Molly - Web Play, Games and Gamification - Assignment 2: Case Study The content within this body of work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License and was created for Academic Purposes. The opinions and words expressed are that of the author and not a reflection of any associated institution. The use of copyrighted logos, images and figures within this body of work falls under the Fair Dealing exclusion to Australian Copyright Law, for the purposes of Criticism and Review. All works have been appropriately attributed to the relevant legislates.

1. Gaming:
The Genre of Transmedia
used within…
STAR WARS © 1977 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. TM & © 1977 Lucasfilm Ltd. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK TM & ©
1980 Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) All rights reserved. RETURN OF THE JEDI TM & © 1983 Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) All rights reserved. "Twentieth Century Fox",
"Fox" and their associated logos are property of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.

2. Since the release of the first Star Wars movie in 1977,
Lucasfilm has official licensed the production of over 170
games, all of which are set within the fictitious universe
established across the 6 films within the series. Each game
traverses through the “Star Wars Expanded Universe” by
unlocking access to a variety of locations, and establishing
character context, by providing content of continuity that helps
build a more content rich world across an assortment of
entertainment mediums.
In this instance, the Star Wars games are conveying further
messages within the fictitious universe in order to build to the
existent larger conversation. The difference between Star Wars
games in relation to the franchise is that the term “transmedia
storytelling” facilitates multiple avenues of input that flow both
ways, over a linear course of produced content.

3. MAPITOUT…
http://editorial.designtaxi.com/news-starwars0702/big.jpg

4. For that reason, the Star Wars games emerged as
a pillar of transmedia technique utilisation within
the franchise, as transmedia is a subset of cross-
media in the sense that the story itself is
distributed across a variety of media. Each piece
of the story feels at least somewhat complete and
adds to the audience's concept of the characters
and story world. According to transmedia
consultant, Jeff Gomez, when done well,
audience members’ engagement deepens with
the narrative, accessing it whenever they want,
where ever they want.

5. PRATTEN’STAKE
Copyright © 2011 Robert Pratten http://videoturundus.ee/transmedia.pdf

6. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO GOMEZ…
“The problem faced by corporations and big media is that
many are communicating through old broadcast models,
where the narrative is linear, the medium is isolated and the
narrative is only running one way. New techniques are
necessary to engage mass audiences, who have become
users and participants. Your story needs to be accessible
through an array of media, and the narrative must be
designed to play to the strengths of the platform at hand.
Instead of broadcast, there is a pressing necessity for
dialog.”

7. THE GAMES…
All six movies possess a number of standalone
games deriving from the original feature films, all
of which offer deeper character context and
further universe exploration to players. For
example, according to the Star Wars
Encyclopaedia, Wookiepedia, the movie Episode
II: Attack of the Clones facilitated the
development of three independent games,
across four consoles.
One of these games, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2002), is
described as a vehicular combat game and involves character play
with some of the franchises most recognisable characters, however
the nature of the game involves engaging exploration of
recognisable planets and unseen areas within the movies. This
particular game was released across the three most popular digital
gaming platforms; PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Xbox,
subsequently ensuring that player engagement was maximised and
not hindered by console preference.
Copyright © & TM Lucasfilm Ltd.
All Rights Reserved.

8. This intertwined narrative approach has been replicated across the
remaining five feature films, along with a gaming series deriving from Star
Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) animated television series. Furthermore, the
Star Wars gaming franchise encompasses a whole host of other
independent series across genres, including first-person shooters (FPSs),
flight simulators and racing games, real-time strategy (RTSs) games, role-
playing games (RPGs), and massively multiplayer online role-playing
games (MMORPGs) just to name a few.
STAR WARS © 1977 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. TM & © 1977 Lucasfilm Ltd. THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK TM & ©
1980 Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) All rights reserved. RETURN OF THE JEDI TM & © 1983 Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) All rights reserved. "Twentieth Century Fox",
"Fox" and their associated logos are property of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.

