Anthony Zuiker, creator of the CSI franchise, thinks there are golden opportunities for cross-platform storytelling, and is pitching Silicon Valley on the virtues of brands like, well, like his own ubiquitous series.
Now, I know the ESC folks don’t like me categorizing the CSI build in Second Life as a failure, it met their metrics, they say. And Zuiker isn’t saying anything new here: in fact, he said the same stuff almost exactly a year ago:
“There’s going to be a time when all TV shows–and this could be 5-10 years from now–need to engage in a) the television first, b) the web–you need to have a web native show that’s five minutes long that’s You Tube-esque that really enforces or reinforces the narrative that doesn’t smell like television, and then there’s c) a mobile approach that gives you alerts and interactivity with the phone and d) there’s a gaming aspect to where you go through some casual game element that will unlock more content, more narrative but will drive you back to television. If there’s one mistake the industry is making right now, it’s that they’re trying to put the content on every device possible–even your watch, but they’re not doing anything to drive the narrative and the viewer back to TV, where it all has to begin and end. When it doesn’t, I think we’re in trouble. “
He foresaw a flood of viewers to Second Life:
“The most exciting thing for me–of course we’re trying to break new ground in television, I just want to see what happens when you invite 16 million viewers and a group from Second Life to the same party. The servers either all melt down or it takes on a life of its own. It’s incredibly exciting. ”
Now, what really happened was that neither the servers crashed nor did it take on a life of its own.
These days he’s pitching….well, the same thing really:
“Speaking at the NewTeeVee Live conference in San Francisco, Zuiker said he believed Silicon Valley and Hollywood could combine forces to transform television and bring its storytelling power to all devices, including mobile phones and video game consoles.”
He acknowledges “failed experiments”:
“He has experimented with new media, including casting the pinup models from the Suicide Girls website on an episode of “CSI,” running an online contest and having actor Gary Sinise make an appearance in the virtual world Second Life.
The experiments haven’t all panned out. But Zuiker is committed to finding ways to extend the “CSI” brand beyond television, he said.”
Me, I’m sticking with my CSI facial reconstruction kit.
But you go Anthony. And don’t let the following get you down:
“Capturing the attention of your audience wherever they are and creating an immersive experience that keeps them coming back may not be a matter of survival at this point. But it will be.”
I agree that the ESC version of CSI was a failure despite what the ESC say. Like many of their previous projects, they developed fantastic machinima, but the concept did not live up to the hype of those videos. We could talk about why in length, but the real point of my comment is not to critize the ESC, but to state that I do believe CSI and other franchises aren’t completely off base thinking that there is potential to create immersive experiences, but it would require them to throw away what they “know” and change. People no longer want to be advertised at and creating commerical SIMS that are just blatant advertisements for their franchise and others is not fun or immersive and they aren’t fooling anyone. If they truly want immersion, they should throw away their current agenda, and start by creating something of value to the existing community and go from there. If they are ever willing to be open to expanding while considering the public good, then they can give me a call, and I would be more than happy to help them (or they can just continue down the same path of failures).
@Gianna – I really think that James Cameron’s project, Avatar, will blow the lid off storytelling across media, and of course change our perspectives of 3D entertainment.
It always depends on how immersive someone wants to get. CSI has been the basis for a handful of console and computer games, yet the best Crime Scene Investigation type experience has been the Condemned: Criminal Origins series from Monolith. The difference? The investigation parts can be interesting to watch on television, but are tedious as the sole play mechanic in an interactive experience. Condemned added, can you guess, combat to the narrative? A little action is needed. Some fun and maybe some scares. Unfortunately Linden Lab is nearly allergic to the concept of fun and while it would be easy for them to add facilities to the simulator code to allow development of action and more interactive experiences, they continue to stroke a flaccid business tool to no happy ending.