OTT & Transmedia

"I suppose if the package you were paying for is depleted of the content you like, then you are going to seriously question whether the cost is worth it." Yeah, definitely, Geoff Hall.

I think it was around $72 a month for YouTube TV.

Geoff Hall Yes, I saw that, and both Google and Disney are correct. Disney is demanding what it knows its content is worth, which happens to be unreasonably high when compared to what Google pays creators for their work (but which, ironically, is still more than the major studios pay independent filmmakers for their work). Disney doesn't need Google/YouTube, and Google/YouTube is infamous for cheating those who generate all its traffic so... who cares. I have no sympathy for either side. So long as YouTube doesn't get Disney titles, those who cancel but want to see Disney titles will go back...

Maurice Vaughan wow, Maurice that is a LOT for a subscription price! How can they justify it? When you consider the subs price for a streaming service like Netflix or Prime, that seems like a hyper-inflated price.

Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg a little like being concerned about a piranha eating another piranha!

YouTube TV has A LOT of movies, shows, and sports, Geoff Hall. I signed up to watch sports games. I think college football or the NBA. After the games were over, I canceled my subscription.

I didn't know Hasbro had enough products to have 45 to 50 film and TV projects in active development, but it's a smart move, Ashley Renee Smith! I think Hasbro’s shift to an “asset-light” transmedia model creates more opportunities for indie creators to partner with major IP holders, but I think it'll benefit major studios the most.

Maurice Vaughan I agree that major studios will likely see the first wave of benefits, but there’s also a growing window for indie creators who can bring fresh takes to established properties or help develop new ones across multiple platforms. It’s definitely a space worth watching for creators who understand storytelling beyond a single medium.

Twenty years after their mysterious abduction, 130,000 humans return to Earth aboard an imposing

fleet of spacecraft. Now called the Tutatori, they bring advanced technology and a dire warning: the

Dvora, a savage and relentless alien race, are coming to conquer Earth.

Led by the charismatic Archduke Nathan Kilmer, the Tutatori arrive under the banner of the powerful Ylatchee Imperium, offering humanity survival through assimilation into their interstellar empire or annihilation if they refuse.

But Earth is fractured: nations, corporations, and factions clash over sovereignty, greed, and ideology. While some see opportunity in alliance, others resist surrendering independence to foreign rule.

As tensions mount, humanity is forced into a precarious balancing act between cooperation and

defiance, with the survival of the planet and the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance

That's a unique concept, Alex Bright! Sounds exciting! I suggest checking out the other posts here in the OTT & Transmedia Lounge.

Hey Alex Bright, love the ambition behind Zon. The setup with the Tutatori and the fractured Earth feels ripe for layered storytelling across formats. Since you’ve already launched the tabletop game, I’d suggest leaning into character expansion and serialized arcs through the TV series.

Who’s your core audience? Age? Sci-fi fans? Strategy gamers? Political thriller buffs? Knowing that helps shape tone, pacing, and platform.

Which format builds traction fastest? The TV series could be your engine — it’s where emotional arcs, faction dynamics, and world lore can really breathe. That momentum can loop back into the game and comic.

Consider a Pokémon-style rollout: They built a universe by flooding it with characters and evolving across formats. Interestingly, Pokémon launched its trading card game and video games before the TV series, after they had already created a large roster of creatures. That character-first strategy gave them flexibility to expand across media while keeping the audience invested. You could do the same: develop more Tutatori, Dvora, and Earth factions with distinct philosophies, aesthetics, and gameplay mechanics. That way, your tabletop game becomes a gateway into the larger universe, and the TV series can deepen emotional arcs and faction intrigue.

Start with Season 2 worldbuilding: I often build out the second or third season first — it helps clarify long-term stakes and gives the board game deeper replay value. You’ll know what mechanics and character arcs need to be seeded early.

Platform fit matters: Is this best told on streaming, webisodes, or animated shorts? Each has different audience behaviors and budget implications.

Would love to hear more about your character roster and how you’re balancing political intrigue with sci-fi spectacle.

Hi Dwayne,

Thanks so much for the feedback and comments, I truly appreciate your thoughtful insights and the time you took to dive into the concept.

I’m glad the premise resonated with you. At its core, ZON is a hard science-fiction IP developed as an 8–10 episode, 45–60 minute prestige series. From the beginning, it’s been designed as a transmedia universe, expanding beyond the screen through two companion comic book series and a tabletop strategy game, Zon: Cosmic Warfare. Together, these mediums form a cohesive ecosystem where players, readers, and viewers can explore different layers and perspectives within the same universe.

