Wanting to know more about this long-awaited project I interviewed
Morgan Bouchet, VP Transmedia & Social Media at Orange
"Transmedialab"
.jpg "Photo de Morgan Bouchet, Orange")
Interview with Morgan Bouchet, Orange
Excerpts:
1. What differentiates Alt-Minds from other Transmedia
projects?
Most of the Transmedia projects which exist in France and in Europe are series, web documentaries, but rarely games. Alt Minds is a game that gets closer to the world of web series (4 hours of videos and web series) and this is why Alt Minds is different. We know that the playful aspect has an important role to play in a multiplatform project as we have seen in previous projects (Fanfan 2, Detective Avenue and The Prodigies). Today we wish to complete the cycle with a new kind of Game.
2. What platforms do you use?
Alt-Minds uses many supports. It
goes from smartmobiles, tablets, to PC
and Mac. Depending on various moments of the game the tablet, the PC or the
mobile will be more or less used . However, the tablet is at the heart of
Alt-Minds.
Regarding the video content, we use a platform which is close to that of
Orange: Dailymotion. It allows us on the
one hand to address various countries
who are involved in the project (all of Europe) and on the other hand to lean
on its technical structure.
3. What is your business model?
We use mainly the game economics and advertising.
The first economic strategy: game economics.
The game lasts 10 weeks. The complete season costs less than 20 euros. The first chapter which
lasts 15 days is free and then the access to the next ones is charged between 2
and 3 euros by chapter. The cost is therefore affordable.
Moreover, players can access additional
paying premiums.
The second economic strategy is advertising on the Webseries videos that
accompany the game on Dailymotion with the same weekly frequency of 10 weeks. It
is free for the audience.
4. You have produced this project with Lexis Numérique. How did you
share the responsibilities ?
We went into coproduction with Lexis Numérique whose main activity is
the game’s creation. Lexis is in charge of the executive coproduction
(scenario, game design, production of content).
And Orange is more of a
technological partner. We brought in technology and our expertise in
transmedia, the topic that we‘ve been considering since 2009.
5. Orange sponsors The Transmédia
Lab and makes a commitment to the creation of the transmedia projects. You
manage the Transmedia and SocialMedia team. What is the ambition of Orange in
the field of transmedia and precisely: what is your commitment to the creation
of multiplatform projects?
Our short-term goal is to test, to learn and to understand through
experiments with Orange technology and solutions through our project tests (API
of Player, Geolocalisation, SMS, solutions for Social TV), longer down the line
we will study the possibility of industrializing these tools bound for the
creators, TV networks, media...
Concerning our commitment to the multiplatform projects, the Orange
Content Management also accompanies the creation of innovative formats through
two funds: the SACD and the Beaumarchais organization which allows to reward
about ten projects a year.
As a user, starting in mid October I saw some very weird but funny videos air in my network of friends. These
allowed me to obtain information about the missing researchers and to recruit
players (it is an Alt-Minds project which begins at the interactive level).
At the beginning of November, I discovered another level of information:
find 5 missing researchers. The Foundation which finances their research on
paranormal subjects decided to hire a team of
investigators to track them down. The Internet users were brought
in to help the foundation.
I could also be brought to ask my close friends to accompany me in this
adventure. The investigation will have a week to week frequency. I will get the
clues which will allow me to advance to the next step at the end of the week.
7. Today there are 2 active protagonists on Facebook: a photographer
named Peter Edgarson, who is in Paris at the moment and Laurence Spencer who
announced the search for her friend Sofia Milleva. Where can I find other
information about the investigation? Is there a dedicated blog or other
profiles on Facebook?
I do not want to give away everything, but there are various entrances
that have already been set up in order to enter the Alt-Minds universe. Forums
are being created. There are communities which have already seized the game.
All the information on the characters and the various elements of the
investigation will be revealed during the course of the game. But already
today, we can begin to find some of the clues by tracking Alt-Minds play on our
PC as well as certain people’s Facebook
pages.
8. If I imagine myself as a casual gamer, much of a web series fan; how
can I participate in the Alt-Minds adventures ?
If I am a casual gamer, as I am,
I can track a game either with the same frequency as the other players,
or recorded, every week, by using the application on the tablet. This
application is developed like new fluids on Facebook and allows me to track the
news of the week in a fast way, by unwinding days.
Since I’m a bit lazy and I don't
have that much time to search for the clues daily, some options will
help me to accelerate certain missions and thanks to this to follow and to move
forward with the same frequency as the others but spending less time.
Additionally, I have the video dimension, which is much more casual and
which, this way, can allow me to understand the progress of the game weekly
without forcing to play 1 hour per day.
There will also be casual games on mobiles and on Facebook that have
easy access for entering the Alt-Minds universe.
9. If I am an avid fan, what do you have in store for me ?
Eric Viennot, the author of the game, attached a lot of importance to
giving meaning to the game and going all the way for avid players. He has
embellished the Alt-Minds universe in such a way in order to satisfy the most
dedicated players.
10. The web fiction is available in four languages (French, English,
German and Spanish). How can the players living abroad participate in Alt-Minds?
Each task was thought out in a way to be accessible from any one of the
European countries, as much in terms language and in terms of enigmas. However,
Alt-Minds is available only in Europe.
11. Are you planning on launching Alt-Minds in America?
We hope to do so in 2013. We’re waiting to see the outcome in Europe,
and if it is a success, we can export it to
the rest of the world.
12. Can players from abroad access your site www. Alt-Minds.com?
Completely. There will be a localized site of www.alt-minds.com in
various European countries. We have also planned some enigma abroad which will
require geo-localization.
13. How do you feel just one month before the launch of the project ?
I’m feeling very good about it.
We are at the final stages of finishing the project. We are in contact
with media and bloggers who are very interested in this kind of game.
It's interesting to see a real craze for the project because it is a new
kind of the game inspired by In Memoriam. In terms of creativity, we flirt with
the playground of people who create editorial content and individual series in
video. It is interesting to see that the transmedia is a combination of game
and technology with the world of fiction.
Realised by Urszula Gleisner Translated by Rebecca Levin
Realised by Urszula Gleisner Translated by Rebecca Levin
