Hybrid stories: Examining the future of transmedia narrative

Among recent examples of long-form sf drama, there can be observed an increasing tendency to extend the broadcast story across multiple narrative platforms. The web, mobile telephony and print media are recombined with established broadcast platforms to produce a form of storytelling that interleaves online and offline experiences. While this participatory creation of story suits a technologically savvy contemporary audience, why has multimedia storytelling consistently sought to explore sf themes? Through an examination of the narrative mechanics at work within transmedia storytelling, this article explores the relationship between sf and new media, particularly with regard to the emergence of Alternate Reality Gaming since 2001.