reed brilliantly demonstrates is
the power that these transformative tropes have in
discursive wars of American popular culture-where the
stakes are not simply telling the “truth” but in presenting
the most compelling version of one’s own mythology.”
(Kinder 71)
By the time I started watching cartoons and reading
comics, say 1983, what was started with Superman had turned
into a fanfare of worlds, stories, and perspectives. The
battle continues, and may very well be perpetual as culture
and media evolve to discover new subjectivities.
This
battle may have no direr front then the relentless attack
on our children’s ethos by media powerhouses and individual
artists. “There may be no more important battle field in
these wars than that arena where conflicting versions of
those myths are first transmitted to children” (Kinder).
Media influences viewers, when messages are repeated,
just like a good monkey, the human mind responds back in
mimicry. A cognitive language is developed based upon these
7
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
experiences. Thus through media experience one comes to
define oneself, and how one interacts with ‘reality’,
through a common language that transcends cultural borders.
In transmedia works the viewer/user/player (VUP)
transforms the story and enables the Artwork to surpass
medium, to become thought, both conscious and sub, in the
fluid imagination of the VUP mind. It is in transmedial
play that the ultimate story agency, and decentralized
authorship can be realized. Thus the VUP becomes the true
producer of the Artwork. The Artist authored transmedia
elements act a story guide for the inherently
narratological nature of the human mind. (see illustration
2).
illustration 2: Transformative media
8
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
It is this all-embracing Transmedia Art that I have
sought to execute in my thesis project “Journey of Jin”
(see illustration 3), a mobile adventure, that seeks give
it’s users agency through choice, responsibility and
freedom, it allows the VUP to explore the transmedia
environment and compose his or her own experience out of
choice. As if the world was a puzzle never completed but
always-whole living in the minds and hearts of impassioned
viewers.
illustration 3: Journey of Jin
Given that I have created this world on my own and
with little capital, I have chosen to use comic book,
music, mobile video game, and web presence, as the core
foundations of the project. It is meant for issue based,
9
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
episodic releases in comic, game and on the World Wide Web
(www.journeyofjin.com).
“Journey of Jin” is intended to
assist in transmedial play.
The project began in 2001 when I received a vision
while in June Katzen’s course at the College for Creative
Studies, “Visionary States and the Artist”. I was seeking
out my greater purpose. I found it in the world known to me
as “UD”. I have always known that I am a storyteller,
craftsmen of mirror worlds in the hope that my works can
help viewers reflect on their own humanity.
A desert planet, spotted in jungle, UD is home to the
Menwabe peoples. Comparable to the Iroquois of old, a vast
network of tribal cultures that existed in a fine balance
with each other and their planet, the Menwabe lived in
harmony for ten thousand years before the sickness came.
From the north a black smoke laid the land and many of UD’s
people fell ill. The council of elders was called, and they
in turn called the warrior Jin to seek out an answer, a
cure.
He traveled north through the dangerous deserts
outside his home in Zigat village to find the dwelling of
10
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
Wei, channeler of the Great Wave, the desert herbsman. When
he found the Hut of Wei, Jin eagerly sought out the
channeler and found him inside over a cauldron brewing. To
his dismay Wei seemed to know nothing more than stories of
comet storms late one night some 300 cycles ago, the
conversation seemed to be less about a cure and more about
the universe. The frustrated Jin demanded an answer from
the channeler. Wei laughed, and gave Jin a glass of tea,
asked him to look inside. After a moment the channeler bid
him fair well and teleported Jin away. Spawning him in a
strange new land to the north; just outside a city
overwrought with the wastes of a society bent on a viral
techno-sprawling. The Veron,
a species from another world
whose hearts, or what remains of them, are bent of the
fulfillment of a prophecy of the perfect being, which is
said will come to them on UD.
Over the course of the journey, Jin transforms,
himself into a savior, and his world into a place of
harmony. He not only returns UD to a peace once held, but
also leaves behind him a way of knowledge; which for
generations to come will lead his people, on a path to
salvation. While his mission takes another two thousand
years after his death to be completed, his is a legacy left
11
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
for future followers to overcome the dark technophile Veron
culture that returns in their time.
This is the core “Journey of Jin” story, the first
game episode of which I have executed in Adobe’s FlashLite
2.0; a vector based interactive solution for mobile
devices. The game itself is based on the traditional D20
Role Playing Game’s (RPG) of TSR’s Dungeons and Dragons, as
well as the early Nintendo Entertainment System RPG series
by Japanese developer Enix, “Dragon Warrior”.
