So three weeks ago I started talking about the Transmedia storytelling course I completed on Coursera. Since then, I’ve taken you along with me on my learning journey. I figured the best way to retain what I learned is to play it back and hopefully, things make more sense the second time around. =)
Here’s a quick summary:
One needs to consider 4 key things when it comes to transmedia storytelling:
- Building the story world
- Understanding your audience
- Crafting a user experience (UX)
- Leveraging technology and platforms
I first introduced my story world here. And then we talked a bit about our audience and how we might understand them better last week. This week we’re looking at the user experience.
I should know user experience well. I mean it’s my job and career. I hope to continue working in user experience for a long time…Since I have no other skills. Except maybe eating portions larger than my stomach. I don’t know where it all goes…
According to this reliable source:
“User experience” encompasses all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company, its services, and its products.
While we User Experience Designers try to design experiences that meet (and hopefully exceed) the users’ expectations, how that actually translates can vary from person to person as people have their unique contextual lenses (e.g. past experiences, along with various social and cultural backgrounds). This is also why researching with targetted audiences is a huge component of UX.
In terms of transmedia storytelling, the UX looks at how the various touchpoints of the story can continue to captivate and engage the audience’s attention and get them to participate in the defined story world playground.
According to Gary Hayes, before we dive into creating experiences, we need to first understand the transmedia hierarchy of needs. There are 5 levels:
Level 1 Physiological — technically sound, expected mix of media, reliability, available, multi-platform variety, solid production
Level 2 Safety — quality of service, trustworthiness of providers, privacy of gameplay, service permanence, level game playing field, shared rules and values
Level 3 Love/Belonging — include friends and family, network elements, discover new friends, share experiences
Level 4 Esteem — able to excel & be seen to excel, the system recognises the contribution and/or abilities, take part in team play, appear on leader boards & be peer-reviewed
Level 5 Self-Actualization — able to add personal original content, the story surprises, challenges morals & enables problem-solving, become self-empowered, understand the world better
Gary later created a version with examples of experiences which I found quite helpful to understand better. The levels are renamed but they share the same core basis of needs:
Having a good grasp of these human needs and feelings can help to understand how the audience can relate and connect to the story experience. ‘Emotional hooks’ can then be created in various part of the story to capture interest.
Once we uncover the needs, we can then think about the types of interactions we want to create. Forlizzi and Battarbee identified three qualities of interaction that impact the experiences people have with interactive products and services: ‘Fluent’, ‘Cognitive’, and ‘Expressive’.
- Fluent interactions are interactions that are performed without needing to consciously think about them — like switching on a TV or turning a page in a book.
- Cognitive interactions require us to consciously think through a problem — such as working out how to use a remote control.
- Expressive interactions involve the personalisation of an experience into a subjective story-of-use — such as developing a unique character in a massive open online role playing game.
Keep in mind that some audiences may prefer certain types of interactions over others.
So armed with the above knowledge I went to tackle assignment 3 to develop my transmedia story further. Read the summary of my central story idea here for context.
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Assignment 3: What’s your transmedia story experience?
Q: Can you describe the experience that you want your audience to have by engaging in your transmedia story?
This question forced me to think about the response I want the audience to feel when engaging with my story. I must admit that prior to this, I gave very little thought to creating intentional responses.
I hope for the audience to feel sympathy for the unequal divide in the story world I’m creating. The disparity between the rich and poor can be stark. Just Like the game of monopoly, those who are ahead with more resources are bound to take over and conquer over others. It’s an unfair world, not too dissimilar from our own..just more extreme. I hope for the audience to be able to relate to it somewhat and also share the anger and frustration toward this unjust society.
At the same time, I want to instil hope into the audience group as they follow along with Sam, the protagonist. Watch her struggle and persevere. See her fighting against odds for her mom, while cheering her on. I hope for the audience to see a bit of themselves in her. That each of us has the potential to create change in the world and if the protagonist can do it maybe they can too. The story will end with a step towards a fairer world. Something that most of us wants to see. I hope to evoke feelings of relief, bliss, and gratitude. These are the experience goals I’d like the story to achieve.
Q: How does this experience vary for different members of the audiences who might engage with the story world in different ways?
This question is tough. Before I’ve only really thought about that one generic audience (which doesn’t exist). Thinking about more than one audience types really adds depth and complexity to the story world. I had to think deeper and question my original story goal and purpose and how that translate to the audience on the receiving end. How can I create intrigue and hooks into my story world in a way that others would want to engage with it?
To make the story more engaging and richer, I can add more depth and perspective to the story via other mediums. One idea can be to tell bits of the story via a series of journals written by the protagonist as she embarks on her journey to support her mother’s health. The journal would provide glimpses into the protagonist Sam’s head, what she’s thinking and feeling..along with her deepest fears and secrets. This will appeal to audiences who enjoy first-person dialogues and puzzles, piecing together the personality and the motivations of the protagonist. It can also be a series of journals from several characters in the story to develop them further. This might help the audience to understand the dynamics of various characters and maybe find themselves relating to some of the personalities resulting in them engaging with the story more.
Another idea I have is maybe creating a game similar to monopoly but instead of getting richer, it’s the opposite. Depending on the luck of the die, you may encounter series of unforeseeable situations: job loss, severe health condition, losing friends, recession, debt etc. The game ends when a person has no resource left. The goal is to use this game to highlight the unforgiving reality of the story world which isn’t so different from reality. How easy for the poor to get poorer which further increases the inequality gap between the rich and the poor. This would not only help people relate to the story world better, but also appeal to those who enjoy interactivity and game elements
Q: How will you ensure that people who engage with different elements of the story (on different platforms etc.) know their experience is a part of the much bigger story world that you have described?
Before creating the different elements to the story and using various mediums, I’ll first create a user journey map of the story world and see where and when it makes sense for these elements to be introduced. This is so that I can easily see how different pieces fit together and if it all still make a coherent story adhering to the main story plot and the rules of the story world. Once I have this overview, I can figure out how to tie the elements together so that when audiences are engaging with each element, they will know it’s part of a bigger story.
Easy ways to tie elements together can be simply referencing the same name or use the same hashtag on social media channels. Any elements created off the back of the story, be it games or artwork or media communications will all be referenced in the same way. I can also create graphics and illustrations mimicking a logo to tie elements together as a whole, effectively ‘branding them’. Also in each element, I would try to hint at the bigger story it lives in to get the audience curious and hopefully engage further.
Q: How could the experience of your story world continue to expand?
I can expand the story world using the same user journey mapping method to uncover new opportunities for additional elements to be added to the story world to make it richer and more interesting. For example, at some point, the protagonist in the story will be put into prison. I can play with that and look at creating an online petition where audiences can sign and get the protagonist to be released earlier. This way, the audiences can play an active role in the story and help shape it. Their input will impact the story itself which creates a much more immersive experience. Continuing to look at the journey map and identifying opportunities to enrich touchpoints can help me engage with new and potentially wider audiences.
This assignment was quite tricky for me and forced me to consider many aspects of the story that I never have before. It’s been a really great exercise and opened me up to be more playful with storytelling and looking at it from various angles.
Next week we have our final assignment. It’s about leveraging technology in transmedia storytelling. With the advancement of tech, there are constantly new opportunities to tell stories in new ways. It’s quite exciting. I’ll also finish up my transmedia learning journey with some final thoughts.
Until then my friend!
