To keep up with the changing times, the new National Geographic Games division (NGG), will attempt to connect with people once again on the platforms of our modern age, including the Wii, Playstation 3, Nintendo DS, PC and Mac, the PS3 Network, and the iPhone. There will also be free Flash games online at nationalgeographic.com/channel. As always, the company's goal is to encourage people to explore their world, this time though, it's through play.

Lest you think these games will be wimpy attempts at educational experiences, it's worth nothing that Chris Mate, a former executive at Take2 Interactive, the company behind "Grand Theft Auto," will serve as VP and GM of the games venture. Hopefully, his history, which also includes Bethesda Softworks, will bring some spunk to the usually dry "learning is fun!" gaming experience.

The first game to launch will be "Herod's Lost Tomb," an online game which blends in content from both the December 2008 issue of National Geographic magazine as well as the National Geographic Channel feature broadcast on the biblical figure King Herod, architect of the ancient world.

The new game, dubbed "Find815" in reference to the game's main website, began January 1st to promote the new season of Lost.

Crafty fans soon discovered that one of the game's websites was registered to a group called Hoodlum, based in Brisbane, Australia. (Oh, and Hoodlum's CEO is Tracey Robertson and an in-game email to the main character, Sam, happens to be from a "Tracey R.," conspiring fans point out.)

Having been in the business for nearly a decade, Hoodlum is a company that was ahead of the curve when it came to multi-platform entertainment than spans beyond TV to mobile phones, the web, and even "real" life.

Hoodlum's website showcases some of their work and their press releases highlight how they created, developed, and produced their multi-platform, interactive media creations. Among the solutions for their clients, Hoodlum mentions that they offer "a unique tool to track and measure the engagement of users." There are no details on what that tool may be, but we can only guess that it's something a bit more advanced than a tracking cookie.

Hoodlum's core technology is called INCA (Interactive Net-based Channel Administration), a proprietary system which gives them the ability to produce projects on time and within budget while tying together content administration, platform integration, and final delivery. Within INCA, there are modules like user management, content management, approvals, game engine, characters, and scripts - all of which combine to run the game.

Selling themselves as a one-stop shop for these types of projects, Hoodlum offers solutions for all areas of a project, from conception to strategy to creative to production and delivery. Founded in 1999, Hoodlum's founders claim to be "evangelists for interactive TV," something the U.S. wants, "but doesn't quite understand," they say.

Well, we may have to learn.

The new, "New Media"

In the U.S., the TV writers strike continues with no end in sight, leaving the door open for companies specializing in other types of entertainment to grab a foothold in the big business of American entertainment. The release of Halo3 proved there is more than enough room for alternative entertainment mediums beyond scripted television to make profits.

When all that's left of TV is poor-quality reality shows and other mindless filler, more sophisticated viewers will turn their attention away from the tube, likely going online instead in search of more stimulating entertainment. Companies like Hoodlum, whose business model is producing this new type of "blended" entertainment, will be poised to become the next big media giants - while the major networks continue to squabble over paying writers for webisodes.

In fact, Hollywood rag "Variety" reported earlier in 2007 of former Fox Interactive Media president, Ross Levinsohn, warning attendees at an industry event that "a strike would 'open the window a little more' for Internet creators to steal away audience from traditional media." But NBC Entertainment/Universal Media Studios co-chairman Marc Graboff wasn't concerned about online video cutting into TV series viewing. "There are so many cats flushing a toilet that you can watch," he quipped.

Marc clearly hasn't been paying attention to what ABC is up to.