Xbox One, Transmedia Entertainment Hub

Following Microsoft’s abrupt about-face regarding an always-on connection and used game red tape for its new Xbox One, policy for the company’s machine has now fallen in line with their largest competitor, Sony’s PS4. E3 backlash from the would-be fans of the platform hit hard, but Microsoft listened…for now.

The details of the system had been murky until recently due to the market posturing that has been ongoing since the news on next generation game consoles started around the first of the year. This will likely continue until the actual release of both of the systems coming in the fourth quarter of 2013, but Microsoft’s mulligan may prove to be a lifesaver for what would have been a very grave error for an otherwise promising system.

The Xbox One is interesting on many accounts due to the further integration of Kinect voice and gesture interface control systems, use of the cloud for enhancing system performance, and finally, enhanced non-gaming entertainment which allows the user to operate their live TV through an Xbox interface rather than through the interfaces provided by the cable company’s boxes.

Transmedia entertainment could get a big boost in public awareness through this next generation console experience. It will be possible for Xbox owners to simultaneously watch TV and have an Internet browser window from a single location rather than across devices. While this is nothing new for PC gamers, it is a huge step forward for mainstream entertainment to use these machines in ways that have never been possible before. My last post touched on Syfy’s Defiance game and TV series; by having a console that you can play the game on, and console processes that make instant switching to live TV possible when the series airs, the franchise’s aim to have an integrated experience, could become much more seamless of an experience.  

Microsoft has been sending fans of the platform on a rollercoaster ride since details emerged from the first event. That lackluster launch event in May upset many fans and led them to believe that the manufacturer had possibly lost its focus on the gamers that made the predecessor so successful. Then, the June E3 bomb regarding a required always-on connection to the network and used games debacle, which they quickly rescinded, has taken those that care about new Xbox One from heightened levels of excitement and anticipation, to the pits of despair and disappointment. With a Sony price-point set at $100 less and none of the used game headaches, Sony could have developed a substantial lead in the console war of this generation. By reneging on the policy changes while remaining firm on price, Microsoft has positioned itself more securely due to most of their exclusive titles being highly sought after by the console gaming public, but Sony is certainly coming across as more reliable to target end-users.

There are still many things about next-gen console gaming that we don’t know yet, but in a sense, that’s nothing new. What we do know is that as this cycle matures, there will be many incredible options for players and lovers of interactive entertainment. With capabilities that these new systems provide, game developers who never seem short on creative application will give us as users many things to enjoy and talk about for the next 7-10 years. 

Mainstream Transmedia: SyFy and Trion’s Defiance

In the last year, I have explored many of the different facets surrounding transmedia and how technology is spearheading convergent media efforts to make for some very exciting entertainment options for fans. Multi-platform entertainment is here to stay, and embryonic efforts like the SyFy channel’s “Defiance” television series and concurrent game release “Defiance” MMORPG third-person shooter from Trion Worlds are helping to establish this form of storytelling in ways that are interesting, but also imperfect in the delivery.

After setting series debut records for a SyFy original series with 2.7 million viewers in the initial episode, television viewership for the “Defiance” effort has dwindled due to mixed reviews. Amazingly, the game portion has received mostly (there are exceptions) banal reviews and suffers from similar creativity and inspiration failures as the TV series, but has over one million registered users as of May.

Could this effort, widely described as “vanilla” and rote, all be due to a need to “play it safe” for the SyFy channel, as they have invested over $100 million into this transmedia effort? Historically, going the play it safe route doesn’t bode very well for getting fans back into the action once you have lost them, and these problems are now two-fold due to having a mediocre video game as well. Personally, I applaud the dual platform concept, while simultaneously finding the execution a bit off-putting.

An article from Rob Bricken of io9 breaks down the component parts of “Defiance” and makes plenty of comparisons to other science fiction franchises as well as Shakespearian themes that are present in the franchise. It seems that SyFy may be attempting to test the themes that are “sticky” with the audience, in order to mitigate the risk…hoping that something will attract fans to the series. This is the essence of what I find so disappointing, the total lack of innovation and edginess.

Part of the problem with “Defiance”, besides the lackluster storyline, revolves around the fact that the relationship between SyFy executives and the creators of the game, Trion Worlds, has been strained from the onset. Disagreements regarding launch dates and pilot episode scripting plots seemingly could have been ironed out in a far more adult fashion. For instance, an article found on Bloomberg Businessweek mentions both the release schedule and script writing as the two major problems* that the collaboration faced.

(*NOTE-- In my experience, when issues begin to bubble up from various contributing members associated with a project, there is a whole lot more than just two instances that have caused problems, these just made it to public awareness.)

It is widely recognized that a December release for a video game is ideal, yet a TV series release at that time of year could spell disaster. Trion wanted December, and SyFy wanted July, they ended up “compromising” on April. Another article mentions how season 1 of the TV series will not be able to incorporate much of the player action from the game due to not having enough in-game plots having been played. It seems like the perfect opportunity instead to allow both companies to release their individual products at the most opportune time. This strategy would have allowed considerable in-game plot to be developed and hence injected into the first season of the show. Maybe SyFy wasn’t confident about the product that was developed? Maybe they were afraid of giving away spoilers? There ARE a number of potential reasons why they would not go for this, but as trite as everything has been thus far, I don’t see a really good reason.

Secondly, it is common practice for game developers to write what is known as a “Bible”, a document that lists absolutely every detail of story history, character type, and every piece of information about the universe that is being created. The problem was, when Trion handed over the Story Bible, the SyFy writers were overwhelmed and stated that it was too “convoluted” to write their two-hour pilot script! Baffling to me, having parameters should make things easier first and foremost, but why wouldn’t there be more of an effort to have the writers themselves collaborate more effectively? Whether you are a game writer or a scriptwriter the fact remains that you have a skill for telling a story, only technical differences in the technique of delivery. With a mindset of collaboration and joint-effort, this should have been a non-issue. Both SyFy and Trion Worlds, I assume, wanted a successful launch for both of these products. That’s what transmedia represents, narrative storytelling opportunities; yet these professionals seem to have been stuck in their siloes, unable to unstick themselves from the processes of the past.

Make no mistake, as an Entertainment Business Master’s student I understand how pressure builds when substantial sums of money are on the line. This project had over $100 million dollars on the line and over two years of development leading up to the April 2013 release, but the innovation is in the concept itself, while being found minimally in the individual products.

While I am in love with the idea of a game and TV series intertwined, “Defiance” hasn’t done it for me yet. Also, although the series has recently been given the green light for a season two, I don’t know if it is for the right reasons. Maybe SyFy feels that too much has been invested to not give this further effort, or maybe they feel that they can pull more people in as the story develops further, only they know.

Perhaps the problem with the “Defiance” situation rests in the fact that the two companies had divergent goals for a convergent type of experience. Hopefully moving forward into season two of the show they are able to expand the integration with the game through synergistic effort in accordance with the native underlying roots of a transmedia experience. I have been pulling for this franchise due to the transmedia delivery and hope that they can pull it together and start delivering innovative content that is in accordance with the concept.