Presentation given to Toronto 101 to introduce Conducttr and explain how to build a participatory story around traditional linear media. If you're excited by this kind of storytelling, please join our Community at http://members.tstoryteller.com

1. Participatory Storytelling
Transmedia 101
Toronto, Canada July 25th 2012
Robert Pratten
CEO & Founder, Transmedia Storyteller Ltd
@robpratten

2. Robert Pratten
CEO & Founder, Transmedia Storyteller Ltd

3. Transmedia Storyteller Ltd
“be remarkable”

4. Storytelling with Conducttr
Narrative Gaming Rewards
Levels
Collaboration
Competition
Characters
Plot
Events
Things Social
Networking Participation,
Conversation

5. 30-min participatory story

6. http://pigsvswolf.tumblr.com/

7. Decision points…
Straw Sticks Bricks
9 mins 18 mins 28 mins
Pig1 < Wolf? Pig 2 < Wolf? Pig 3 < Wolf?
Pig1 >= Wolf? Pig 2>= Wolf? Pig 3>= Wolf?

8. Choose a side!
@1st_little_pig RUN @bigbadwolf_2011 BLOW
@2nd_little_pig RUN
@3rd_little_pig RUN

9. Stay informed of results?
Text STATUS to (563) 219-7088

11. Content released over 15 day period

12. Game accessed via blogs – used real
and custom websites to set challenges
http://ortegapi.posterous.com/
http://a-cops-wife-life.blogspot.com/

13. Lowlifes 2.0

14. Story-in-the-Cloud
Character’s live 24/7 in the cloud

15. Characters connect experience
.. with online
.. with mobile
..between product releases

16. Conducttr – Under the Hood
Conducttr: Pervasive Entertainment Platform
Broadcast & reply emails, Tweets, SMS
Content Layer Publish blog posts, videos, images,
Facebook updates
Events – when “stuff” should happen
Control Layer Actions – personalization of experience
Real World Audience

17. Under The Hood - Audience
Audience
Audience is viewed as:
• individual (just you)
• community (everyone)
Individual Community • group (segments of everyone)
Individual Groups Everyone

18. Audience variables
Email
Contact Details Twitter
Mobile
Language? Community-level
Groups Level? personalization
Trait?
Health?
Individual –level
Custom Fields Stamina? personalization
Power
NB: Custom Fields also available for other entities such as
Characters and Touchpoints

19. Alien encounter readiness (SMS)
(575) 208 5005
TEST your readiness for alien encounters!
Reply TEST to answer two questions that will
reveal more about yourself than you knew!
– Q1: You suffer an alien abduction but are returned
to Earth. What do you do? Reply keep SECRET or
GO PUBLIC
– Q2: You find yourself impregnated with an an alien
child. What do you do? Reply give BIRTH or KILL it.

20. Results create personalize
experience
SECRET PUBLIC
You are a PERFECT HOST for alien You are an EXHIBITIONIST who
BIRTH explorers. Your willingness to seeks celebrity in two solar
keep an alien lovechild and tell systems. We are wary of you but
nobody has been noted and will we may use you if it suits our
be rewarded. cause.
You are an EARTH WARRIOR -
KILL You are a SILENT RECLUSE. You
ready to make a stand against
crave alien attention but are
alien invasion and exploration.
afraid to show your affection.
You are not to be trusted.

21. Engagement
Goal: delight each individual with personalized, surprising, evolving content
Conducttr Audience
call to action
Content Layer call to action
Individual Community
action
Control Layer
Real World
community action
personalization
community-driven
story evolution

22. Welcome to our Worlds

23. Connected experience
Your Story/Experience
Native cross-platform experience written
without code to run from the cloud on social
networks (and on other sites such as tablet
apps, social games, consoles, forums etc. via
Conducttr API with coding)
Audience

24. Invite the world into your World
Trailer or Website
Description
Date & time information
The platforms the World lives on

