Virtual Worlds

Transmedia Interactions and Digital Games Workshop – Salzburg

Thankyou Sal for the heads up on this great event. The Human-Computer Interaction Design Department at School of Infomatics, Indiana University, are calling for workshop participants. The workshop ‘Transmedial Interactions and Digital Games’ is held in conjunction with the 4th International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology (http://www.ace2007.org/ ) on June 12th in Salzburg, … Read moreTransmedia Interactions and Digital Games Workshop – Salzburg

Cross-Media: Virtual Worlds and Podcasts > "The Shadow Falls Experience"

 

Shadow Falls title in video

 

I completely missed this one when it was happening (my defence is that I was travelling at the time), but you really should know about this if you don’t already. In July last year an audio drama began, Shadow Falls. It is a scary tale with high production standards, nice careful attention to the writing, and anagram clues that are issued in the audio fan forum…and so gathered alot of fans very quickly. The season one finale was in early November and fans were hanging out for more tales. And so, the writer Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff, got together with some experts of another artform and added something new on the 22nd of November. On that day they launched “The Shadow Falls Experience“.

What they did was create the fictional world of Shadow Falls in the online virtual world Second Life. And then, over the next few weeks, released audio clues in the podcast. The listeners then logged into SL and sought out the information, based on the clues. Just like the ARG I Love Bees, the players had to solve a puzzle and go to a (virtual) place to retrieve an audio component of the story. The players do this, but for those who do not participate in the experience, the total story is podcast at the end. This story is the season two prologue, a podnovel/audio novel. Here is what Mark said about the experience in the “interactive fan forum”, companion #5 podcast (17/11/06) prior to it commencing: 

Read moreCross-Media: Virtual Worlds and Podcasts > "The Shadow Falls Experience"

International 3D Earth Challenge

INTERNATIONAL DIGITAL EARTH 3D VISUALIZATION GRAND CHALLENGE How can we better experience this world of ours at the cross roads of human impacts and climate change?  How can we best communicate these experiences, particularly in light of the major changes Earth now faces, as one world?  How can we most compellingly understand and communicate those … Read moreInternational 3D Earth Challenge

Article on CyberGames 06

I recently attended and presented at the First Joint International Conference on CyberGames. I was asked to write an article on the conference for RealTime. Please note that the last paragraph has been incorrectly edited. The conference was not enjoyable in spite of Scot & my workshops! Read “Playing with Reality in Virtual Worlds“. Also, RealTime … Read moreArticle on CyberGames 06

Conference on Marketing in Virtual Worlds

This will be an interesting conference. I’m interested not just in the marketing of products, but of the transmedia expansions of entertainment properties (as I’ve discussed here). Virtual Worlds Conference 2007 is the leading event for Fortune 500 businesses seeking to understand and maximize marketing and business strategies within virtual worlds.  Leading companies from Toyota to … Read moreConference on Marketing in Virtual Worlds

Cross-Media Bundling Example 1: Virtual and Print Books

Recently I posted about the concept of ‘cross-media bundling’. Basically, a consumer pays one fee for one story or game in multiple formats. Industry seems to be focused on ‘unbundling’ or disaggregation (being able to buy components), which is important, but there is another emerging trend I believe. The cross-media bundling approach gives consumers their … Read moreCross-Media Bundling Example 1: Virtual and Print Books

"Cross-Media Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game"

There are many approaches to content creation and distribution in this age of cross-media production. One emerging trend is the ability to access the same virtual world in a variety of media platforms. Apparently, the first MMORPG that you can play on your computer and mobile phone was developed by Activate Singapore and published by Nokia … Read more"Cross-Media Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game"

Games and Culture CFP

My mate Larissa is editing this very interesting edition of Games and Culture journal: Call for papers Games and Culture: A Journal of Interactive Media Special issue: Gaming in the Asia-Pacific As a region, the Asia-Pacific is marked by diverse penetration rates of gaming, mobile and broadband technologies, subject to local cultural and socio-economic nuances. … Read moreGames and Culture CFP