doxa.comunicación | 29, pp. 97-111 | 99

July-December of 2019

Víctor Álvarez Rodríguez

ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978

based on flashbacks or flash-forwards focused on the protagonists. The series Lost is an innovative serial product because of the way it integrates several genres and because it presents an interesting variant on the diegetic temporal structure through the analepsis of the characters” (Tous, 2010: 89). Cascajosa (2005: 5) also sees how Lost has shown that it is possible for formal experimentation to find a gap among the general public, thus encouraging chains and producers to opt for treatments that go beyond the norm”. Therefore, it is in this regard that Lost is particularly relevant. This production becomes a reference for its generation and serves as a creative starting point for other creations. This series, in addition to an interesting narrative approach and a high level of production, is characterised by establishing the television consumption and narrative model of its generation thanks to the digital media. In fact, it is one of the first series to be promoted internationally on the Internet. Consequently, it takes advantage of this opportunity by offering transmedia content for the interaction of its viewers with the story. It proposes a new storytelling model focused on collective intelligence and fan communities. Scolari (2013: 160) observes, Lost was born as a television work but soon expanded to other media and communication spaces to become one of the most interesting examples of transmedia narrative”. On this occasion, the special protagonism of the virtual environment is demonstrated. It offers an easier access and functionality to the communities, and at the same time is respectful with the conventional viewer’s continuous vision.

Considering this digital dimension acquired by the series, there were many transmedia actions that were carried out by the producers of the show. Thus, the narrative was expanded in an intangible way through different digital works:

Firstly, production of the so-called mobisodes, or webisodes, were produced. They were short episodes between two and four minutes originally aimed at mobile phones (Scolari, 2013a). These productions sought to complete plots of the series with the same characters and even continuing scenes. The idea was to offer unseen parts of the story using the new platforms.

Secondly, alternative reality games stand out. They are also known as ARGs (Alternative reality games). They required the participation of the audience and were an interesting complement to the series.

An ARG is a hybrid game of immersive stories, the main objective of which is collaborative problem solving and participatory storytelling. The narrative context of an ARG is not limited by any communication platform or media type: its story fragments can be dispersed and hidden in websites, phone calls, text messages, or books (Bonsignore et al., 2012: 251).

These games sought the complicity between the viewer and the fictional work, generating enigmas and situations that only the usual viewer was able to recognise. Thus, it is a way of generating a participatory culture within the audience of the series that seeks to engage as much as possible with the plots of the series.

Finally, we find the videogames of the series to be an immersive way for the viewer to be able to come into the plot of the series in a digital way. The player experiences the story and cooperates in a virtual way with the characters and elements of the series in the first person. In fact, we are faced with one more of “the different ways of using video games to connect with consumers, ranking them from those who simply adapt pre-existing techniques and formats, to the newest and most experimental” (Selva, 2009: 146).