25. XP Progress & Achievements
,

26. Mobile app

27. Conducttr Ecosystem
• Cloud-based intelligence
• Mobile app
• API
• Authored via any web browser with no coding.

28. Linear story

29. Branching narrative
decision point alternative endings
A
B
C

30. Open storyworld
Exposition
plot point
character detail

31. TV/Web Series + Open Storyworld
AUDIENCE-DRIVEN
PARTICIPATION
EPISODIC Video

32. Open storyworld + TV/Web Series
MANCHESTER

33. Facebook Participatory Story

34. Goal
• Avoid another genre story ;)
• Demonstrate that participation is not “giving up
control to the crowd”
• Solution: Short story about family relationships

35. The Brothers

36. The Story
• A day with two brothers whose father’s
funeral is the day before Mother’s Day.
• Three “episodes”:
– Funeral
– The night between
– Mother’s Day lunch

37. Participation
• Audience can read either or both brothers on
Facebook
• Brothers twice ask Facebook friends for help
– What to do that evening after the funeral
– Whether to go to the Mother’s Day lunch

38. Timing & pacing
• Decision: Campaign or Re-playable?
– Play out over specific date & times or…
– Play out based on repeatable trigger event
• Decide scene and decision timing
Funeral Night before Mother’s Day
Monday Monday Monday Tuesday Tuesday Date & time
9am Noon 5pm 9am Noon
Event + Event + Event + Event + Event + Event + relative time
Time=0 Time=3hrs Time=8hrs Time=1day Time=1day, 3hrs

39. Jargon
• Community = the whole audience
• Person = only one member of the audience

40. Personalization
• Community-driven story
– Comments on Facebook decide what each brother
does the night after the funeral
– Although both brothers will go to the lunch,
comments on Facebook decide how the scene plays
out
• Personalized story
– Each brother’s reaction to individual Facebook friends
(e.g. the audience) is determined by comparing that
person’s recommendation/suggestion with the
community-driven decision

41. Characters & relationships
Audience
COMMUNITY EFFECTS of INTERACTION
How the character relationships change over time
Brian Richard is affected by the audience interaction. That is,
audience interaction causes an action by Richard
that cause a reaction from the other people in his
life.
PERSONAL EFFECTS of INTERACTION
Mum Wife The characters also change their relationship with
the audience member. For example if a person
gave good advice, was supportive or negative etc.

42. Mother’s Day scene
Four possible ways for
a. the scene to play out
Forrest A B based on Community
RICHARD
decision
b. to interact with audience
member based on
Beach C D comments they made
Younger Older
woman woman
BRIAN
The scenes with the brothers reveal different information about them and
hence changes the relationship between the brothers and the audience. That’s
why the Mother’s Day scene has four possible endings – the scene is written
knowing what the audience knows and what it doesn’t
New parameter: Which mother’s day card?

43. 16 end points!
Mother’s Day Lunch Mother’s Day Lunch
Plain card Plain card
Old Beach
Strange Strange
card card
Forrest Young
Plain card Plain card
Young Forrest
Strange Strange
card card
Richard Brian
Plain card
Plain card
Old
Strange Beach
card Strange
Beach card
Old
Plain card
Plain card
Young
Strange Forrest
card Strange
card

44. Information revealed?
Tony
Forrest
A B
RICHARD
Car
Beach
C D
Fly Apples
Younger Older
BRIAN

45. Open story?
Richard
Forrest Beach
Lunch
Young Old
Brian
Tony Car Fly Apples
Richard Brian

46. 4 end points
Tony Car
Plain card
Brian
Strange
card
Fly Apples
Plain card
Richard
Strange
card

47. Events in conclusion have new significance
Tony Car Tony
Plain card
Brian Fly
Strange
card
Fly Apples Apples Car
Plain card
Richard
Strange
card

48. TV/Web Series + Open Storyworld
AUDIENCE-DRIVEN
PARTICIPATION
EPISODIC Video

49. Facebook + TV/Web series
Tony Car Fly Apples
Richard Brian
Script
Tony
Fly
Old Car
Episode 1 : Funeral Episode 2 : Mother’s Day

50. Engagement
plain strange
?
Episode 1 : Funeral Episode 2 : Mother’s Day

51. Companion mobile app

52. The End
Robert Pratten
robert@tstoryteller.com
@robpratten
USA: +1 415 287 4150
Europe: +44 207 193 4567