OTT & Transmedia : The Rise of Game IPs as Transmedia Foundations by Dwayne Williams 2

This began many many years ago with Death Race 2000 and Tron, and Disney's Dragon's Lair (one of the first large budget video releases).

Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., IpgThat’s a great point, those early projects like Tron and Dragon’s Lair really did plant the seeds for what we’re seeing today. I’ve always been a fan of the Tron worldbuilding myself, the way it blended visuals and tech into a cohesive universe.

I’d love to hear your take on something: what’s your opinion on starting with a game as the foundation for a transmedia franchise, versus beginning with film or TV? When you think about building out transmedia, what do you personally see as the strongest starting foundation?

Dwayne Williams 2 Honestly one cannot start a "transmedia franchise" from the ground up. The game space is an entirely different market than film. Much more engaged, much more sophisticated and absolutely unforgiving. The only way to create a transmedia franchise is the way it's always been done - establish an audience in one market, then cleave off or develop ancillary rights, sequels and adaptations into other markets and license merch where that is possible.The exceptions prove the rule: they are already present in one or more markets with an established and proven following there. But there is no guarantee that an idea will be successful in the new market. The concept that people in one market will follow into another is false. Movie goes watch movies. Gamers play games, readers read novels, even the idea that the graphic novel market overlaps with the comic market is not quite true. And each market requires its own marketing thrust. This is why the term "transmedia" is problematic. The term lets people think it's a particular kind of creative product (like a movie) but in fact i describes a franchise that crosses formats and genres AFTER THE FACT. It is not something that can be designed and created up front. When your low budget film is $5million and a video game budget can be into the tens and hundreds of millions for production - imagine the complexity and resources you need to create something that simply might not work.

So to answer the last part of your question, what is the strongest foundation? A successful franchise in one format. A great and successful video game, or a great graphic novel, or a great feature... From there, adapt to the next audience which is natural for the product.

Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg, I see your point about how unforgiving and specialized the game space can be. But is that what makes you hesitant to start transmedia from inception? From my perspective, high-concept ideas naturally lend themselves to multiple formats, which makes them stronger candidates for transmedia development.

There are also companies that already operate in both film and games, Sony being a prime example, so it makes sense to build foundations that can move across both worlds when the right partnership comes along.

How do you usually approach high-concept ideas yourself? I’d be glad to swap notes and help sharpen transmedia thinking if that’s something you’d like to explore.

Dwayne Williams 2 No, there are NOT companies who do this yet, not Sony, not anyone. With a very minor exception among Japanese anime/manga (ie. literally two or three attempts, ever, and a fairly recent concept there) which have tested the waters with something they call "media mix" which has different media adding non-redundant pieces to an overarching narrative. It's risky because, as I said, it's illusory to think that an audience in one media wants to experience another media. When the story is different in other media, as it must be by definition, that makes it more tenuous. Historically to day, aside from that, there is no trans-media franchise in existence which did not start by building an audience in one media. It's a simple research assignment to confirm that. The reasons are also simple and straight forward. Each added media raises your budget, up to an order of magnitude, and raises your risk, maybe also by an order of magnitude. As someone who has worked and still works in film, tv, theater, gaming and publishing, I can tell you it's a nice fantasy exercise to imagine something as a "transmedia" phenomenon from the beginning, but fantasy it is. The best way to actually launch a transmedia property is the traditional way: set up a sequel in your first story and when that one works, maybe there will be enough of an audience that a graphic novel publisher will be interested... etc.

Hey Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg, I think we might be defining transmedia differently. I’m talking about transmedia storytelling (worldbuilding and narrative design), not just ancillary rights or post-release marketing?

Transmedia marketing (or franchising): Expanding a successful project into other formats after it has proven its audience and value.

Transmedia storytelling: Designing narrative across multiple media from the start, where each format adds a unique contribution to a larger story world.

Dwayne Williams 2 We are on the same page on what you mean be transmedia story telling. I go back to my original point that "transmedia" is a terrible label. As your last point shows, transmedia marketing can only be done after IP has been proven. That can only be done in one media, and has never be done in more than one media, with the exception I pointed out called "mix media" in the Japanese context. That's the way teh different media work. This dictates that you cannot design transmedia storytelling in advance. It can't be done. Because you have to be in one media first, and then when you go into another media, or more likely, when someone from another media with their own ideas comes calling, THEN you can design where the storytelling goes in that media. Designing the whole idea in advance, as I said, is just plain fantasy. It's film school stuff at best, and might not even be tolerated there.

Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg, I hear you, but recent industry moves show this is already shifting. For example, in Deadline’s coverage of Astro Burn, Hasraf 'HaZ' Dulull said:

'From an industry point of view, if you look at the most recent news about Amazon MGM developing a series based on the game Split Fiction, and the amazing work my friends at [Tomb Raider TV series producer] Story Kitchen are doing, transmedia is now part of the IP creation process in film and TV. My next project, Astro Burn, is a prime example. While it’s my debut indie game, we’re already developing it in parallel as a TV show concept and talking to producing partners about it this early on.'

That’s exactly what I mean when I talk about building transmedia from inception, not marketing after the fact, but aligning creative and structural development across multiple media from the start.

Dwayne Williams 2 No, your example proves my point "...Amazon MGM developing a series based on the game Split Fiction..." means the IP is in the market place with an audience. And they are in development AFTER that fact has occurred. Whether it goes further and where it goes is yet to be seen. They are not involved in fantasizing about what might happen, they are designing what they want to happen based on real IP.

Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg Companies like Iconic Arts are already proving that transmedia can be built from inception. They’re developing IP across film, TV, games, and merch simultaneously, separating the story and world from the format. So while the risks you mention are real, the industry is clearly moving toward designing transmedia at the start, not just after success in one medium.

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/iconic-arts-studio-launches-la-tokyo-12...

“One thing that we do as a transmedia studio is separate the IP, the world, the story and the characters from the IP format,” Yazdani said. “That’s why we don’t call ourselves a film studio or a game studio … basically, we can do continuous storytelling with a unified narrative through new formats that come in the next few years.”

Game IPs are increasingly becoming the backbone of transmedia storytelling, evolving far beyond their original medium. We’re seeing titles extend into film, TV, comics, and even interactive formats that blur the line between entertainment and participation. A good example of this crossover can be found in the gaming sector itself, showcasing how audiences are drawn to interactive, narrative-driven spaces, such as live dealer casino games, that feel immersive and connected across platforms. It highlights how the demand for engagement is shifting—people don’t just want to watch or play; they want to experience a world. That’s exactly why strong IPs have the power to anchor transmedia strategies in the years ahead.

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Absolutely right, Fred Smith, I couldn’t agree more, strong game IPs are becoming the anchor for immersive transmedia worlds.