In just over a decade, the smartphone has become the dominant channel for all types of media. Gaming, publishing, film and tv - all are enjoyed on the smartphone more than any other device. It’s important to note that a single device is now used to read books, watch movies, and play games.
Most of the dominant media formats were created before the smartphone was launched, but this will change. In the second decade of mobile, multidisciplinarity across formats will be a dominant theme.
This will happen in many ways:
- Stories will look like a combination of film, books and games. There will also be some formats that have never existed (AR) that will enable new dimensions of storytelling. People will play more stories, not just watch or read them. The most mainstream example of this is Black Mirror: Bandersnatch on Netflix.
- Production approaches will be shared across film, gaming, publishing and software design. To create a story, we’ll be using the pre / post production structures from film, the storyboarding approaches to creating games, and the narrative design from the world of publishing.
- Interaction will make stories managed like software product. We will come for the [entertainment] utility of a story, and stay for the network. Successful stories will build communities around them as a native part of the story experience (Fortnite is the most important example here).
We’re building towards this future at Wattpad - if you’re interested, we’re hiring!