Transmedia storytelling on video games: a case study of The Last of Us

Abstract

This research explores how adaptations like The Last of Us impact storytelling experience when transferred from interactive gaming to an episode-based structure in the TV series format whose audiences are generally understood as passive participants. This would contribute to the complexity and fairly new and evolving area of the transmedia research of both storytelling and adaptation. This research focuses on how the TV series adaptation of The Last of Us reimagines the source material of the video game by adding new elements and making changes which reveals how adaptation utilizes transmedia storytelling strategies and the evolving nature of contemporary media adaptation. By analyzing the expansions, omissions and alterations through textual analysis it reveals that transmedia adaptation in today’s world is not just merely copying a story from its source but enriching the story in different mediums. Expansions focuses on developing character relationships, backstories, emotional depth and script expansion. Omissions excludes crafting mechanics of the game and replaces them with practical problem solving scenes through cinematic presentation. And lastly, alterations focus on the changes made in themes, worldbuilding, moral ambiguity and the shift from interactive to passive medium. By analyzing expansions, omissions and alterations this thesis investigates how adaptation utilizes transmedia storytelling strategies to engage a variety of audiences. The study highlights the new nature of contemporary media adaptation showing their ability to reimagine and create beyond fidelity to the source text. The purpose of this research is to look into transmedia storytelling experience from different approaches where video games serve as a source text and this is a new area to explore among many. The purpose of choosing this topic is to show adaptations are free to enrich the story beyond traditional boundaries. Traditional adaptations are all about copying and retelling the exact same narrative but adaptation in today’s media is all about making it unique and using the uniqueness of different mediums. This paper leaves scope for further research on this topic as this is a rising aspect in today’s media world.