We’ve already produced a proof of concept that captures the tone, scale, and emotional gravity of the series. The next step is raising funds to produce the full pilot, which will serve as the foundation for pitching ZON to networks, streamers, and creative partners.

At its heart, ZON merges political thriller tension with grounded, hard science fiction, blending the moral complexity of House of Cards with the realism of The Expanse. It’s set in a near-future Earth fractured by nationalism, corporate dominance, and environmental decay. Mega-corporations control energy and defense, international alliances have crumbled, and inequality runs rampant. Humanity teeters between collapse and control just as a fleet of alien ships arrives, carrying human abductees who now call themselves the Tutatori. They bring knowledge, technology along with a dire warning.

We’ve already outlined Seasons 2 through 4 to ensure narrative depth and long-term worldbuilding. Season 2 begins a year after the arrival, as humanity rebuilds under Tutatori influence. During a historic graduation ceremony, a terrorist attack ignites a new era of chaos. Developing nations rise with alien technology, superpowers fracture, and religious extremism spreads. As the search for the Dvora intensifies, the season closes with a shocking revelation the enemy is far closer to Earth than anyone imagines.

Meanwhile, our tabletop game, Zon: Cosmic Warfare, immerses players as the founding members of the Ylatchee Imperium, at the dawn of their centuries-long conflict with the Dvora. This strategic, competitive experience brings the Imperium’s struggle for survival and dominance to life — allowing players to command alien races across a vast political and military landscape, explore the Zon cosmos, upgrade fleets, forge alliances, and balance diplomacy, conquest, and survival. This interactive experience deepens the lore of the ZON universe, connecting players directly to the events and factions that shape the series.

Key game features include:

Designed for 2–4 players, with an average playtime of 35 minutes per player

Combines deck-building, tactical resource management, and asymmetric faction play

Introduces dice-based resource counters and low-luck mechanics for fairness and replayability

Compact, streamlined, and expansion-ready for extended play sessions

The game not only expands the lore but also serves as an interactive gateway into the ZON universe — where fans can experience the philosophies, aesthetics, and conflicts of each faction firsthand.

Your comparison to Pokémon’s character-first expansion model was spot-on. We’re following a similar philosophy: developing the universe through its core factions — the Tutatori, Dvora, and Earth coalitions — each defined by unique ideologies, technologies, and motivations. This layered rollout allows every medium — from comics to gameplay to live-action storytelling — to reinforce and amplify the larger narrative.

I’d love the opportunity to walk you through our worldbuilding deck, character roster, and transmedia development plan in more detail. Would you be available later this week for a short call or Zoom session? I think you’ll get a great sense of how each format builds momentum toward a larger, interconnected audience experience.

Thanks again for the thoughtful feedback, Dwayne, I’m looking forward to continuing the conversation.

I’d love to learn more about this Alex Bright. The layered rollout and transmedia structure sound incredibly well thought out, and I’m especially intrigued by how the tabletop game deepens the lore. I’ll send over a message. Looking forward to connecting.

I have a tabletop game, 2 comic book series & Streaming/Network Series……

stills from my proof of concept

page of one of my comics

This is incredible, Alex Bright. The board game approach especially shows how much thought and strategy you’ve poured into this universe. It’s clear you’re building something expansive, deeply interconnected, and genuinely fun!

Thank Dwayne…

Right now we are trying to connect with an EP/Show-runner that can assist with collaboration . We are looking to launch the game on a crowdfunding platform.

Hey, Dwayne Williams 2. I've never thought about using unanswered questions from the original script to make other movies, shows, etc. That's a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing the video!

You're welcome! I really liked the part where he talked about music, how songs themselves can become transmedia elements. That opens up so many creative paths for storytelling beyond the screen.

I'm looking forward to this webcast, Dwayne Williams 2!

You're welcome, @Dwayne. Here's a merchandise page from the pitch deck for my kids' show.

I've heard of scriptments. My outlines are really detailed, so they're kinda like scriptments.

I'm not sure if I've ever put soundtrack ideas in my materials. Like ideas for the songs?

Maurice Vaughan I'm definitely going to start doing that, and adding soundtrack ideas, genre, playlists, or a theme song in the pitch material? Or for specific scenes only.

I like that idea, Dwayne Williams 2!

