Well, almost, in fact we are at the penultimate stage of the adventure. It should really be the end, but as things have developed over the past 5-years, we’ve adapted to the fluid nature of our interactive / participatory narrative, which in other words means – you – the audience – have been in the driving seat for most of the ride, and you’ve changed the original story… a dream come true.
Our team created an engaging story that the audience were at liberty to tweak, change, and co-create, but as time progressed I noticed we had overlooked one of the special elements that bridged the divide between the graphic novels and the immersive events – Saccadius – a character created on-the-fly by my friend – Paul Giffney.
For the past five years, Saccadius’ character has only appeared at our live events, and in the online world, but he has yet to appear in any of the books.
In 2010, when I announced that I was developing a Transmedia concept called Clockwork Watch, Paul contacted me and introduced me to his alter ego. From the outset I knew Saccadius was going to be a key player at our live events, but hadn’t quite worked out how to introduce him into the bigger story.
When we launched at Tomorrow’s World… Today! (2012), Saccadius was on stage to introduce the first Clockwork prototype to our audience. Later that same year, he ended up barricaded in a tent by protesters and trade unionists at the Advancement of Sciences Roadshow (Latitude 2012), he uncovered the hidden science laboratory at the Make Believe Festival (2013), he conducted the tours at the Queens Steampunk Soiree (2014), and he explored the depths of Saccadius’ multiple-personality disorder at The Asylum (2015).
So, last year I decided to dedicate the final chapter of this story to Saccadius, the amazing character Paul created and grew in the world of Clockwork Watch.
The book is called The Alchemists’ Story, and the first few pages will be included in Countenance, which is out this summer. And before you yell… Yes, I know. When we started out, I promised three books, that grew to six, and now we have the seven.
Here’s to you Paul for all the joy, fun, and laughter you’ve brought into my world since we first met in 2009. Paul got married over the weekend, and the whole team wish you and Phil the very best the world has to offer.
And with that, no more talk about this special treat until 2017.
Y
P.S. I hear you ask, “wasn’t there meant to be a film?” That dream is still alive, in fact someone has advised me to adapt the film script to a series of graphic novels. Only time will tell.
