Empirical research on the transmedial consumption of the Warcraft Movie relative to the precedent canon explored through the Blizzard games and licensed novels, comics and board games.

1. Jonathan Barbara
Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany
Saint Martin’s Institute of Higher Education, Malta

2. • Expansion of the Warcraft Universe
• Critical reception: critics vs audience
• Narrative consistency of Expansion
– Actual vs Perceived (N=104)
• Contribution to Narrative Consistency across
transmedia
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 2

3. Transmedial Timeline
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 3
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015

4. EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 4

5. EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 5

6. http://wow.gamepedia.com/Warcraft_film_universe
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 6

7. • Movie directly conflicts
with Warcraft: Orcs and
Humans (RTS, 1994)
• Movie’s prequel
Warcraft: Durotan
directly conflicts with the
novel, Rise of the Horde
(2006) – same author!
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 7

8. Transfictional component Adaptive component
Mythical component Audience behavior component
Transmedia Franchise
Marie Laure Ryan
Transmedial Narratology Winter School
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 8

9. Transfictional component Adaptive component
Mythical component Audience behavior component
Transmedia Franchise
Marie Laure Ryan
Transmedial Narratology Winter School
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 9

10. Transfictional component Adaptive component
Mythical component Audience behavior component
Transmedia Franchise
Marie Laure Ryan
Transmedial Narratology Winter School
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 10

11. Transfictional component Adaptive component
Mythical component Audience behavior component
Transmedia Franchise
Marie Laure Ryan
Transmedial Narratology Winter School
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 11

12. • Critics
– MetaCritic 32%
– RottenTomatoes 28%
• Audience
– MetaCritic 83%
– Rotten Tomatoes 76%
Budget $160,000000
USA: $47,225,655
Foreign: $386,311,893
China: $220,841,090
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 12

13. BOOs
• an overabundance of
storylines
• CGI-heavy
• Characters
– absence of well-formed
characters
– fails to engage emotionally
• Game-driven
– aimed only at fans of the
game
– slavish-to-game-canon
• Sequel
– unnecessary plot points
– ends too ambiguously to
make any real impact
– bend over backwards to set
up a sequel
AAAAHs!
• Unpredictable
• A Rich Fantasy Tapestry With
Excellent (and abundant) CGI
• It felt real
• Fantastic Characters
– Need more screen time
• The Production Really Makes
It Feel Like A Proper Video
Game Movie
• I hope we get a sequel
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 13

14. • Was the movie engaging on its
own merit or needed one to
be acquainted with the lore?
• How consistent was the movie
perceived to be with respect
to the stories in the games?
• What criteria of the movie
were considered to be most
important in judging its
narrative consistency with the
games?
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 14

15. Fidelity
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 15

16. • Online Questionnaire using Google Forms
• Narrative Engagement Questionnaire
• Warcraft Games/Narratives Experience Survey
• Narrative Consistency Questionnaire
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 16

17. Social Networks (Facebook, Twitter)
Movie Review Sites (IMDB, RottenTomatoes)
Battle.net (Warcraft official community forum)
BoardGameGeek.com (Warcraft board games)
Fans 9: 1 Non-fans
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 17

18. Was the movie engaging on its own merit or needed one to be acquainted with the lore?
Narrative
Engagement
Model
By
Busselle &
Bilandzic
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Narrative Understanding
Attentional Focus
Narrative Presence
Emotional Engagement
Fans (N=93)
Fans (N=93)
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 18

19. Was the movie engaging on its own merit or needed one to be acquainted with the lore?
Narrative
Engagement
Model
By
Busselle &
Bilandzic
0 1 2 3 4
Narrative Understanding
Attentional Focus
Narrative Presence
Emotional Engagement
Fans (N=93)
Non-Players (N=10)
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 19

