ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some of the pertinent issues surrounding interactive and participatory worlds, both in and outside of the wider context of media convergence and participatory culture. It details the defining characteristics of a range of participatory worlds, exploring their cultural, creative, and interactive components. To do so, the chapter outlines the social and historical contexts by which audiences began to interact with imaginary worlds during the 19th and early 20th centuries, and examines the dynamics of participatory worlds in the age of digital convergence. It offers some new perspectives on participatory and interactive worlds by considering the complex underlying rationales that can underpin why audiences choose to participate in imaginary worlds across media. Understanding how participatory worlds existed under a different logic besides the digital participatory model of contemporary media convergences also means acknowledging factors of promotion, with participation offered as a kind of marketing strategy.
