The intertwining link between crossplatform media and transmedia storytelling

Transmedia story telling derives from ‘transmedia’ which, on it’s own means ‘across media’. Therefore a simple definition of transmedia story telling would be telling a story across media. The theory, coined by Henry Jenkins is defined as “the technique of telling a single story… across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies” (Jenkins, 2011). This form of narrative has become more and more popular within recent years due to the advance in technology as well as the demand of audiences. Nowadays, audiences are more complex – the passive audience does not exist in the 21^st Century. The concept of transmedia story telling has emerged through the rise of cross platform media. Cross platform media is how the mainstream media now presents itself due to the response to technological developments. Karin and Thomas (2008, pg. 130) explained that “the once stable system of mainstream media now faces competition from multi-faceted […] to which people connect through interactive technologies such as computers, mobiles, gaming consoles.” Following from this explanation, it could be argued that transmedia story telling is being used more often due to cross platform media. When looking at The Simpsons, producers have used a variety of ways to keep their audiences and fans engaged with the Simpsons phenomenon. After a season of shorts were successful on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987, the show was commissioned by Fox for weekly half hour episodes. Davidson (2010, p.10) explains that in most cases “cross-media is considered after some media event is successful enough to become a tent-pole and support other related media experiences.” Although The Simpsons did cause some controversy, the show was a huge success and in 1991 The Simpsons Arcade game was released by Konami. “It was a quintessential coin-op beat 'em up that came along at a time when the genre was thriving and Simpsons mania had not long set in.” (Langshaw, 2014) The video game was the first example of transmedia story telling within the Simpsons world.

In the game, the Simpson family are taking a walk in town until Homer bumps into Mr Burns and Smithers who have just robbed a jewellery store. The game begins after Maggie, (who accidentally mistakes her dummy for the precious stone) is kidnapped by Smithers. The game follows the same style and gameplay of Konami’s other arcade games such as X-Men and Teenage Ninja Turtles, however the same conventions are adopted and applied to The Simpsons Arcade Game. The game could hold up to 4 players – one for each member of the Simpsons family and had eight levels. Jenkins (2011) describes transmedia story telling as a deepening of audience interaction, thus the game offers fans to become active and to take control of the Simpsons world whereas before, the TV show only offered limited viewership. Within the arcade game, there are many prevalent references to Season 1 of The Simpsons. The game features many of series iconic sceneries, characters and scenes thus supporting Jenkins idea of telling the same story across various platforms (Jenkins, 2011). The main characters, Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa all have abilities which link into their characters from the show. For example, Marge who is represented as a household mother in the series has the advantage of swinging a vacuum at her enemies. Bart whom is represented as the stereotypical “misbehaving” boy has a skateboard to use as a weapon and Lisa uses a skipping rope as a whip against the ‘baddies’. Iconic sceneries such as Moes Tavern, The Nuclear Power Plant and Springfield Cemetery are prime examples of how the storyline from the TV show has progressed onto the arcade game. By using selected characters, audiences could choose which character best represented themselves leading onto an immersive user experience.  “I always picked Bart, because Bart understood my pre-teen angst and also Bart had a skateboard.” (Pierce, 2014).

Although the game follows arcade ‘pixilation’ – the characters are animated to suit arcade conventions rather the ‘comic’ convention they follow in the series, there is a clear connection between scenes from the series and the game. The ongoing narrative of Moe answering the phone to Barts prank calls within the series is mimicked within the game. When entering Moes Tavern, Moe is seen picking up the phone to Barts pranks. Following from this, Barney – a notable alcoholic in the TV series, is a character featured within this level. Langshaw (2014) explained that “Konami played fast and loose with some aspects of the source material, but the end result felt like it was developed for Simpsons fans, by Simpsons fans.” Another aspect of transmedia storytelling is that it rewards dedicated fans. For example, in the series, Marge Simpson’s strange vertical hairstyle was supposedly used to conceal bunny ears on her head. This was to be revealed in the last episode of Series 1, however the idea was cut after disputes between producers. However if Marge is zapped or if her hair is hoovered in the arcade game her bunny ears are revealed.

