Michael Grant's new and exciting "transmedia" experience

I'm a huge fan of Michael Grant. He's one of my favorite authors and I just love his raw and intimidating writing. So when I was emailed about his new project, GoBZRK, I got filled with excitement. Partly because it's Michael Grant, and partly because it's not only a new book. It's, what he calls, a "transmedia" experience. There's websites to visit, blogs to follow and stories to discover here on the web.

Here's some quotes from an interview with Michael Grant.

What is “Go BZRK”? Is this a book or some kind of interactive story?

Both. The book comes out this winter, but the interactive part starts now. One leads up to the other, but they’re part of a complete package.

Why “transmedia”?

There are different approaches to transmedia. Most people take a single story and reproduce it on various platforms. My philosophy has been to make each element – ARG, app, web, book – a thing unto itself, each revealing some aspect of the world of BZRK. I’ve been fascinated with this is as a new way to tell stories. The book remains central, but now I can reach beyond the book and create a much more complete world. I can tell stories that enhance the book, and stories that parallel the book, and stories that are offshoots of backstory. I guess the answer to “why” is “because it’s fun.”

Still confused? (Text taken from the official GoBZRK website)

“Go BZRK” is a transmedia narrative based in a universe created by writer Michael Grant for his upcoming series of “BZRK” novels. This is not a marketing stunt or a traditional “alternate reality game.” “BZRK” was fully conceived as a multi-platform experience with the books only being one aspect of a bigger picture.

The transmedia narrative now running is story and character driven. While there are game elements, it’s the narrative that’s most important. Michael Grant is known for delivering strange, compelling worlds filled with rich characters and “Go BZRK” is no exception… it just happens to live online in assorted formats like websites, blogs, games, and video, rather than through the printed word alone."

I'd lie if I said that I'm not dying to know more about this project. The story is right now starting out at Societytwins.com and NexusHumanus.com. I've been looking around at both websites and I have to tell you, this does sound really creepy indeed. I'm looking forward to finding out how everything proceeds. You can find more information on GoBZRK.com