9. Each of those series’ possesses several full-length digital
games that explore the rich history of Jedi Knights, the
knights of the Old Republic, and interplanetary and
intergalactic exploration, all of which bring their own puzzle
piece to the Star Wars Expanded Universe Jigsaw.
Transmedia practitioner, Robert Pratten, references a theory
describing the role types adopted by digital game players, all
of which are catered towards across one out of 170 Star
Wars Games, which, again, maximises engagement.
Copyright © 2011 Robert Pratten
http://videoturundus.ee/transmedia.pdf

10. PRATTEN’S
PIN UPS…
Copyright © 2011 Robert Pratten
http://videoturundus.ee/transmedia.pdf

11. The success of the Star Wars Expanded
Universe’s overall transmedia engagement
approach is made evident by statistics posted by
Wired in 2014 estimated that the fictional universe
franchise has generated revenue of $37 billion
across 40 years, dating back to the first film Star
Wars: Episode IV - A new hope, the budget for
which sat at a modest $11 million. The success of
the franchise is as a result of the variety of
content and mediums, however their production
would equally have not been feasible if it weren’t
for the shift in cultural fandom upon which
transmedia is built.
HOW EXACTLY HAS STAR
WARS MADE $37 BILLION?

12. ENGAGEMENT
The official mediums established by LucasArts include
movies, books, comics, graphic novels, video games,
toys, Lego characters’, collectable action figurines, and
animated shows. Unofficially, texts established by
actively participating producers and consumers
(prosumers) include Wookiepedia, Star Wars Kid,
prosumer production of Alternate Reality Games (ARGs),
and Family Guy Star Wars episodes. These unofficial
mediums do not necessarily build upon the produced
fictitious universe, but they do aid the establishment and
maintenance of a sense of community and fandom
amongst prosumers that choose to immerse themselves
within the content. This form of participatory self-
expression provides the necessary drive for universe
expansion, whether this is done through direct
participatory production, or indirectly securing the drive
for demand and supply, if you create a large enough
universe, people will fill it with their imagination. That
philosophy is the foundation upon which the genre of
transmedia games is built.

13. Robert Pratten states that the term
“engagement” over “immersion” is crucial
within transmedia terminology, as it
requires each text to be compelling and
rewarding through the processes of
discovery, experience and exploration.
This cultural shift of consumption proves to
be a force that evoked the birth of
transmedia as a technique, a philosophy of
communications, and brand extension that
enriches and broadens the life cycle of
creative content, in this case through the
medium of digital games.

14. A Relevant & Lengthy Ending…?
In her book An Introduction to New Media, Larissa Hjorth states that as
gaming becomes increasingly mainstream as it consecutively fosters
innovative forms of new media practices that merge media art and game
art for the purpose of engagement. This is displayed through a shift in the
term ‘new media’ gaming to encompass both interactive and non-
interactive genres. These parameters can be extended to overshadow
transmedia storytelling as a new media technique for gaming genres.
However, the notion of transmedia games can be extended as a form of
genre, whereby interconnectivity to a larger media entity is what
assimilates one game from the next, and not traditionally the style of
design of gameplay, as Star Wars proves that merging of alternating genre
styles does not deter from engagement. The nature of interwoven
transmedia highlights the state of entertainment media as it currently
stands, and facilitates feasible predictions surrounding the future of digital
gaming production. Transmedia as a philosophy and a creative style can
heavily influence production and consumption style, by binding all genres
and styles of games together through narrative and storytelling.

15. MORE INFORMATION…?
 Wookiepedia’s Game List:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Video_game
 Wired’s Financial Statistics:
http://www.wired.com/2014/11/geeks-guide-star-wars-
empire/
 Jeff Gomez Interview:
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-
intelligence/2014/03/18/jeff-gomez-discusses-legos-star-
wars-and-transmedia-campaigns
 Robert Pratten’s Getting Started in Transmedia
Storytelling: http://videoturundus.ee/transmedia.pdf
 Larissa Hjorth’s An Introduction to New Media:
http://site.ebrary.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/lib/curtinuniv/re
ader.action?docID=10439515