Passing Golgotha, originally posted by dknNYC.
The brilliant Faris commented yesterday on a previous post about how great narratives deserve proper endings. And he openly wondered how transmedia narratives might benefit from proper endings, too.
It reminds me of a talk I saw a few years ago on game theory; the difference between infinite games and finite games might have some application in planning brand experiences. The same might be said about transmedia narratives, perhaps. Maybe transmedia narratives are more like a game of tag (infinite) than a game of chess (finite). Maybe the goal is to sustain community (versus capturing a consumer). Maybe transmedia narratives aren't designed to end.
Or, if the narratives, symbols, and rituals we are creating only serve to feed communities, then maybe another apt analogy might be the religious experience, with its finite stories sustaining infinite dialogue, brotherhood, faith, and worship.
The Christian Bible (of which I know just a little) speaks of a final judgement of the living and the dead, but really it doesn't end at all; the judgement is followed by the life everlasting. All of those stations of the cross, those prayers, and beatitudes; all of those masses, those sacraments, and those rituals; all of those those saints, those hosts, and that trinity: they are all media feeding into the everlasting community of the church.
Do transmedia narratives - the narratives of the sustainable community - need to end properly?