20. RTS
MOBA
BOARD & CARD
NOVELS
COMICS
MMORPG
Post PANDARIA
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 20

21. EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 21

22. Level Description Exemplar
Consistent properties that are always constant across experiences Adaptation
Cohesive a variation from the expected norm that is justified by some
believable motive or cause
Sequel
Irrelevant a new experience that was not noted in earlier experiences but has
no impact on existing knowledge gained through prior experiences
Spin-off
Inconsistent new information that does not follow expectations and yet it does
not break the original knowledge
Fanagement
Retro Con
Conflicting new experience results in an outcome that is directly opposite to that
originally experienced
Parody,
Counterfictionality
Assumption: Linear scale
+ve
-ve
0
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 22

23. How consistent was the movie with respect to the stories in the games?
Consistent Cohesive Irrelevant Inconsistent Conflicting
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 23

24. 26%
40%
35%
14%
18%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
RTS MOBA Hearthstone and
HotS
Board & Card Novels Comics
Consistent
Cohesive
Irrelevant
Inconsistent
Conflicting
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 24

25. Consistent, 38%
Cohesive, 46% Cohesive, 47%
Irrelevant, 43%
Inconsistent, 19%Conflicting, 18%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Today Last week Last Month 1-6Months 1 Year 1 Year +
Consistent
Cohesive
Irrelevant
Inconsistent
Conflicting
Cohesive, 50%
Irrelevant, 100%
0%
50%
100%
150%
1 yr+ 1 Yr 3 months 1 month 1 week
Consistent
Cohesive
Irrelevant
Inconsistent
Conflicting
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 25

26. Level Expected Peak Distribution for Skewness Graphs
Consistent Adaptations s > 1
Cohesive Top-Down Native Transmedia 0.5 < s < 1
Irrelevant Bottom-up Adaptive Transmedia ≈0
Inconsistent Re-makes -0.5 > s > -1
Conflicting Parodies s < -1
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 26

27. -5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
1 2 3 4 5
Played Orcs N Humans
Not Played
Novels
Poly. (Played Orcs N Humans)
Poly. (Not Played)
Poly. (Novels)
Level Expected Peak Distribution for Skewness
Consistent Adaptations s > 1
Cohesive Top-Down Native Transmedia 0.5 < s < 1
Irrelevant Bottom-up Adaptive Transmedia ≈0
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 27

28. • How would you rate the
– visual elements
– landscape
– colours used
– sound effects used
– music used
– actions
– appearance of the main character(s)
– tone of voice of the main character(s)
– behaviour of the main character(s)
– secondary character(s)
– events happening
– chronological/temporal/sequential ordering of the events
– outcome of the events happening
• the film in comparison with the original game?
Storyworld
Actions
Characters
Events
vs
Overall the
film was
consistent
with the
game
What criteria of the movie were considered to
be most important in judging its narrative
consistency with the games?
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 28

29. Element Spearman Correlation
with Overall Narrative Consistency
Regression Analysis
Storyworld 0.35 0.03 (p=0.83)
Events 0.52 0.30 (p=0.006)
Characters 0.5 0.25 (p=0.04)
Actions 0.48 0.21 (p=0.07)
Adjusted R squared: 0.39
Narrative Consistency = 0.66 +0.25 (Characters) + 0.30 (Events)
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 29

30. • “Movements - physical actions
– characters in the game are of course much different from the characters in the movie (in their design and being), so even though
many movements are similar (preparing to enter a portal, for example), there are of course some differences”
• “Character motivations and actions, story build-up and accuracy to the franchise's lore.”
• “Major plot points in the movie”
• “How character behave in battles
– some action scenes in movie have similar perspective as warcraft RTS.
– Some other (not battle) scenes have similar dynamics with in-game scenes and cinematics.”
• “Actions of the characters. What they did and how the acted”
– “[Prince Arthas] going crazy, decisions he made, giving his soul for a sword, killing his father, changing into an antagonist etc.
Those actions what I remember, seem consistent with the actions in the film”
• “The action a character is taking given their gathered information (and maybe my own) and given their
background”
– “There was a definite clash (I feel) between the way the game is portrayed and the way the film was”
• “events and conflicts within the narrative”
– “Cohesive because, to the best of my recollection, the games correspond with the film with differences, but not major
differences.”
• “The whole events that took place in the movie, making the storyline what it was”
– “Although there were differences, they still made sense and captured the feeling of the game.”
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 30