Fig 8, Marge's bunny ears (Ward, 2012)

 Jenkins (2007) described how transmedia story telling allows different mediums to contribute its unique influence to the overall unfolding story. Through transmedia storytelling, producers were able to confirm rumours behind Marge’s hair outside of the TV series thus greatly rewarding a Simpson fan. This example of rewarding fans with information that is not disclosed in the series links to Jenkins (2007) idea of “transmedia storytelling expands what can be known about a particular fictional world while dispersing that information, insuring that no one consumer knows everything.” Not every viewer of The Simpsons will understand the iconographies portrayed in the arcade game and vice versa, thus the game and transmedia storytelling as a whole offers a rewarding experience to an observant and dedicated fan.

The rise of digital technologies and participatory culture

Moving on from the 1990 arcade game, the Simpsons franchise has expanded across other mediums, strengthening the Simpsons universe as a whole. Come 2012, The Simpsons: Tapped Out was released as a mobile app for Androids and IOS users. The mobile game is a prime example of how technology has advanced to offer media across new mediums. The availability of media accessed across different mediums has led to fans becoming the ‘participants’ (Jenkins, 2012). Participatory culture is the term used to describe the complex and intertwining relationship between the producer and consumer. Jenkins (2012, pg. 22) adds on “media industries have had to embrace participatory strategies in order to court and maintain relations with their fans at a time when logic of ‘engagement’ shapes many of their policies and promotions”. This interpretation of participatory culture can be applied to Tapped Out since it allows its users to create and ‘engage’ with their own unique Simpsons world. This was the first medium in the Simpsons world where fans could become ‘participators’ of the product in order to greatly intensify their relations with the Simpsons world. Messinger et al (2009, pg. 205) argued, “members participate in virtual worlds through their avatars which are graphical representations of themselves”. Although this is true when looking at The Sims or Second Life as users can personalize their avatars to carry certain traits and characteristics, Tapped Out, doesn’t allow users to choose which avatar represents them – they can only initially play Homer. The game allows users to re-build, create and control their virtual Springfield after Homer (protagonist) has an accident at the Springfield nuclear power plant and destroys Springfield. The mobile app is a ‘freenium’, a term coined by Jarid Lukin (2006) which describes apps that are initially free to download however certain elements cost within the gameplay. As the game progresses and levels are unlocked, users do have the choice of picking certain characters for certain parts of the game. For example, once Springfield elementary school has been purchased and built in the virtual world, the user will be rewarded in $255 in virtual money if Bart goes to school for 6 hours. This links in with transmedia storytelling as there is an ongoing narrative in the TV series behind Bart and his ‘disobeying’ attitude towards school. The game runs on virtual currency where the user can play to be rewarded or the user can buy virtual money with real currency. It could be argued that realism is injected to virtual worlds due to the freedom the user has over the game and how aspects of the real world (i.e real currency) are used within the game. Supporting this sense of realism, the Simpsons universe allows users to inject their own storyline and bond with the Simpsons characters on a more personal level. Every virtual world that users creates will be different and unique from one to another. Furthermore, Messinger et al (2009) argued that there is an ‘injection of realism’ through the progression of daily time in a 1 second to 1 minute ratio, and this supported by expansion settings and freedom of movement create an immersive environment. Through participatory culture, the mediums become real as the users take control. Jenkins (2012, pg. 53) supports this idea and argues “such intense interaction eventually leads many fans toward the creation of new texts, the writing of original stories.” Tapped Out encourages its fans to build a world of their own and thus a story of their own.

The game is a reward to the super fans as transmedia storytelling plays a big part behind the writing and script of Tapped Out. The game is constantly being updated with new additions and this constant push of new material keeps the user constantly engaged with the Simpsons Universe. Writer of the series and game Steward Burns explained the game offers to add backstory and content in light of the upcoming episodes. “Small updates tied into new episodes of the show. It seemed like a nice back-and-forth promotion: The game promotes the show, and the show is essentially promoting the game, because people are getting the game because they know and love the show and want to build their little Springfields” (Burns, 2014) This supports Jenkins (2012) idea that engagement shapes many industries promotions. Furthermore, Trapped Out also uses iconographies from The Simpsons Arcade Game, therefore fully immersing superfans between three different mediums during three different time periods – TV series, 1989, the arcade game, 1991 and the mobile game, 2012. It is worth noting that transmedia story telling at this level only rewards superfans as mentioned before,  “with the game, we have more freedom to make jokes we think are going to be really funny for a couple of people that are super fans.” (Burns 2014) Not every player would recognize certain jokes or references made between the game and TV show anchoring Jenkins (2011) idea ‘the extension’ transmedia storytelling “may add a greater sense of realism to the fiction as a whole.”