Over the hols I read a few books, one of which is a book by Dan Shaffer: Designing for Interaction (thanks Larissa). It provides a good overview of the area but doesn’t go into depth. I appreciated the clear descriptions of the various approaches to the area though. This post, however, is not a review. I wanted to share my delight in seeing a section on ‘Transmedia Interactions’! Wohoo! At last, a book that recognises that transmedia interaction design is unique and important. What is also exciting is that ARGs are cited! Wohoo again! Here is some text from the section:
We are starting to see content cross between media channels as never before, and interaction designers will frequently have to work to these different channels. […] This transmedia experience finds its fullest expression in what are being called alternate reality games (ARGs).
And then there is a two-page case-study of the ARG Perplex City, which was written by Micheal Smith of Mind Candy Design. Unfortunately too, the case-study provides no info about their transmedia design — it is just a short description of the project. But hey, I’m just thrilled to see transmedia has hit the interaction design radar, in a book. It has already hit the radar of a big conference happening this year. I know because I’ve been asked to give a keynote on cross-media interaction design. I’m so excited. More info coming soon. :0