Archive for June, 2008

Gabe Newell and the VALVE gang just hosted a press event to evangelize for the PC as ultimate gaming platform. You can read about it HERE. It’s spot-on about so many things. How ubiquitous the damn things are. How familiar people are with using a PC. And how the onus is on entertainment creators, from all media, to go beyond the product — and create an experience.

I was just chatting with Mike Mettler from Sound and Vision magazine about this. Specifically how it relates to BLU-RAY. How the web connectivity of BLU-RAY players allows consumers access to exclusive content. Sure you could Netflix a DVD. And then Handbrake it for your collection. Or wait for the Torrent to download. But if you’ve got the BluRay disc in your BluRay player — there can be some very cool stuff that you can enjoy that others can’t: commentaries, storyboards, live chat, exclusive video, ARG content, etc.

I would love to design content for a ubiquitous platform like the PC. A platform that can get me the same number of eyeballs (and more!) as broadcast TV. It’d be a Game. With narrative story extension. And all of it connected. Tracking how people play the game, and also view the content, then using that data to tailor an immersive experience for them along the lines of the transmedia stuff I’ve done at HEROES.

I wonder if any companies out there really have the vision, and more critically — the organizational structure — to execute and deliver that type of content.

I know this is old news. And I’ve said all of it before. But the Valve story got me fired up. So check it out. Maybe you’ll get some cool ideas.

I’ve been looking at my FACEBOOK friends list a lot lately. The collection of accomplished individuals is staggering. Movie Makers. Comic Book Makers. Tech Wizards. Corporate Consultants. Brilliant Thinkers. Not to mention the all ‘round creative types just waiting for the chance to play with the big dogs.

So where is the toolset that will allow virtual networks like this to collaborate? How can we make a movie together? A comic book? A video game? Etc. Do we really need to wait for Internet 2 and the Semantic Web? Or are there ways that the power of existing networks can be tapped beyond FREE RICE clicking, and SCRABBLE?

My pals have an amazing website called JACKET FLAP. It’s a community for people interested in the world of Children’s Book Publishing. They’ve managed to attract an impressive number of professionals from that industry, along with hundreds of thousands of aspiring writers and illustrators. Think of all that potential waiting to be unleashed. With the right leadership, tools, and the will to make stuff — there is no reason the Jacket Flap community shouldn’t be cranking out original material on a regular basis. Publishing their works to the web, and into pulp-space via sites like CREATESPACE.

Distribution is no longer an issue. Anybody can make something at their desktop, or in their garage, and put it out there. But in this competitive world — the power of virtual collaboration will be key to making content that reaches more than a niche audience on You Tube, and exists as a sustainable business model.

UPDATE: My pal Keith Boesky thinks KLUSTER is doing great things with collaboration on the web. I wonder if they make a widget, or facebook app, that could integrate with my existing network — rather than forcing me to join theirs.