Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Alt-Minds is a 'transmedia fiction' from Amy publishers, coming November 5]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/26/alt-minds-is-a-transmedia-fiction-from-amy-publishers-coming/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/26/alt-minds-is-a-transmedia-fiction-from-amy-publishers-coming/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/26/alt-minds-is-a-transmedia-fiction-from-amy-publishers-coming/#comments AltMinds, from makers of Amy, coming November 5Lexis Numérique is setting its sights on its next title: Alt-Minds, a game the publisher claims will feature "a true transmedia fiction." Its first title since launching the less-than illustrious horror game Amy, the European publisher says that Alt-Minds will arrive on both PC and Mac on November 5, along with a companion app.

Alt-Minds follows the story of five young scientists working on a mysterious physics experiment. While the PC/Mac game will tell the core story, players will also be able to use the location-based app to find story clues in the real world, and get (oh so not creepy) texts and phone calls directly from the story's characters.

The experience will take place over eight weeks, with participants being given clues or missions at any time during the period. If you can't be on your computer all of the time, the game will also have a "catch-up mode," to access past missions and re-play live events. To help tell its story, Alt-Minds will have a web series of ten seven-minute episodes, explaining the scientific background of the proceedings as they unfold.

The full experience will be free for everyone for a week. After that, players will need to pay about $5 per episode or around $30 for the entire series.

Continue reading Alt-Minds is a 'transmedia fiction' from Amy publishers, coming November 5

JoystiqAlt-Minds is a 'transmedia fiction' from Amy publishers, coming November 5 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alt-mindsamydevelopersiosipadlexis-numeriquemobilepcpublisherssmartphonetablettransmediaWed, 26 Sep 2012 22:00:00 EST<![CDATA[THQ and Random House team up for new transmedia IPs]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/04/thq-and-random-house-team-up-for-new-transmedia-ips/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/04/thq-and-random-house-team-up-for-new-transmedia-ips/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/04/thq-and-random-house-team-up-for-new-transmedia-ips/#comments Hot on the heels of the Homefront prequel novel, Homefront: The Voice of Freedom, comes THQ's announcement of a partnership with Random House Publishing. The agreement between the two publishers will see the creation of "original intellectual properties for publication across multiple mediums." The first such property is said to embrace the publishers' strong suits -- games and books -- with other mediums to be explored in future IP.

THQ also has big plans to build out story franchise bibles with Random House Worlds, the book publisher's "IP creation and development group." Bungie's Halo franchise is a prime example of a game's universe being expanded and curated through novels, and it's a "transmedia" success story that other publishers are likely to covet.

If THQ wants to hasten its success in both games and novels, maybe it should get cracking on that romantic, teen-cyborg-vampire saga set during World War II.

JoystiqTHQ and Random House team up for new transmedia IPs originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>lenny-brownrandom-houserandom-house-publishingthqtransmediaMon, 04 Apr 2011 10:07:00 EST<![CDATA[THQ's Bilson: Metro 2033 'wasn't properly nurtured,' sequel to address issues]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/14/thq-bilson-metro-2033-wasnt-properly-nurtured-sequel-to-a/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/14/thq-bilson-metro-2033-wasnt-properly-nurtured-sequel-to-a/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/14/thq-bilson-metro-2033-wasnt-properly-nurtured-sequel-to-a/#comments Last March, Metro 2033 snuck up on our reviewer radar and went on to earn respectable Metacritic scores of 77 on Xbox 360 and 81 on PC among critics at large. Though THQ CEO Brian Farrell characterized the title as "very profitable" for the publisher, it wasn't exactly burning up the sales charts. Speaking with the company's VP of Core Games, Danny Bilson, this week, we asked about Metro 2033 falling short of its potential.

"I'll give you the straight answer: It wasn't properly supported in all areas," Bilson said frankly. "It was a cool deal," he explained of the publishing agreement with developer 4A Games, "where it was inexpensive and they were doing their stuff."

"Did the game need polish in certain areas? Yes." he admitted. "So when I say it wasn't fully supported, it was product development and marketing that didn't support it the way it should've been." Bilson described Metro 2033 as "an orphan stepchild," saying that "a great marketer picked it up with four months to go and did what he could with four months to go, but it wasn't properly nurtured by marketing."

The absence of polish, Bilson assured, won't be an issue for Metro 2034, the in-development sequel. "The new one doesn't have any of those issues," Bilson said. "I green-lit the sequel before [the first] one shipped, because I know what [4A Games is] capable of -- I knew how cool it was."

Continue reading THQ's Bilson: Metro 2033 'wasn't properly nurtured,' sequel to address issues

JoystiqTHQ's Bilson: Metro 2033 'wasn't properly nurtured,' sequel to address issues originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>4a-gamesdanny-bilsondmitry-glukhovskydmitry-glukovskymareketingMetro-2033metro-2034microsoftpcplaystationthqtransmediaxboxFri, 14 Jan 2011 12:02:00 EST<![CDATA[inSane trilogy game rights held by THQ, del Toro keeps movie rights]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/13/insane-trilogy-game-rights-held-by-thq-del-toro-keeps-movie-rig/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/13/insane-trilogy-game-rights-held-by-thq-del-toro-keeps-movie-rig/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/13/insane-trilogy-game-rights-held-by-thq-del-toro-keeps-movie-rig/#comments Wanna hear something crazy? Guillermo del Toro's inSane game project is gonna be a trilogy. Of course, that lengthy proposal, as documented by THQ, will still be bound by reason -- at least, by the reasonable success of the "first chapter in the series," due in 2013. (Remember how that Too Human "trilogy" started ... and stalled?)

"With this new series of video games, I want to take players to a place they have never seen before, where every single action makes them question their own senses of morality and reality," said a confident del Toro as if narrating atop the mysterious and positively creepy teaser (embedded after the break). "THQ and Volition, Inc. are equally excited to make this vision of a completely new game universe into a reality."

Not only excited, THQ is heavily invested in what it's dubbed "an original trilogy of triple-A games." The publisher will retain the intellectual property rights to the inSane games, while del Toro holds the rights to any associated "filmed entertainment" projects. It sounds like our sanity could be tested. A lot.

Continue reading inSane trilogy game rights held by THQ, del Toro keeps movie rights

JoystiqinSane trilogy game rights held by THQ, del Toro keeps movie rights originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>filmguillermo-del-toroinsanemicrosoftmoviemoviespcplaystationps3rightsthqtransmediavolitionxboxMon, 13 Dec 2010 11:55:00 EST