Introduction

Gaming is not an isolated experience but rather increasingly connected to different platforms, media and modes of participation. A game world, story or experience can be part of a larger narrative world. While Pokémon Go (Niantic et al., 2016) can function as the first introduction to the world of Pokémon, it is inevitably tied in with the earlier games, card game and anime series. One way to view these media relationships is through the concept of transmediality, which is often defined as content or stories that flows across different media platforms (Jenkins, 2006). These different productions are officially authored by the creative industries, or produced by players and fans themselves (Derhy Kurtz, 2014; Stein, 2017).

Through transmedia processes, game narratives and characters can be added to as well as remixed and rewritten. Transmediality allows design teams to expand on a game world through different practices, including analog and virtual experiences. This entry discusses how different types of transmedia emerge in the game industry through different theories and examples.

Development of Transmedia

The concept 'transmedia' has a long history, especially as it connects to studies on 'intermediality' and different forms of exchange between media. The relationship between the visual arts and literature, for instance, has often been subject to analysis. Historically, intermediality stems from 'intermedium', a term coined by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1812) to discuss aesthetic modes in various media. Higgins used the concept again in the 1960s, and credited Coleridge, in his manifest Statement on Intermedia (1967). The term quickly became integrated into the art scene through the artist network Fluxus. Using the term 'intermedia', Higgins described art forms that blur the distinctions between individual media by combining different media modes.

The concept of intermedia also appealed to scholars in literary studies and media studies, who further interrogated this notion in later decades. They often distinguished between intermediality and transmediality (Rajewsky, 2001), with the latter often being discussed as a subset of intermediality or as a semiotic transfer, comparable to a theme or motive. In Anglo-American media studies, however, transmedia became a staple term for the transfer of content and form since the 1990s. The increase of transmedia in the context of games and entertainment was noted by Marsha Kinder and conceptualized as 'transmedia superstructures' (1991). She studied different franchises such as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles which spanned cartoons, comics and games. Her study went hand-in-hand with the popularity of games as a pastime that led to different adaptations and extensions in the late 1980s and early 1990s, such as the live-action The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! (1989) and the animation series Dungeons & Dragons (1983-1985). Games were adapted and exchanged, and their language, tropes and aesthetics were increasingly referenced in cartoons among others.

Building on this early scholarship, Henry Jenkins coined the term 'transmedia storytelling' in Technology Review (Jenkins, 2003) to account for the construction of such a larger narrative or franchise across platforms. The concept of transmedia storytelling emphasizes how a story is coordinated and shared across platforms (Jenkins, 2006). As a key case, Jenkins discusses the significance of the game Enter the Matrix (Shiny Entertainment, 2003), which added a new plot that bridged the first and second films of the Wachowskis' franchise. Games can be more than adaptations of a world and can add significant additional content for fans of a particular story world. They can even continue or deepen plot lines that other parts of a franchise do not detail. The concept 'transmedia storytelling' points to how different texts can add to each other to create a larger narrative. Ideally, each entry acts as a rabbit hole into a larger story world. Though each entry technically stands alone, audiences who consume all elements of a story world have a complete overview.

Transmedia storytelling describes a top-down process, that directs active audiences to different media as a means of fostering engagement. As Suzanne Scott (2013) writes, such stories tend to produce a unique canon of texts that "frequently discourage or discredit unauthorized expansion or speculation by fans" (p. 43). In other words, transmedia storytelling cannot be discussed without authorship. It points to a specific type of transmedia – a process of coordinated storytelling that revolves around a particular canon, which aims to engage and activate fans rather than draw from their creative work.

However, transmedia captures a far wider range of phenomena than transmedia storytelling alone. Playing games can take place across different online and offline media and can be highly tangible. To truly understand its place in media culture, we need to examine offline performances and forms of embodied play as well. Think of how a brand like LEGO continuously repositions itself on television and in games, while always highlighting the playful and creative functionality of its bricks. Transmediality is as much grounded in embodiment, materiality and play as it is in analog and digital media (Lamerichs, 2018).