I’m not sure if it counts as a method, but for my multimedia projects Petal and Karma Dealers, I just sorta let the worlds for both unfurl. Petal has several sub-universes as I call them while Karma Dealers is one but its main draw is the large cast of titular dealers. And generally speaking, I ask myself which medium a story idea is best suited for. If it’s important that you see what’s happening as well as reading it, naturally it’ll be a comic. If I want to describe everything and have you do the visualization, novel. And of course if I want you to see and hear the story , screenplay.

But no matter what, I have to get lost in the world of the story and decide how I want you to experience it :D

Sounds intentional. Banafsheh Esmailzadeh Petal and Karma Dealers feel rich with imagination. I love getting lost in the world too, completely agree.

Hey, Dwayne Williams 2. I used to avoid taking risks when I wrote scenes, but going back and taking risks made the scenes better!

Dwayne Williams 2 No, your example proves my point "...Amazon MGM developing a series based on the game Split Fiction..." means the IP is in the market place with an audience. And they are in development AFTER that fact has occurred. Whether it goes further and where it goes is yet to be seen. They are not involved in fantasizing about what might happen, they are designing what they want to happen based on real IP.

Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg Companies like Iconic Arts are already proving that transmedia can be built from inception. They’re developing IP across film, TV, games, and merch simultaneously, separating the story and world from the format. So while the risks you mention are real, the industry is clearly moving toward designing transmedia at the start, not just after success in one medium.

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/iconic-arts-studio-launches-la-tokyo-12...

“One thing that we do as a transmedia studio is separate the IP, the world, the story and the characters from the IP format,” Yazdani said. “That’s why we don’t call ourselves a film studio or a game studio … basically, we can do continuous storytelling with a unified narrative through new formats that come in the next few years.”

Game IPs are increasingly becoming the backbone of transmedia storytelling, evolving far beyond their original medium. We’re seeing titles extend into film, TV, comics, and even interactive formats that blur the line between entertainment and participation. A good example of this crossover can be found in the gaming sector itself, showcasing how audiences are drawn to interactive, narrative-driven spaces, such as live dealer casino games, that feel immersive and connected across platforms. It highlights how the demand for engagement is shifting—people don’t just want to watch or play; they want to experience a world. That’s exactly why strong IPs have the power to anchor transmedia strategies in the years ahead.

Absolutely right, Fred Smith, I couldn’t agree more, strong game IPs are becoming the anchor for immersive transmedia worlds.

Lemon Kovronskiynick Interactive storytelling shows you truly understand your audience. It reflects how well you grasp not just what they want to see, but how they want to experience it. It’s also great to pick a story you can visualize clearly in your mind, one that stays exciting as you build it out, and can handle added layers without losing its core. Once you find that kind of project, that’s the one to expand.

I'm looking forward to seeing Alien Earth, Ashley Renee Smith! I've been waiting for all the episodes to come out before I watch it.

I think a long-running franchise can successfully reinvent itself across new formats without losing what made it iconic by building upon what's already in the franchises, tying the franchise into what people relate to at that moment in time, setting the stories in new locations, adding characters, and coming up with new storylines, threats, etc.

I’ve always loved the Alien franchise; Ashley Renee Smith it’s iconic, and there are a few key tricks that help keep franchises fresh: genre blending, adding more action for interactive play, introducing new characters and creatures, shifting the time period, and creating multiple potential protagonists or antagonists to branch out from. I especially love villains as main characters; they flip the narrative, challenge morality, and often reveal deeper truths than heroes ever could. Gradually attaching A-list talent and expanding the creature mythology also helps scale the world and keep audiences invested across formats.

Alien franchise from 1979 onward, managed to change with the times, eg character tropes shifted & stories morphed, yet it did not lose original core theme. Reckon part of its success aside talent & big budgets. Regards Transmedia:- New story lines, unique on each platform, to take story another way & possibly in different genres. Demographics, obviously, to reach target audiences. Hollywood favours 4 quadrant viewing at once, however since Transmedia is an eco system of content, I’ve a comic for kids, an adult film & cross generational novels in progress. LOL Sadly can’t fund a blockbuster, right now UK budgets are cut to the bone, particularly Indie. However, a TM "strand" that becomes established with built in audience, gives opportunity for split deal rights, if lands on the table of high end studio execs. It is possible to afford the time out from other projects to write a Franchise, if play the long game and box clever. Currently, I don't waste too much time writing very high budget, without the building blocks already in place.