Computers: Me and You
First, we need to over clock the word computer.
Over clock? Amp it up. Turn it to eleven. Overload.
Everything is a computer. Laptops are computers. Desktops are computers. Notebooks are computers. Phones, even flips, are computers. Watches are computers. Cars are computers. Video game consoles. Video game cartridges. Lore-based computers inside the video game cartridge. People are computers. Everything is a computer, yes, even me and you.
Hi. I am Ty, a transmedia storyteller, formerly an engineer at Netflix, and now I am building and am a creating a game for boosting computer literacy and a book that explains all the mysteries.
What's a transmedia storyteller?
Stories have always grown alongside available technology at the time. Before written language, all story was spoken. With the advent of the printing press, a rush of knowledge spread from pages flying around the world faster than ever.
Classic childrens fairy tales became animated with musical scores and silver screens. Eventually, drawing boards became graphics cards and paper became Silicon Valley.
But books never went away. Paper remained, despite increasingly more advanced technology. Why?
A book can be left on a shelf for centuries, picked up and continued. The pictures are drawn in by the mind of the reader.
Aphantasia is a phenomenon that leaves the person experiencing it incapable of picturing things in their mind. Put another way, a picture is worth 1,000 words, for a person with aphantasia, they'll want to see a picture and not just read 1,000 words.
Cognitive understanding is different from perceptual understanding.
Show a person with aphantasia a picture of the 1,000 words they just read and they'll say, “Oh, I see what you mean now” from their eyes and not their mind's eye.
Snow White began as a book, became a film, then a global phenomenon and eventually even became cloned from Reality Animated into Reality Reality in the performers that bring their digital Snow White twin to life.
Transmedia storytelling is bringing characters like Snow White from your imagination to the page, the stage, and the screen— whether that screen is in a theater or on your computer— whether that computer is a laptop, desktop, notebook, phone, watch, car, or even a video game.
The key to transmedia storytelling is that the medium is the message. Blog posts will be more in depth, some might even say, “dry.” Radio ads will be 30 seconds. Billboards have a tagline or two. Watches have four buttons. Episodes will have a few characters. Films will have every character and a complete arc for each. Books will be the absolute tell all that'll make everything make sense.
The game will have your character with the tools you need to tell your transmedia story. Immersive interactive experiences— transmedia stories.
Pre-orders coming soon.
Video Game Main Quest (all platforms): $30
Video Game Strategy Guide (book+all platforms): $30