Within the game industry, designers can purposely blend online and offline spaces. Combining games and play with other media leads to 'transmedia play' (ibid.) – hybrid genres of play that rely on multiple media platforms, texts and environments. The term 'pervasive gaming' (Montola, 2009) has been used to capture such experiences. Designers use one or more technological devices or online platforms combined with traditional environments. A subset of these games includes augmented games, that already existed in the 1990s. Think of how Monster Ranger (Tecmo, 1997) asked players to scan the barcodes of CDs to generate different monsters. Today, this augmentation often happens through a combination with other platforms. Board games such as Gloomhaven (Childres, 2017), for instance, can be augmented by using a companion app.

By combining multiple platforms, a unique player experience is provided. New genres have emerged as a result, such as 'alternate reality games' (ARG), which are purposely designed as interactive experiences and scavenger hunts that bridge online and offline experiences. The ARG Why So Serious? provided its players with clues in online spaces and media, but culminated at Comic-Con as a promotion for The Dark Knight Rises. This iconic experience and story effectively tied in with the launch of the new Batman film. The use of transmedia, in other words, can lead to different designs with the optimal engagement of audiences in mind.

Transmedia Worlds and Characters

Today, the concept of transmedia has been further developed into different sub-concepts in game and media studies. For starters, transmedia narratology is a growing field by now. Scholars have compared medium-specific affordances of games but also theorized its overarching elements, such as story worlds and characters (Elleström, 2019; Ryan & Thon, 2014; Thon, 2016).

In the context of games, 'transmedia worlds' have been increasingly conceptualized as a phenomenon of worldbuilding across media (Tosca & Klastrup, 2011]). Think of Lord of The Rings Online (Turbine & Standing Stone Games, 2007), inspired by Tolkien or The Witcher games (CD Projekt Red, 2007), based on Polish fantasy novels. These 'imaginary worlds' (Wolf, 2014) give players the experience to fully immerse themselves in the narratives, but also go far beyond the original novels in their aesthetic, quests and characters.

Both official creators and fans can continuously expand on transmedia worlds. Level designers, quest writers and many others involved in building these worlds add unique elements and extend them into vast digital worlds. Many contemporary franchises, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, work towards these larger story worlds and spread their narratives across different media, including games. This also requires scholars to consider how these transmedia story worlds go beyond individual media and create their own imaginary systems (Wolf, 2014]).

Similarly, characters are a key part of transmedia games and worlds (Bertetti, 2014; Thon & Wilde, 2019). Marie-Laure Ryan even defines transmedia worlds as "the world of the characters" (Ryan, 2014, p. 32). This requires new approaches that look into 'transmedia characters' (Blom, 2020) and 'transmedia character building' (Geraghty, 2017) as they cut across different media. A character like Lara Croft, Mario or Sonic has extended far outside their original game and become iconic. Contemporary audiences may become familiar with characters that originate from games through films, cartoons or memes. As we shape our understanding of narratives and worlds, we also need to examine the characters that inhabit them and whom audiences relate to.

Bottom-up Transmedia and Fan Productivity

A substantial part of the transmedia today consists of audience activity. This bottom-up transmedia is common in gaming and increasingly encouraged. Gamers are active audiences who can contribute to games with their own creations and in-game content, for instance (Pearce, 2009). The vibrant culture of games such as The Sims 4 (Maxis, 2014) and Roblox (Roblox Corporation, 2006) owes much to these active players. This player productivity is an inherent part of play today (Wirman, 2009). Fans modify, populate and innovate game worlds. They keep them lively and continuously push the barriers of what is possible.

However, transmediality is perhaps even more important when we take a look at the works that players themselves produce, inspired by games. In general, game fans make use of many platforms for their practices. They discuss content and upload their own fiction, art and videos on YouTube, DeviantArt, Instagram, Tumblr and Twitch. For discussion, they often use Reddit or chat channels like Discord. Avid game fans add to existing stories in many ways, for instance through fanfiction. Others mediate games in more tangible practices, such as crafting. Some players for instance dress up as characters from video games in costumes that they have recreated themselves (Crawford & Hancock, 2019; Lamerichs, 2011; Winge, 2018). This is called 'cosplay', short for costume playing, a form of performance that can be seen at many fan conventions, events or meetings. Similarly, game fans create their own fan videos and streams, such as 'let's plays' and Twitch streams in which they record a game and comment on the gameplay (Lamerichs, 2021; MacCallum-Stewart, 2014; Taylor, 2018). The motivation behind these fan works can vary from critical commentary, speculation and parody to homage and a desire for co-creativity.