The primary
difference being that rather than a home theatre
experience, intended to last hours and even days, the
transmedia system, I have crafted, on mobile, web and
print, is intended to be used as a brief distraction
portal, meant intermittent for 5-10 minute experiences.
Through this media mix I provide a spectrum of experiences
that seek to facilitate the needed elements to allow for
transmedial play, as described above (see illustration 2).
The mobile game engine I produced is a 2d10 RPG, that
is, the primary method of determining the outcome of user
actions is the ‘roll’, or as in this case the random
generation, of two numbers between one and ten. These are
then added together, and modified by others variables
12
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
associated with said action, to determine failure or
success, and to what degree.
illustration 4: Three Play Modes
The game has three primary modes, a) Explore, b)
Encounter, c) Comatic (see illustration 4). Explore is a
wondering and discovery experience where the VUP can find
new story points and encounter friends and foes. The Heads
Up Display (HUD) consists of a stats window for Jin, and an
Explore specific actions menu of, Travel, Spell, and
Ponder. Travel being the method for moving through the
world, Spell, a menu of non-combat spells, and Ponder, a
method of interjecting story tidbits and Menwabe philosophy
into the game system. Upon an encounter, the game system
cuts to the Encounter mode and presents the user with a
series of encounter specific choices. Attack, Spell,
Retreat, Defend, Speak, these actions are remixed by the
VUP, based on random choice, or as I hope, strategy.
13
Thus,
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
this system of choice creates a dynamic experience, which
varies in outcome based upon user action. The flow through
the gameplay experience consists of a user-driven path
through the system as described below (see illustration 5).
illustration 5: Play Flowchart
As a vector based cross-platform solution, Adobes
Flash Platform is ideal for exploring a transmedia network,
as described by Marsha Kinder and The Labyrinth Project.
Due to its’ cross platform capabilities and it’s native
handing of vector-based artwork, the world is easily
transported to other mediums. Combined with the power of
Nokia’s N-series Smart Phones, the world, as authored, can
remain consistent from pocket to desktop. The same
revolution that was experienced in the 1990’s, of
14
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
multimedia machines invading the home and workplace, is now
being seen in small portable devices invading life in all
it’s facets. When I began developing this project I could
barley get 8 frames per second on the Nokia 3650 I was
working with, but with my current device, donated by Nokia,
the N70, I can achieve a higher frame rate and more
processing power. Both of which lend to a creation of a
Rich Mobile Experience.
With the proliferation of platforms, like Adobes
Flash, the near future will see a blurring in the line
between home, mobile and theatre experiences. Consistent
Transmedia will become commonplace and allow for continuous
intellectual property (IP) development across media spaces.
In these truly immersive media experiences one will be able
to disengage from media, at any given time, and still enjoy
the richness provided by the Transmedial play experience.
The center of the experience then is in the VUP head, a
median between the spectrums of perceivable media events.
Giving the VUP the ability to choose and remix from the
Transmedia network, allows said VUP to produce a subjective
media experience, as in life.
15
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
Thus a true next generation story is experienced and
interpreted, not told, but VUP produced, allowing a
decentralization of authorship, and an active experience of
agency; at the same time allowing for creative direction on
part of the originating author. Open systems are a bore, to
play in and produce; a spectral Transmedia system allows
the perception of an open system between the closed
authoritarian produced media artifact.
Stories are
ancient and predate civilization, yet they still drive
humanity to change, explore, and better the world. No
matter how advanced technology may get, it will remain
incomparable to the vividness of the human imagination, the
true author of the story perceived as life. The best media
allows the VUP to make their own conclusions and bring
individualistic subjectivity to the table, while still
communicating a message. It is my hope that my Transmedia
experience “Journey of Jin” does just that.
16
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
Bibliography:
Packer, Randall. Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual
Reality. New York and London: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.,
2001.
Nietzche, Fredrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Trans. R.J.
Hollingdale, England: Penguin Books, 1969.
Kinder, Marsha. Playing with Power in Movies, Television,
and Video Games: From Muppet Babies to Teenage Mutant Ninja
Tutrtles. Berkley, Los Angeles, and Oxford: University of
California Press, 1991.
17
Stephen Erin Dinehart USC CNTV IMD Thesis Paper 2006
Thanks to all those that believe in me, past and present, and have made this
possible through their support and love, also to haters, for which without I
would have no one to prove wrong. May the future bring us all many blessings.
18