31. • “Movements - physical actions
– characters in the game are of course much different from the characters in the movie (in their design and being), so even
though many movements are similar (preparing to enter a portal, for example), there are of course some differences”
• “Character motivations and actions, story build-up and accuracy to the franchise's lore.”
• “Major plot points in the movie”
• “How character behave in battles
– some action scenes in movie have similar perspective as warcraft RTS.
– Some other (not battle) scenes have similar dynamics with in-game scenes and cinematics.”
• “Actions of the characters. What they did and how the acted”
– “[Prince Arthas] going crazy, decisions he made, giving his soul for a sword, killing his father, changing into an antagonist etc.
Those actions what I remember, seem consistent with the actions in the film”
• “The action a character is taking given their gathered information (and maybe my own) and given their
background”
– “There was a definite clash (I feel) between the way the game is portrayed and the way the film was”
• “events and conflicts within the narrative”
– “Cohesive because, to the best of my recollection, the games correspond with the film with differences, but not major
differences.”
• “The whole events that took place in the movie, making the storyline what it was”
– “Although there were differences, they still made sense and captured the feeling of the game.”
Visual depiction of action
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 31

32. • “Movements - physical actions
– characters in the game are of course much different from the characters in the movie (in their design and being), so even though
many movements are similar (preparing to enter a portal, for example), there are of course some differences”
• “Character motivations and actions, story build-up and accuracy to the franchise's lore.”
• “Major plot points in the movie”
• “How character behave in battles
– some action scenes in movie have similar perspective as warcraft RTS.
– Some other (not battle) scenes have similar dynamics with in-game scenes and cinematics.”
• “Actions of the characters. What they did and how the acted”
– “[Prince Arthas] going crazy, decisions he made, giving his soul for a sword, killing his father, changing into an antagonist etc.
Those actions what I remember, seem consistent with the actions in the film”
• “The action a character is taking given their gathered information (and maybe my own) and given their
background”
– “There was a definite clash (I feel) between the way the game is portrayed and the way the film was”
• “events and conflicts within the narrative”
– “Cohesive because, to the best of my recollection, the games correspond with the film with differences, but not major
differences.”
• “The whole events that took place in the movie, making the storyline what it was”
– “Although there were differences, they still made sense and captured the feeling of the game.”
Narrative milestones
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 32

33. • “Movements - physical actions
– characters in the game are of course much different from the characters in the movie (in their design and being), so even though
many movements are similar (preparing to enter a portal, for example), there are of course some differences”
• “Character motivations and actions, story build-up and accuracy to the franchise's lore.”
• “Major plot points in the movie”
• “How character[s] behave in battles
– some action scenes in movie have similar perspective as warcraft RTS.
– Some other (not battle) scenes have similar dynamics with in-game scenes and cinematics.”
• “Actions of the characters. What they did and how the acted”
– “[Prince Arthas] going crazy, decisions he made, giving his soul for a sword, killing his father, changing into an antagonist etc.
Those actions what I remember, seem consistent with the actions in the film”
• “The action a character is taking given their gathered information (and maybe my own) and given their
background”
– “There was a definite clash (I feel) between the way the game is portrayed and the way the film was”
• “events and conflicts within the narrative”
– “Cohesive because, to the best of my recollection, the games correspond with the film with differences, but not major
differences.”
• “The whole events that took place in the movie, making the storyline what it was”
– “Although there were differences, they still made sense and captured the feeling of the game.”
Character behaviour in
response to situations
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 33