The increase in fanworks and their diversity leads to entirely new experiences and media altogether. Think of the vivid scenes around esports or the influencer culture around game streams. Increasingly studying games means taking into account secondary audiences, such as those who have watched a game but never played it themselves (Taylor, 2012). This development is what Mark Wolf (2014) has called the 'deinteractivization' of games (p. 262). Many audiences want to experience games in different ways today, and not necessarily by interacting with the source text.

This development of deinteractivization is not exclusive to digital games but also visible in table-top games and boardgames. Think of the revival of Dungeons & Dragons over the past years. The renewed popularity of this game owes much to its popular YouTube and podcast campaigns, such as The Adventure Zone or Critical Role. The potential of role-playing systems lends itself to highly interactive ongoing storytelling, and to different forms of media and audience participation (Deterding & Zagal, 2018). Today, large communities of viewers or listeners can enroll in the campaigns of others, and these fans are eager to hear a new adventure be told.

The participatory culture around games is professionalizing rapidly, and platforms such as Twitch have turned this into their business model. For instance, some producers of let's plays, such as Markiplier and Jacksepticeye, have become well-known influencers and internet celebrities (Abidin, 2018) with audiences of millions. The labor behind this user-generated content also invites critical questions. Game scholars have noted how the industry caters to its visible audience by exploiting their labor, such as through modding and playtesting, as a form of corporate capitalism (Banks & Humphreys, 2008; Consalvo, 2003). The business models of games, in other words, increasingly rely on the transmedia engagement of fans. Companies do not just value participation and interaction, but also harness the data of these users as an asset in the platform economy (Bernevega & Gekker, 2022). In other words, community-driven transmedia are increasingly monetized and incentivized by companies and creatives themselves.

The Future and Challenges of Transmedia

Today, transmediality as a production process and fan practice is the new status quo. This development will undoubtedly persist and revise how we come to think about transmedia. For instance, companies such as Epic and Meta increasingly focus on a 'metaverse' that encompasses play, virtual reality and social media platforms (Facebook, 2021). An example of these developments is Ariana Grande's rift tour in Fortnite (Epic Games, 2021) which subverts the borders between online and offline worlds and between games and events. Media, labor and entertainment blend in this metaverse, where platforms integrate different entertainment features into one experience.

In other words, gaming is not an isolated activity anymore. It is connected to many different platforms and often part of the same experience. Think of how players can stream content from a console with just the press of a button, or of how mobile games are part of the same pocket-sized experience as our other apps (Finley, 2018). Considering that the integration of different media has become a staple today, and almost a norm for digital experiences, we can question what the need is for a concept like transmediality. Games and interactive experiences are continuously in dialogue with other media, and revise our ideas of what a story or even a medium itself could be.

Similarly, transmedia characters are becoming more complex. Think of the rise of virtual influencers such as Instagram model Lil Miquela, an avatar who addresses the audience playfully but also often alludes to being AI and virtual (Lamerichs, 2019). Likewise, the rise of anime-inspired virtual YouTubers ('VTubers') has led to new parodies of game streams and influencer culture. In other words, today's transmedia landscape plays with the borders between real and artificial, between player and character, and between human and non-human. This requires new approaches and ideas that account for the design of transmedia characters and the identity of players and ourselves in an increasingly mediated world.

Overall, our current media culture is characterized by experiences, practices and play on extensive media platforms. As a concept, transmedia can help us bridge different media and silos and highlight the relationships between media. As the creative industries increasingly converge, we need to examine transmedia processes critically. What elements and aesthetics are mediated in a new platform? What are the motivations to produce fan works, and who profits from them? How are game elements adopted in other business models and ecosystems? A concept like transmedia offers a starting point to critically question media practices and our increasingly mediated selves.

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Author Information

Dr. Nicolle Lamerichs is senior lecturer (HHD) and team lead in Creative Business at HU University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht. She holds a PhD in media studies from Maastricht University (2014). In her book Productive Fandom (2018), she explores intermediality, affect, costuming and creativity in fan cultures. She has published numerous articles and chapters on transmediality, fandom and games.

Citation Information

Lamerichs, N. (2022). Transmedia. In Grabarczyk, P. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Ludic Terms (Spring 2022 Edition). URL: https://eolt.org/articles/transmedia

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