Author: Christy

A new mobisode is out that looks like it was created using Hollywood production standards, as well as Hollywood stars. Flatland, a Ruddy Morgan Organization Production (the fellows who brought us Million Dollar Baby and The Godfather), was created for worldwide distribution through mobile and broadband. The mobile design & producer is Timothy Shey, who came by and alerted me about this show but the comment seems to have disappeared! Tim started a company, Proteus, in 1996, and has been working on wireless applications for a while, including mobisode versions of The Sopranos and Sex & the City. Tim’s latest creation, the Flatland mobisode, is described as “the first original action series produced for broadband, hand-held, PSP and mobile phonesâ€?.

The overall story is described as follows:

The year is 2010. The place is Shanghai. Three young Americans — Quentin Mitchell (PHYLLIP RHYS), JT Dunnit (BUMPER ROBINSON) and Amy Li (FRANCOISE YIP) — find themselves trapped in the mysterious web of a man known only by the name of Smith (DENNIS HOPPER). Smith’s world “Flatland” is terrifying, a place where the past and present exist at the same time, intersecting with deadly consequences. Where reality changes in a heartbeat. Where life and death hang on the blink of an eye.

It is Dennis Hopper’s first mobisode appearance. Previews of the series are available, as well as downloads for PSP and iPod.

An interview with Tim, conducted by Keren Flavell, is available for podcast. In the interview, Tim talks about writing and filming for the various devices. They re-edited the series for each media channel, according to their affordances. They have done short-form versions for the mobisodes: 2-3 minute episodes that focus on certain elements in the episodes, and long-form for iPods & broadband. The shots were tight, with some even cropped further for the mobisode. The content was created as a non-linear storyline, to be told from alot of different perspectives, and to work cross-culturally.The mobisode series is dialogue-driven whereas the major action scenes are in the broadband and downloadable versions. Now, this sounds like Tim knows what he is doing. Indeed, rather than repurposing exactly the same content, Tim is altering the work according to each device. This requires knowing each device, each audience for each device and then altering the story (what is told) & discourse (how it is told).

There aren’t that many resources for writing & shooting mobisodes. Here are some:

Holson, L.M. (2005) ‘Pocket-size screen’s new rules‘, International Herald Tribune

Mobile Filmmaking: Lessons

Nielsen, J. (1998) ‘Microcontent: How to Write Headlines, Page Titles, and Subject Lines’, Useit.com

Tim plans to simultaneously release, like Forget the Rules, sometime this year worldwide. I’ll add it my list of mobisodes.

ARGs are one of the most developed forms of CME, interactive narrative and participatory design. The video of the ARG Fest that I’ve mentioned before is available for free via Bitorrent, through Grey Lodge. The contents include:

1) Perplex City by Mind Candy Ltd with Michael Smith and Adrian Hon

2) The Art of the Heist by the PM team with Mike Monello, Brian Cain, Brian Clark, Matt Fischvogt, Jim Gunshanan, Gabriel Georgeian, and Dave Szulborski

3) MetaCortechs by the PM team with Steve Peters, Krystyn Wells, Brooke Thompson, and Sean Stacey

4) There is No Such Thing as an ARG by special guest speaker
Jane McGonigal

5) Pictures from ARG Fest NYC 2005 featuring pictures submitted by the attendees

I bought the DVD and find the video interesting. There isn’t much about ARG design, but it gives a nice insight into the behind-the-scenes events and goals of well-known ARGs. And is a good introduction for those who no nothing about the genre. A genre you should know about.

Interesting post by Corvus Elrod, describing his approach to story/game creation: Interactive Storyscape.

I refer to the Drachurae Cycle as an Interactive Storyscape, as not only is it a narration built for interaction, but of interaction. Rather than craft linear plot lines and usher players through them, I create, characters, environments, and situations, which I invite players to explore, effect the outcomes of, and add their own ideas to the mix. This atmosphere of co-creation is at the heart of my storytelling and the digital incarnation of my work will incorporate it as much as conceivably possible.

Now, this seems on the face of it to be a description of a virtual world/MMOPG and the like — where players make the world come alive in many ways. But what Corvus is burrowing deeply into is the peculiar experience of writing for interaction. In such circumstances, one needs to create a world with characters and events that people want to be a part of, persistently; but also, one needs to consider what sort of events and characters and environment encourages co-creation. It is one thing for someone to like the space and the skin they’re in, it is another for them to want to (and feel they can) build upon it. How does this change a story? Well, I don’t have a quick list for you right now. For now, consider the following questions:

• What sort of stories would you like to watch?
• What sort of stories would you like to be in?
• What sort of stories would you like to co-create?
• What sort of stories would you like to create?

Can you say yes to all of them for the same story?