The World of The Walking Dead – Transmediality and Transmedial Intermediality

Abstract

Abstract. As transmedia franchises increasingly populate our cultural environment, many questions arise about the effect of the different media involved in the depiction of storyworlds. Through the analysis of different examples, with special emphasis on the particular case of The Walking Dead, and drawing primarily from Henry Jenkins's concept of "transmedia aims to show how different media aesthetics contribute to the process of storytelling and enrich the experience of the consumer. Usually overlooked in other analyses, we argue that these formal and aesthetical characteristics, such as the interactive nature of video games, call for a broader approach that transcends the accustomed search of common narrative aspects. ThisThe Walking Dead: The Game (Telltale Games, 2012) and The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct (Terminal Reality, 2013). The transformations that the different media demand contribute not only to the narrative, but also provide different tools for the construction of storyworlds and different ways to engage with it.

Prosumer engagement through story-making in transmedia branding

“…Kinder’s (1991) concept of transmedia is multidisciplinary, drawing from various academic disciplines, and became more prominent when Jenkins (2003) linked it to storytelling. The concept of transmedia has the property of intermediality, which refers to the interdependence of contemporary communication media, where story fragments are spread across different media platforms and formats with different entry points (see Beil and Schmidt, 2015: 73).…”

The narrativization of ludic elements in videogame fanfiction

“…The intermedial relationship between videogames and films has been explored in the literature (Beil and Schmidt, 2015; Bittanti, 2003; Kallay, 2013; Lahdenperä, 2018; Mack, 2016; Sell, 2021; Thoss, 2014). These and other scholars have looked at different forms of remediation, such as the use of the forking path (Kallay, 2013; Lahdenperä, 2018), the quest structure (Sell, 2021), the extra life (Thoss, 2014), the avatar (Mack, 2016; Sell, 2021), and the meanings of adapted elements in the new contexts (Lahdenperä, 2018; Sell, 2021).…”