"Creating Coherent Worlds"
Coherent basically means consistent and realistic. Therefore we are looking at how a world is created coherently throughout different medias.
"Transmedia"
Transmedia is basically the use of different types of media to convey a world and narrative. A good example of this is Star Wars, as it has films, short animated films, games, Lego, etc.
After this we began to look at Coherent worlds and the notion of 'Theme'.
Games have themes, and these themes make the overall experience stronger and more realistic. All elements of a game, TV show or film work towards creating this one theme. The theme has to be precise, it cannot be just 'pirates' as this is far too open. A theme must be specific.
It can be said that all themes derive from childhood stories, and are themes that follow a particular pattern. These stories have always been told to children, but another influential movement was of the comic strip which started to be printed in the 1930's. They started as strips in the local paper, as cliffhanger episodes with compelling characters and narratives.
From this we went on to talk about the ultimate Coherent world; The Theme Park.
The way a Disney theme is set up, for example, is just like a game. With writing on the floor directing you to a certain area, moving around a jungle and then a castle etc. An early example of this is world fairs and expos. These were the earliest attractions which follow the same theme, as well as 'freak shows'.
Storytelling in games has grown over the years to become a major part of their design process. Early games such as Centipede or Astroids have no set narrative. The earliest narrative game was called 'ZORK' and this was a text based adventure game. Narratives in games must be compelling and have meaningful challenges and obstacles so the player feels immersed in this environment.
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