What I find interesting is that all of these productions choose a particular motivation that is similiar to a linear text: unlock the mystery, find someone, discover the murderer, find out what happens next and so on. Only now you actually do something rather than think about it. I completely understand why we’ve made that assumption about what motivates someone to act. But what I found fascinating is the findings of what is perhaps the most popular cross-media teen soap there is: BeActive’s Sofia’s Diary (a birdie told me they have just sold it to Sony). They found that rather than giving Sofia advice (which is usually the drive people are offered: Help the Protagonist), they found the teens preferred Sofia to give them advice. The motivation is to have their favourite character come to them. It makes complete sense but turns the whole premise of alot of interactive dramas on its head. This point is a major part of my research into what motivates audiences to move across platforms.

I’m impressed at how much wrong they were able to fit into the first sentence of that press release. But maybe what they’re saying is that the world has never seen an ARG/Interactive Drama that was created and produced by Hoodlum Active for Yahoo!7?

Christy, has your extensive research revealed how many ground-breaking interactive dramas involve a missing loved one and a sassy/quirky teen with a webcam?