34. • The movie was found to be
narratively engaging even by
non-fans of the franchise
• The movie was mostly
positively consistent
– or irrelevant
• Ratings had moderate
correlation with characters,
events, and actions
– With regression towards events
and characters
0 1 2 3 4
Element Spearman
Correlation
Regression
Analysis
Storyworld 0.35 0.03 (p=0.83)
Events 0.52 0.30 (p=0.006)
Characters 0.5 0.25 (p=0.04)
Actions 0.48 0.21 (p=0.07)
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 34

35. • Visual depiction of action Physical Characteristics
– Similar-looking character movements and actions
• Narrative milestones Events
– A golden path that follows the fabula
• Character behaviour in response to situations
– Providing options that are plausible given the
situation StoryWorld
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 35

36. ?
Storyworld
Event-
induced
Storyworld
Storyworld-
induced
Events
Events
Character-
induced
Events
Event-
induced
Characters
Characters
StoryWorld-
induced
Characters
Character-
induced
Storyworld
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 36

37. Storyworld
Event-
induced
Storyworld
Storyworld-
induced
Events
Events
Character-
induced
Events
Event-
induced
Characters
Characters
StoryWorld-
induced
Characters
Character-
induced
Storyworld
?
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 37
Actions

38. EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 38
jbarbara@stmartins.edu
19 Nov 2012

39. • Given the R2, 42% of the variability of the dependent variable n is
explained by the 4 explanatory variables.
• Given the p-value of the F statistic computed in the ANOVA table
the information brought by the explanatory variables is significantly
better than what a basic mean would bring.
• Based on the Type III sum of squares
– Characters and Events bring significant information to explain the
variability of the narrative consistency, with Events being the most
influential
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 39

40. EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 40
Proximity matrix (Spearman correlation coefficient):
Storyworld Action Characters Events Overall
Storyworld 1 0.501 0.518 0.360 0.350
Action 0.501 1 0.572 0.528 0.477
Characters 0.518 0.572 1 0.532 0.504
Events 0.360 0.528 0.532 1 0.519
Overall 0.350 0.477 0.504 0.519 1

41. Correlations between variables and factors:
F1 F2
How would you rate the visual elements of the film in comparison with the original game? 0.595 -0.317
How would you rate the landscape of the film in comparison with the original game? 0.735 0.105
How would you rate the colours used in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.452 -0.358
How would you rate the sound effects used in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.603 -0.577
How would you rate the music used in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.534 -0.463
How would you rate the actions in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.780 0.068
How would you rate the appearance of the main character(s) in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.801 0.166
How would you rate the tone of voice of the main character(s) in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.776 0.107
How would you rate the behaviour of the main character(s) in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.817 0.170
How would you rate the secondary character(s) in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.838 0.153
How would you rate the events happening in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.670 0.503
How would you rate the chronological/temporal/sequential ordering of the events happening in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.698 0.374
How would you rate the outcome of the events happening in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.651 0.366
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 41

42. Correlations between variables and factors:
F1 F2
How would you rate the visual elements of the film in comparison with the original game? 0.595 -0.317
How would you rate the landscape of the film in comparison with the original game? 0.735 0.105
How would you rate the colours used in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.452 -0.358
How would you rate the sound effects used in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.603 -0.577
How would you rate the music used in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.534 -0.463
How would you rate the actions in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.780 0.068
How would you rate the appearance of the main character(s) in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.801 0.166
How would you rate the tone of voice of the main character(s) in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.776 0.107
How would you rate the behaviour of the main character(s) in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.817 0.170
How would you rate the secondary character(s) in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.838 0.153
How would you rate the events happening in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.670 0.503
How would you rate the chronological/temporal/sequential ordering of the events happening in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.698 0.374
How would you rate the outcome of the events happening in the film in comparison with the original game? 0.651 0.366
EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 42

43. EUIC16 - Jonathan Barbara 43
Up next: