The document discusses a presentation by a games and transmedia strategist at a conference, focusing on the adaptation journey of 'Muddle Earth' from a children's book to a BBC game. It examines the role of narrative theory in game adaptations, highlighting empirical studies that analyze the production process and the transformation of narratives across different media. The presentation also emphasizes the importance of maintaining brand consistency in transmedia adaptations while understanding the influence of intertextual and extratextual factors.

1. 1

2. Hi
everyone,
hope
you’re
enjoying
the
conference
I’ll
start
by
quickly
give
you
some
context
to
my
presenta=on
I
work
as
a
Games
&
Transmedia
Strategist
for
Dubit,
a
digital
entertainment
studio
and
research
agency
My
role
creates
a
bridge
between
the
RESEARCH
and
GAME
DEVELOPMENT
teams
One
day
I’m
doing
games
tes=ng,
next
day
I’ll
be
working
on
game
design
or
involving
audiences
in
media
co-­‐crea=on
approaches
Oh
yeah,
and
I
get
to
play
a
few
games…
2

3. Last
year
I
wrote
a
MASTERS
thesis
based
on
a
game
produced
for
the
BBC
This
game
was
MUDDLE
EARTH
–
a
casual
quest-­‐based
virtual
world
aimed
at
children
–
developed
by
Dubit,
for
whom
I
work
This
presenta=on
is
based
on
the
study
of
this
game
3

4. This
was
essen=ally
a
study
of
game
produc=on,
and
followed
the
adapta=on
journey
of
the
Muddle
Earth
IP
from
a
children’s
book,
into
a
BBC
TV
series,
and
finally
into
a
game.
As
both
game
development
professional
and
academic
researcher
I
wanted
to
explore
how
games
research
could
contribute
to
game
produc=on
and
to
the
design
of
beVer
games.
The
main
objec=ves
of
this
study
were
to
understand
the
processes
of
adapta=on
from
other
media
into
games,
in
the
context
of
cross-­‐media
strategies;
and
par=cularly
explore
what
happens
to
narra=ve
in
its
journey
from
paper
to
screens
to
games.
How
it’s
con=nued,
how
it
is
transformed,
how
it
is
integrated
into
ludic
structures
by
inspiring
game
mechanics…
4

5. • Johnson’s
circuit
of
culture
proposes
four
main
interac=ng
areas
for
media
studies
–
the
best
way
to
understand
a
text
is
to
cover
all
areas
• Most
Game
Studies
have
typically
focused
on
textual analysis and
player studies
• But
produc=on
has
oZen
been
overlooked
–
frequently
due
to
a
lack
of
coopera=on
between
game
producers
and
game
academics
5

6. I
was
really
happy
when
I
read
the
CfP
for
this
conference,
whose
objec=ves
were
to:
• trace
connec=ons
between
the
narra=ves
of
contemporary
screen
media
and
their
contexts
of
produc=on
• explore
ways
in
which
stories
and
their
on-­‐screen
telling
are
informed
by
contemporary
industrial
and
technological
condi=ons
6

7. The
body
of
academic
research
on
adapta=on
of
texts
from
other
media
into
games
and
vice-­‐versa
is
s=ll
modest.
Empirical
studies
of
games
as
adapta=ons,
where
researchers
interview
producers
and
have
access
to
design
and
produc=on
documents
are
even
rarer.
But
in
order
to
study
media
texts
it
is
essen=al
to
understand
their
contexts
of
produc=on.
7

8. The
research
looks
at
the
text
and
its
production,
drawing
on:
• empirical
data
from
game-­‐playing
• interviews
with
producers
• the
analysis
of
design
and
production
documents
and
conversations
–
had
access
to
the
project
hub
8

9. 9

10. The
usefulness
of
narra-ve
theory
• In
a
recent
ar=cle
in
Gamasutra,
a
game
cri=c
defended
that
only
20%
of
games
should
tell
stories
–
I
don’t
want
to
get
into
the
ludology
vs.
narratology
debate,
but
even
though
computer
games
are
indeed
games,
many
of
them
do
try
to
tell
stories
too
–
especially
when
they
are
adapta=ons
of
exis=ng
stories
or
part
of
wider
transmedia
IPs
where
narra=ve
is
important
• Krzynskwa:
narra=ve
theory
useful
–
in
this
case
to
understand
how
transla=on
into
a
different
medium
transforms
the
narra=ve
10

11. The
process
of
adapta=on
is
analysed
with
a
special
focus
on
the
ways
in
which
the
hypotext
narra=ve
underwent
modifica=ons
at
the
levels
of
character
traits
and
func=ons,
plot
structure
and
effects
(humour).
11

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14. 14

15. 15

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17. 17

18. 18

19. 19

20. 20

21. The
TV
series
• Previous
adapta=on
–
Jackanory
-­‐
virtually
a
transcrip=on
onto
TV
–
human
narrator
telling
the
story
with
CGI
characters
–
high
fidelity
to
the
book
• This
version
of
Muddle
Earth
was
not
described
as
an
adapta=on,
but
instead
as
a
cartoon
‘based
on’
the
book
• The
objec=ve
here
is
to
describe
the
main
transforma=ons
and
factors
behind
these
21

22. 22

23. 23

24. 24

25. 25

26. 26

27. 27

28. 28

29. 29

30. 30

31. 31

32. About
Games
• A
computer
game
is
a
game,
so
it’s
obvious
that
there
is
a
ludic
dimension
in
the
ME
game
–
goals,
resources,
skill,
scores,
and
so
on
• And
because
it
is
an
online
mul--­‐player
game
where
you
can
see
and
contact
other
people,
is
clearly
a
social
dimension
to
playing
–
of
the
player
opts
to
be
‘social’
• Narra-ve
is
an
important
link
with
original
IP
–
narra=ves
acquire
heightened
importance
in
contemporary
transmedia
contexts
–
I’m
not
saying
narrar=ve
is
the
most
important
dimension
(aZer
all
games
are
games),
but
one
that
deserves
aVen=on
• Narra=ve
in
games
–
especially
authored
narra=ve
-­‐
is
situated
at
the
intersec=on
of
mainly
the
ludic
and
representa=onal
dimensions
–
games
tell
stories
by
being
played
–
in
games
we
move
from
story-­‐
telling
to
a
mix
of
story-­‐telling
and
STORY-­‐PLAYING
• LET’S
THEN
SEE
WHAT
HAPPENED
TO
THE
ME
NARRATIVE
IN
THE
GAME
–
HOW
IT
CONTINUED
AND
CHANGED
FROM
ITS
SOURCE
TEXTS
32

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34. 34

35. 35

36. 36

37. 37

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39. 39

40. 40

41. 41

42. • Game
adaptations
of
narratives
from
other
media
are
based
not
just
hypertextually
on
their
source
texts
• but
also
intertextually
on
other
games
and
games
conventions,
on
technological
resources
and
constraints
• Besides
textual
inAluences,
game
adaptations
are
also
strongly
shaped
by
‘extratextual’
conditions
of
production
(budgets,
technology,
editorial
guidelines,
established
industrial
practices
and
perceptions
/
conceptions
of
target
audiences.),
all
of
which
inAluence
the
ways
in
which
game
adaptations
translate
existing
narratives.
• I’d
like
to
propose
the
term
EXTRATEXTUALITY
to
encompass
the
analysis
of
this
type
of
factors
–
the
non-­‐textual
inAluences
on
the
text
42

43. This
diagram
provides
grater
detail
on
the
series
of
intertextual
and
extratextual
factors
that
influenced
the
produc=on
of
the
ME
game
• In
the
whole
process
Brand
consistency
was
essen=al
to
maximise
benefits
of
cross-­‐media
and
transmedia
IPs
–
seamless
consump=on,
meet
audience
expecta=ons:
readers,
TV
watchers
–
and
gamers!
• Which
means
that
it
is
essen=al
to
keep
a
good
level
of
consistency
with
the
source
texts
and
their
narra=ve
in
a
transmedia
context
–
this
does
not
mean
pure
fidelity,
but
adop=ng
a
good
level
of
brand
consistency,
and
using
the
source
narra=ve
as
inspira=on
for
narra=ve
as
well
as
ludic
structures
in
the
game
• How
do
we
define
‘good
consistency’
is
another
ques=on
–
one
for
my
next
project
looking
at
how
we
can
involve
audiences
in
the
design
of
game
adapta=ons
and
as
part
of
wider
transmedia
stories
43

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